Policies

The following use policies have been established to provide public access to our collections while maintaining archival standards to protect the collection. Users who violate the guidelines for use may be denied access to the collections. If you need assistance or have a question about the use guidelines, please see the staff person on duty, call the department (615-322-2807), or send us a question through the AskUs reference service.

For information on the type of material we are actively seeking, please see our Collection Development Policy.

General Guidelines:

• Special Collections is open to university staff, faculty, and students, as well as members of the public.
• Researchers must complete a Research Application in order to use Special Collections material. Applications are renewable each year after July 1st. Photo identification is required.
• Outer wear, umbrellas, purses, briefcases, and other items must be deposited in the vestible lockers. They may not be taken into research areas.
• Photo identification must be presented for each visit to Special Collections.
• Researchers must sign the log book at the desk upon entering and leaving the research area.
• All Special Collections materials are non-circulating and must be used in the Reading Room.
• All Special Collections materials are housed in closed stacks and are not available for browsing. A Request Form must be filled out for each item or collection requested to facilitate its retrieval and to establish responsibility for its use. No materials will be paged within fifteen minutes of Special Collections closing time. Although multiple items may be requested at one time, only one box or volume (or other unit) will be issued to a researcher at a time.
• All materials must be returned to a staff member on duty before the researcher leaves Special Collections. Arrangements may be made to reserve materials for continued use.
• Requests for limited reproduction of material is available when such duplication can be done without injury to materials and when duplication does not violate donor agreements or copyright law. Copies cannot be given to other institutions without prior permission of the Department Head.
  

Reading Room Guidelines:

• No food or drink is allowed in the Reading Room. Smoking is prohibited.
• Only pencils may be used. Ink, ballpoint pens, indelible pencils, and typewriter correction fluid are prohibited to avoid damage to materials.
• Computer laptops may be used, however electric outlets are limited. Users are advised to use battery packs.
• No portable scanners, cameras, photographic equipment, or electronic recording devices are permitted.
• Cell phones, pagers, and other communication devices must be turned off to avoid disturbing other researchers.
• The researcher is responsible for the careful handling of all materials made available. Extra care should be taken in handling large volumes, brittle pages, and in opening folded plates and maps. Manuscripts and books may not be leaned on, written on, altered, folded, traced over, or otherwise handled in any way that may damage them. Book weights to hold pages open are available from the Reading Room staff.
• Materials may not be removed from the Reading Room.
• Manuscripts and archives are to be maintained in the order in which they are received by the researcher. Material discovered to be out of order should be brought to the attention of the staff member on duty.
• Use only one box at a time. Remove only one folder from a box at a time. Do not remove individual items from a folder, even if you want to request a photocopy of the item. If you wish to request a photocopy, mark the item to be copied with a marker available from the staff member on duty. Place the folder with it's marker on top of the box from which it was taken. See the Services Page for more information on duplication services.