INFORMATION ON USER ELIGIBILITY & RESTRICTIONS ON USE

Unless otherwise specified, materials held by University Archives & Special Collections available for use by members of the university community and other interested parties according to the established mission and policies of the University Library.

Before beginning research, everyone is required to register and a Research Form must be completed if the researcher is using manuscript or archival collections. Collections are used under specific restrictions and may not be removed from the Reading Room area or borrowed from the collections. Permission may be granted to obtain photo or digital copies of items in the collections. A fee is charged for this service and the copying is performed by the staff.

Care must be exercised at all times when handling materials. Only pencils may be used when taking notes in the reading room.  Pencils and scrap paper are provided for Reading Room use if needed. Consuming food or beverages, smoking/vaping, and the use of pens are not permitted in the reading room.

READING ROOM RULES

The University Archives and Special Collections Reading Room is reserved for the use of persons using materials housed in Special Collections.

Requested materials must be examined under the following guidelines:

• No food, eating, or drinking is allowed in the Reading Room.  Closed containers of beverages may be allowed at the discretion of the room manager and always away from the materials.
• Researchers must:
  • Fill out guest register and appropriate request cards to use materials.
  • Use only pencil for note taking in proximity to the research materials. There are pencils on each research table. notepaper is available upon request.
  • Be responsible for securing appropriate permissions under copyright law as it pertains to their project(s).

• Researchers may be asked:
  • For a valid proof of identification
  • To check in all personal materials
• Researchers may be allowed:
  • to take digital photographs with personal cameras
  • to scan documents with personal equipment

Photocopying of material is available for a nominal per page fee.  We do not accept copy cards.  We reserve the right not to copy oversize or fragile material.

Digital copying service is available for certain types of materials.

To schedule an appointment, please contact archives-group@uri.edu.