Reading Room and Reproduction Policy

Reading Room Rules

• Food and beverages are not allowed in the reading room.
• Coats must be placed on the coat rack provided by the registration desk.
• Briefcases, bags, purses, backpacks, any other bulky items must be placed in one of the lockers provided for patron use.
• Patrons fill out a Patron Information Form and request materials using the Paging Request table on the back. Staff members will retrieve all manuscript materials from the stacks. Materials may not leave the reading room.
• Researchers may take notes with paper and pencil or a laptop computer.
• Researchers will ordinarily be given no more than one box at a time, and should have only one folder or item out at a time. All materials should remain on the table while being researched.
• Should a researcher discover errors in arrangement or description, he/she should call this to the attention of the Special Collections staff person on duty. Researchers may not rearrange or in any way alter the order, contents or descriptions of materials.
• When you finish your research, leave your materials on the table and inform the staff whether or not you intend to return.

Reproduction Rules

• Under certain conditions specified in the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code), libraries and archives are authorized to furnish reproductions. One of these specified conditions is that the reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study scholarship or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement. See Publication and Teaching/Education Policy for more on copyright.

• All reproduction of materials will be done by staff. Patrons request reproductions on the back of the Patron Information Form, using the Reproduction Request table.
• In most cases, use of personal digital cameras is allowed with prior permission, but use of personal scanners is not allowed. Please ask before using any type of personal devices of this nature.
• Washington University Libraries reserves the right to make decisions about what materials can be photocopied, photographed, scanned, or otherwise reproduced based on the condition of materials, access restrictions, and copyright restrictions.
• Payment for reproductions is due 30 days from date on invoice. Orders over $100 require prepayment and will be provided to patron within 30 days of payment.