Policies of the Special Collections and Archives

A more comprehensive suite of departmental policies and procedures is currently being developed by SCA staff. Upon approval, a number of these will be shared here.

Access and use of collections

Our collections are open to any member of the community, provided that guidelines designed to promote the security and integrity of the collections are followed. We have a “closed-stack” system, which means that researchers request to have items retrieved from our stacks, and then these books or archival collections are delivered to our Reading Room for research use. An e-copy scanner is available in the Reading Room for making copies of materials for later reference.

Reading Room guidelines

• Food and beverages are not permitted in the Reading Room.
• Coats, bags, purses, and other personal belongings are not allowed in the Reading Room. Please stow these items in the storage lockers next to the SCA desk.
• Laptops and digital cameras are permitted, but sound must be turned off.
• No scanning of photographic prints, slides, or negatives is allowed. Use a digital camera (without the flash) to make copies of these materials.
• Only use pencil in the Reading Room.
• Do not use post-it notes or other sticky notes.
• Respect other researchers by keeping your voice at a low level and silencing cell phones.