Reading Room Handbook

Purpose

The primary purpose of this Reading Room Handbook is to serve as a guide for those staff members who support users who will be connecting with the archival collections through onsite research in the Rockefeller Archive Center (RAC) reading rooms.

This handbook describes and defines the processes and systems used in providing broad and equitable onsite access to the collections, while ensuring responsible stewardship through the preservation and protection of the materials being used. It also provides additional transparency to our onsite researchers about the experiences they will have during their visit to the RAC.

The handbook is designed to advance many of the RAC’s values:

We provide leadership to the professions and fields in which we operate, and we collaborate with other organizations, groups, and communities that share our values.
We understand that communication and transparency are keys to succeeding as an organization and actively work within structures and systems that support these goals.
We strive to create a user experience that empowers our user communities through their engagement with our systems.
We hold ourselves accountable to each other and to our user communities by acknowledging and embracing responsibility for our actions, behaviors, and decisions.
We respect our users’ right to privacy and self-determination in the use of our services and systems.

It is also hoped that by making this handbook publicly available it will serve as a resource for other archival repositories that may find the RAC’s approaches to this work helpful in developing or revising their own efforts to support onsite research.

Access at the RAC

An essential part of the Rockefeller Archive Center’s mission is to provide “broad and equitable access to the historical records of philanthropy and other efforts to work on behalf of the public good…” More specifically, “access” at the RAC can be defined as the people, processes, and systems that connect the RAC’s global user communities to the archival collections in its custody.

One of the many ways in which the RAC’s users engage with the collections is through onsite research in the two reading rooms located within its main facility in Sleepy Hollow, New York.

The term “researchers” will be used throughout this handbook to describe this subset of our broader user communities.

The RAC’s Two Reading Rooms

The RAC has two reading rooms, both located on the second floor of the primary facility in Sleepy Hollow, New York. The second floor may be accessed by the central staircase from the main floor foyer or by an elevator located on the main floor just off the foyer. For more information about the accessibility of the RAC’s physical spaces, see the RAC Accessibility Statement.

The two reading rooms are situated at the south end of the second-floor hallway. As you face the end of the hallway, the Main Reading Room is located on the right, and the Second Reading Room is located on the left.

Whether a researcher has never been to the RAC before or is returning after a long hiatus and needs a refresher about our facilities, we encourage researchers to review the Rockefeller Archive Center Site Orientation Video available on our YouTube channel before they arrive. This video will teach researchers how to access and navigate our spaces, help them get to the reading rooms, and tell them more about our amenities and accessibility options.

The Main Reading Room has the capacity to host seven (7) researchers. The Second Reading Room has the capacity to host four (4) researchers. Additionally, the Second Reading and an alcove between the two rooms have five workstations containing microfilm reader machines.

Because of the limited seating capacity, appointments are required to conduct onsite research at the RAC. The Main Reading Room is the principal reading room. Researchers will be assigned seats in the Main Reading Room until capacity is reached, at which point additional researchers will be assigned to seating in the Second Reading Room until it reaches capacity.

Researchers using original archival records, such as paper-based textual materials and photographs, must use these materials under supervision by Desk Monitors in the reading rooms. Researchers using microfilm materials only may do so unattended in the Second Reading Room and in the two alcoves between the reading rooms.

Staffing the Reading Rooms

Management of reading room activities is overseen by the Access team led by the Assistant Director for Access within the RAC’s Archives Program.

Desk Monitors must always be present during periods in which researchers using original archival materials are in one or both reading rooms.

The Access team’s two Reading Room Assistants have primary responsibility for staffing the Main Reading Room:

9:30 am – 1:00 pm – Morning Reading Room Assistant
1:00 pm – 4:30 pm – Afternoon Reading Room Assistant

Additionally, two “work blocks” have been created for each day: 9:30 am to 1:00 pm and 1:00 pm until 5:00 pm (closing time). By fairly and equitably assigning themselves to these work blocks throughout the week, the remaining members of the Access team take a flexible and collaborative approach to staffing the Second Reading Room and handling other Reading Room-related demands, a scope of work which includes but is not limited to:

Staffing the Second Reading Room as necessary
Covering breaks in Main Reading Room
Closing Main Reading Room from 4:30-5:00 pm
Performing Retrievals and Returns
Assisting researchers with microfilm issues

How these tasks get divided up during a particular work block coverage period is left up to the Access team members assigned to those work blocks, and it may change from week to week or even day to day. This approach fosters collaboration and teamwork within these smaller work block groups.

