Ricker Library of Art and Architecture has special collections located in the Vault, including artists' books, folios, facsimiles of sketchbooks, catalogues raisonnés, other rare and more unique materials. These materials can be viewed in the the Library Monday-Friday 8:30am to 5pm without any prior appointment; if you need to make arrangement to see the materials outside those hours, please contact Melanie Emerson or Chris Quinn.
The Communications Library has many resources that may be of interest to graphic designers such as resources related to visual communication and commercial art. They also have several online collections with vintage and current advertising images. More details about their hours, collections, and resources are available on the library's website.
The Rare Book & Manuscript Library (RBML) of the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign is one of the largest repositories for rare books and manuscripts in the United States. Within their collection they have have a wealth of materials related to art and design as well as digital collections such as the examples below.
Materials must be requested prior to visiting RBML. More details about using RBML are available on their website.