Lunder Research Center Reading Room Policies
- The reading room is open by appointment between the hours of 10am and 5pm, Tuesday through Friday and is closed from 12pm-1pm for the lunch hour. All appointments should be made at least 24 hours in advance to provide staff with enough time to reserve materials. The reading room is reserved for the consultation of materials in the Lunder Research Center’s library and archive and is not available for general open hours.
- Upon arrival, you are required to present a valid photo ID to complete the registration process.
- All personal belongings including backpacks, briefcases, messenger bags, purses, coats, hats, umbrellas, and laptop cases must be stored in the provided lockers. You may enter the reading room with your personal laptop, cell phone, notebook, and pencil.
- No food or drink is permitted in the reading room. Readers are welcome to step into the break room or the back portal to eat or drink as needed. Foods should be limited to small, non-messy and non-fragrant snacks and drinks should be kept in spill-proof containers with tight-fitting lids (no single-use coffee cups with poorly-fitting lids or open containers). There is a filtered water fountain and bottle refilling station located next to the restrooms. There are a number of lunch options available within walking distance of the research center in the Taos historic district.
- No cell phone use is permitted in the reading room and cell phones must be placed on silent. Readers may step into the break room briefly or outside to make or receive phone calls.
- Please keep conversations low and to a minimum out of consideration for other readers.
- Flash photography is prohibited. Any photography or imaging of collection items, whether with a cell phone, camera, or handheld scanner must receive prior approval from the Archivist or Curator. The reader may need to complete an image permission form and pay the requisite fees depending upon the item and its intended use.
- No pens, markers, highlighters, or any other permanently marking writing implements are permitted in the reading room. Pencils and paper will be provided for note taking or readers may supply their own.
- Items may be placed on hold for a patron in advance of their visit to shorten retrieval wait time and may be kept on hold for multi-day visits. Items will be removed from hold after two weeks.
- All books in the library are non-circulating and may not be removed from the reading room at any time. Rare and fragile books are stored in closed stacks and can be searched using our online catalog and requested for retrieval by filling out a call slip.
- Please do not reshelve any books. Leave any books removed from the shelves in a stack on the reading room table to be logged and reshelved by the Librarian.
- Manuscript collections may only be consulted one box at a time and the remaining boxes will be placed on hold until the patron is finished with the current box. Individual folders may be removed from boxes one at a time and have their location in the box flagged. All materials within a folder must retain the existing order and must remain flat on the reading room table. Rare and/or fragile books must be read using a foam book cradle and book weights. Books that are especially fragile may require assistance from the Archivist in turning the leaves to prevent further damage. Upon a patron’s arrival, they will receive instruction on the safe handling of archival and library materials from the Archivist. If a patron encounters an item that appears particularly fragile, please notify the Archivist for assistance.
- Cotton gloves are not required to use archival collections as they increase the likelihood of tearing paper-based materials, but fitted nitrile gloves are acceptable. Fragile leaves may be turned carefully with a microspatula provided by the Archivist. Clean, dry hands are also an accepted practice for careful handling of collections unless otherwise noted by the Archivist. The exception is photographs that are not in polyester/polypropylene enclosures which should not be handled without cotton gloves to avoid transfer of dirt and oils from the hands to the emulsion. Patrons are asked upon arrival to thoroughly wash their hands with soap in the sink provided in the break room and to refrain from using any lotion or hand sanitizer to prevent transfer to collection materials. Sinks are also available in the restrooms located off of the Joseph Henry Sharp Portal hallway.
- Please remove any heavy jewelry such as large rings, bracelets, watches, or dangling necklaces that may snag on the edges of pages while turning leaves or reading. Engagement and wedding rings are excepted.
- Reprographics requests are subject to approval by the Archivist or Curator and are dependent upon the condition of the materials. High resolution digital scans are available for a fee of $1 per page. Turnaround time is dependent upon the volume of the request and can be expected to take approximately 2 weeks.
For any additional questions regarding our reading room policies, reprographics requests, or booking a research appointment, please contact us.