Access team members will take primary responsibility for covering for their colleagues in the event of illness, conference attendance, vacations, or other absence. Calling on the rest of the Archives staff for support in the reading rooms will be a last resort.

Role of the Desk Monitors

The principal role of the Desk Monitors is to support broad and equitable access to the collections by the RAC’s onsite researchers. A secondary role of the Desk Monitors is to ensure that original archival materials are handled in a manner consistent with RAC’s preservation and security practices and procedures. Access, preservation, and security are always in balance in the reading rooms, with equity weighing towards access.

Desk Monitors are the most consistent and visible human presence in a researcher’s onsite experience. Clear and effective communication is key to a successful working relationship between the Desk Monitors and the researchers. It is critical that the Desk Monitors establish a positive and professional relationship with each researcher so that researchers feel comfortable asking for assistance and so that Desk Monitors are seen as persons of authority in the reading rooms and at the RAC.

Desk Monitors are not expected to be subject matter experts, but rather to be the principal points of contact for any questions or needs a researcher might have during their visit, whether those be questions about navigating the collections, about requesting materials or other reading room procedures, or about aspects of the building’s physical spaces and taking advantage of amenities provided for researchers. Knowing how and when to reach out for additional support and assistance when needed is a Desk Monitor’s most important skill.

When desk monitors or researchers encounter instances of problematic archival description and/or see opportunities for reparative description within the RAC’s collections, desk monitors should use the Archival Description Concern Request form to identify the issue and notify Processing Archivists who can help address the problem.

Communication with Other Access Team Members

Currently at the RAC, Microsoft Teams is used as the primary internal message system. Within the Access Team (in MS Teams) is a Desk Monitor Channel that can be used by the Desk Monitors to communicate directly with all members of the Access Team for support, including the Assistant Director for Access. In the interests of transparency and collaboration, this channel should be used for most communications related to the reading rooms, including preservation concerns, requests for assistance with microfilm machines, and other situations.

Escalation

In rare cases, there may be a need to escalate a situation with a researcher beyond the Desk Monitors, such as a researcher who is non-compliant with Desk Monitor instructions or a researcher who is rude and abusive. Desk Monitors who believe that escalation is required should first reach out through the Desk Monitor Channel to the rest of the Access team and request that someone else on the team assist them in the reading room. If another Access team member is unable to resolve the situation, then the assistance of an Assistant Director or Associate Director should be sought. If an Assistant Director or Associate Director is unavailable or unable to resolve the situation, the issue should be escalated to the Director of Archives or any other Director available onsite. In particularly critical situations, the Desk Monitor should seek the support of a Director immediately.

Requesting IT Support

The RAC’s Information Technology team utilizes a ticketing system within Asana to receive requests for support and reports of IT issues. Links to the IT ticketing system are available on the homepage of the RAC’s internal SharePoint site. The following practices apply to reporting IT issues and requesting IT support within the ticketing system:

Only one ticket should be submitted per issue, even if multiple people are experiencing the issue.
Always check existing tickets to see if the issue has already been reported before you submit your own ticket.
Others should feel free to add comments to an existing ticket with any additional information that would be helpful in assisting the IT team in diagnosing and resolving the issue.
The ticket will remain open until the issue has been fully resolved by the IT team, so there is no need to comment within a ticket to communicate that the problem still exists.
If the IT team has any questions about your ticket, they will communicate with you through the messaging feature within the ticket. Please be sure and answer any questions from IT promptly.

Emergencies

If there is a medical emergency in the reading rooms, threat of physical harm, or theft of RAC property or collections in progress, immediately call 911 if it is safe to do so or message through the Desk Monitor Teams channel for a colleague to call 911. Inform an Assistant Director, Associate Director, or Director or someone on the Operations team immediately or as soon as it is safe to do so.

