Procedures

Readers should register as a Library user. Material from Archives and Manuscripts must be ordered and consulted in the Rare Materials Reading Room. Readers wishing to use this material are strongly advised to contact Archives and Manuscripts in advance of their first visit. To do this, email archs+mss@wellcome.ac.uk or phone 020 7611 8899.

Please note: only pre-ordered archives may be consulted during evening and Saturday morning opening.

• Access
• Ordering
• Using materials
• Copying

Access

• New readers should ask to speak to the duty archivist.
• Readers are required to sign an undertaking outlining their responsibilities under the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Copyright Acts.
• Uncatalogued material is not normally made available.
• There are restrictions on access to certain collections/files. Please speak to the duty archivist if you wish to consult such material. In certain cases it may be necessary to obtain permission from the donor/depositor.
• In the case of certain items, microfilm or other surrogate copies are normally produced for conservation reasons.
• Readers are subject to Library conditions of use and the additional rules applying to the Rare Materials Room.

Ordering

• Most material from Archives and Manuscripts can be ordered via the online catalogue. In some cases online ordering has not yet been enabled and orders should be made on green manual requisition slips and handed in well in advance of need at the Rare Materials Room Desk.
• Where material is not yet described in the online catalogue it should be ordered using the hardcopy handlists available in the Rare Materials Room on green manual requisition slips, and orders should be handed in well in advance of need at the Rare Materials Room desk.
• No archive orders will be processed after 17.00 or on Saturday. Normally it takes 60-90 minutes for material to be delivered. If you have waited for much longer you should inform the supervisor.

Using materials

• Readers should ensure that all items are handed with care.
• Do not remove or rearrange any loose papers within files or volumes.
• When you have finished with the box, please return it to the desk and inform the supervisor.
• Material may be reserved by filling in a white reserve card (available at the Rare Materials Room supervision desk) and informing the supervisor, specifying the date of your next visit if possible. To keep material for longer than ten working days, please consult the duty archivist or leave a message stating your next intended visit to the Library.

Copying

• Readers should confirm with the duty archivist whether copies can be made, as not all material from Archives and Manuscripts may be copied.
• Readers are restricted to 100 exposures of photocopying &/or quick scanning by the Library Reprography Office per year from A&M materials.
• Copies should be ordered using the order forms available from the supervisor's desk.
• Material for copying must not be removed from the files, but flagged in place using the coloured markers available at the supervisor's desk. Files should be left in their box and the whole box returned with the order form.
• The copying order should only be placed when the whole box is no longer required.
• Photographs cannot be photocopied or scanned.
• Orders for photography and digital copying of entire files or volumes should be made on a separate Wellcome Images form available from the supervisor's desk.
• Copying ordered remotely will be subject to a handling charge of £5.00. Information on pricing is available here.