Reading Room Practices

The department maintains a Reading Room on the first floor of the library where patrons are welcome to visit during regular hours, or make an appointment in advance, to review materials housed in the archives. We ask for at least 48 hours of notice so that we may do any preparatory searching and retrieving in advance. Reading Room walk-in hours and appointment availability vary, check current hours here: Hours and Appointments.

The following rules are established to ensure the safety and preservation of collections as well as the quality of the experience for patrons.

1. Materials must be handled with extreme care to ensure their preservation. Turn pages carefully, make no marks on the materials, rest no books or other objects on the face or surface of items used. Restrictions may be set to protect fragile or damaged materials.
2. All personal items (backpacks, coats, purses, books, and other personal articles) should be kept near the patron’s seat and out of the path of others in the room. Storage space is available in the cubbies along the side of the room.
3. Noise should be kept to a minimum. Set cell phones and other sound devices to quiet mode. Phone calls should be taken outside of the Reading Room.
4. Before leaving, straighten all papers and folders inside boxes. Return all materials to staff.
5. Use care to preserve the order of the materials in a box. Mixing up papers and folders is detrimental to collections. Ask for “outcards” - paper slips used like bookmarks - from staff if needed.
6. Laptops, notebooks, and pencils are allowed at research tables. Pens are not allowed.
7. We provide the necessary technology for searching our digital catalogs, as well as scanning or otherwise digitizing materials. Please check with staff before scanning or photographing any items.
8. Cell phones with cameras, digital cameras, and scanners are permitted with staff approval.
9. All food and beverages are prohibited at the worktables and around collections. Closed containers may be stored inside of bags or in storage cubbies.