General Information

Location and Hours

The University Archives are located at 951 Morgantown Road, first floor. Contact Sharon Neal, Library Director, at 610.586.1465 or sharon.neal@alvernia.edu to schedule an appointment.

Policies

Rules for Use

Materials housed in the Archives are rare, sometimes unique records and require special care. Researchers must handle material carefully in accordance with the following guidelines:

• Non-University users must register with the Archivist.
• Items may not be removed from the library.
• Food and beverages are not permitted while using archival materials.
• Materials must be handled with care. Documents may not be written on or otherwise damaged. Books, papers, or elbows may not be placed on open books or documents.
• The number of books or documents issued to a patron at one time may be limited. Restricted materials may be used only under direct supervision.
• Patrons must not disturb the order of documents within folders or boxes. Items must be returned to their original location and filing order.
• Pencils only may be used when researching materials from the Archives collections.
• Laptop computers and cameras are permitted as long as their use does not damage materials. Flatbed or handheld scanners are not permitted.
• Materials may not be left unattended at any time. Patrons are responsible for materials until those items are returned to the University Archivist.
• Limited amounts of material may be photocopied with the permission of the University Archivist if the physical condition of the item permits and if copyright restrictions are not violated.
  • Copy costs:
    • Faculty, staff and students of Alvernia University: free
    • Others: 10 cents per page

Access to Materials

It is the responsibility of a repository to make available original research materials in its possession on equal terms of access.

Access to all research materials in the Alvernia University Archives (the Archives), irrespective of format, will be provided in accordance with this access policy, the “Code of Ethics for Archivists,” and the “ACRL Code of Ethics for Special Collections Librarians.” The Archives will not deny any researcher access to materials, nor grant privileged or exclusive use of materials to any researcher, unless required to do so by law, institutional access policy, or donor or purchase stipulation.

INTELLECTUAL ACCESSIBILITY. The Archives will inform researchers in a timely manner of the collections in its custody in accordance with institutional access policy and current professional practice. This may be accomplished through the assistance of staff members; entries in local, regional, or national catalogs; inventories, and other documents describing a repository’s holdings and created using nationally recognized standards; published guides; repository websites; and other means, including announcements in appropriate print, electronic, and other media. The existence of original research materials should be reported, even if they are not fully accessible because they are not processed or because of restrictions.

RESTRICTIONS. The Archives is committed to preserving research materials and to making them available for research as quickly as practicable following their acquisition. Nevertheless, the Archives will fulfill legal and institutional obligations to protect confidentiality and physical security of its collections. Moreover, donors may wish to impose reasonable restrictions upon their papers for a defined period of time to protect privacy or confidentiality.

• The Archives will inform researchers of restrictions that apply to collections, but will attempt to make this information generally available.
• The Archives will discourage donors from imposing unreasonable restrictions, encourage a specific time limitation on restrictions that are imposed, and make the duration of the restriction known to its users.
• The Archives will periodically review and reevaluate restricted material and remove restrictions when they are no longer required.

POLICIES. To protect and insure the continued accessibility of its holdings, the Archives will require all patrons to use all research materials in accordance with published institutional policies. The Archives will publish or otherwise make known to potential researchers its policies governing access and use. Such policies will be applied and enforced equally, and may include provisions such as:

• To protect its collections, the Archives may, in accordance with legal authority and institutional access policy, require acceptable identification of any individual wishing to use its materials, as well as a signature verifying the individual has agreed to abide by a statement defining the policies and regulations of the repository.
• The Archives will also instruct researchers in proper handling of materials.
• The Archives may refuse access to an individual researcher who has violated its published policies and regulations.
• The Archives may limit the use of materials, but will try to provide suitable reproductions to researchers in lieu of the originals.
• The Archives may limit access to unprocessed materials, as long as the limitations are applied and enforced consistently and equally to all users.
• The Archives may, under special circumstances, lend or place on deposit with another repository part or all of a collection. In such cases, the Archives has the responsibility to publicize the unavailability, including length of time, of collections due to loans.

FEES AND SERVICES. The Archives will strive to provide access to its holdings at no direct cost to the researcher. In situations where this is not possible, reasons for charging fees will be made publicly available. The Archives will facilitate access to collections by providing reasonably priced reproduction services that are administered consistently in accordance with legal authority, including copyright law, institutional access policy, and repository regulations. These services may include electronic, paper, or photographic copies; microfilm; or other means of reproduction and should be clearly stated in a publicly accessible written policy. The Archives is not obligated to provide reproductions or research services beyond those required by institutional access policy. Repositories may impose reasonable limits on requests for reproductions, but such limits should be clearly stated in the institutional access policy and should also be applied equally and consistently to all users.

CITATIONS. The Archives will publish or otherwise make available to researchers a suggested form of concise citation crediting the Archives and identifying items within its holdings for later reference. Citations to copies of materials in other repositories should include the locations of the originals.

COPYRIGHT. It is the researcher’s obligation to satisfy copyright law when copying or using materials found in collections. The Archives will inform a researcher about the copyright status of material, the researcher’s obligations with regard to such material, and, wherever possible, the owner or owners of the copyrights.