Special Rules for Using Rare Books & Special Collections
Researchers must sign the daily register each day upon entering the
reading room. The archivist will then assign a table for use. No
materials will be pulled until the daily register has been signed.
Personal belongings must be stored in the cabinet in the reading
room.
No materials may be removed from the reading room.
Persons seeking to use manuscript collections should complete an
Application to Use Manuscript Collections, available from
the archivist. Persons using only the rare book collection do not need
to fill out an application.
Paper for note-taking must be presented to the archivist for
inspection before using materials and before leaving the reading room.
No ink may be used. A pencil will be provided if the researcher
does not have one.
Researchers must exercise all possible care to prevent damage to
the materials they use. Materials must not be marked on, leaned on,
folded anew, traced, or handled in any way likely to damage them. Loose
sheets and book pages must be handled by their edges to avoid soiling
the surface of the paper. Documents and volumes must lie flat on the
table. They may not be placed in the lap or propped against the edge of
the table.
The existing order and arrangement of the items in the manuscript
collections must be maintained. If a filing mistake is discovered,
please bring it to the attention of the archivist. Do not rearrange
items yourself.
Normally, a researcher will not be allowed to use more than two
rare books or materials from more than one archival container at a time.
Requests for materials will not be accepted after 4:30 p.m.
Loud talking and actions likely to disturb other researchers are
prohibited.
It is the researcher's responsibility to secure permission to
publish material from Rare Books & Special Collections, and to
comply with the laws of defamation, literary property rights, copyright
and/or restrictions of donors which may be involved in the use of
materials.
If the results of research citing the manuscript collections are
published, one copy of the publication must be sent to the Tarlton Law
Library as a record.
If a researcher desires photocopies made from our originals, the
library will do the copying at the researcher's expense.