Desk Monitors should also be familiar with the RAC’s Emergency Action Plan (available on the internal RAC Human Resources Sharepoint site) and be prepared to assist researchers from the reading rooms and the RAC facility in the event of a drill or emergency.

Hours of Operation

The RAC Reading Rooms are open Monday through Friday from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm, except for designated holidays.

Inclement weather can sometimes require the RAC to close for the safety of staff and researchers. During the winter, if ice or snow is predicted for suburban New York, it is advisable for a researcher to telephone the RAC at (914) 366-6300. A recording noting a closure or delayed opening is generally posted by 7:30 a.m.

If a researcher has a scheduled research appointment, the Access team will do its best to email the researcher with as much advanced notice of a closure as possible, with the understanding that weather is unpredictable and advanced notice may not be possible.

Desk Monitors are encouraged to actively engage with researchers in the reading rooms if inclement weather is forecasted.

Making an Appointment

Consistent with the RAC’s mission to provide broad and equitable access to the collections, anyone can conduct research at the RAC. If we have materials that can be useful to someone’s research project, they are welcome here.

As previously stated, the limited seating capacity in the RAC’s reading rooms means that researchers must have an appointment prior to their arrival to ensure that space is available to accommodate them.

The RAC uses an online system that enables and empowers researchers to schedule their own research appointments without the need for prior contact with an archivist.

To reserve an appointment, a researcher will use the “Appointments” tab in their RACcess account to schedule their research day(s) at the RAC. Reservations must be made at least three days prior to their start date. Reading room appointments reserve a desk for the entire day (9:30-5:00), although researchers may arrive or depart at any time during those hours.

Researchers should review the Access and Request Materials page on the RAC’s website for further information on how to get to the RAC by car or public transportation, amenities provided to researchers, and other useful information about reading room policies and procedures.

Requesting Materials for Review in the Reading Rooms

The RAC’s materials requesting processes are designed to empower researchers to determine for themselves what materials they want to prioritize next and at what pace and to enable the Access staff to organize their other work more efficiently because retrievals and deliveries are regular and predictable.

All onsite researchers at the RAC must have a confirmed appointment and have created a researcher account in RACcess, our online request and duplication management system, prior to arrival.

Before their first visit, we recommend that researchers select an initial group of materials that can be ready for them on their arrival. This can be done through the RAC’s online finding aid catalog DIMES or the online Library materials catalog. Once researchers locate an item they want to request, they should add it to their list and then submit a request to view the materials in the reading room by 5:00 pm Eastern time the business day prior to their appointment day. They should be sure to indicate the correct date of their first appointment day in their request.

We deliver up to 10 items at a time. If archival containers are too large to fit all 10 items on a cart, we will keep some items back and deliver them to the researcher at the next delivery time.
We will only keep up to 10 items on one cart per person in the reading room at a time due to space limitations.
The top shelf of the cart will be kept clear, and researchers should place the box they are actively using on the top shelf so that there is plenty of room on the table for a folder and a laptop.
Some archival materials are stored in offsite locations and may take up to 48 hours (2 full business days) to retrieve.
Oversized materials such as posters, maps, and architectural drawings cannot be brought safely to the reading rooms. Such materials will be pulled for researcher review in another space in the RAC building and will be coordinated with a RAC staff member.
Digitized audiovisual materials are accessible in our reading rooms through the RAC’s Virtual Vault. Audiovisual materials that are not yet digitized will need to be reviewed by the Audiovisual Archivist to determine if there are any preservation issues in providing access. It may take up to 8 hours (2 full business days) to complete this review.

We have scheduled materials delivery times based on the following schedule.

The RAC Reading Rooms are open to researchers from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday.
Researchers are responsible for requesting that the Reading Room desk monitor stage the next 10 items for retrieval.
Researchers who believe they will need fresh materials at the next delivery time should work proactively with the desk monitor to stage their next selections after each new delivery so that they do not have to wait for a later delivery time. We will not do special pulls outside of scheduled delivery times.
We do not deliver materials between 11:30 am and 1:30 pm so that researchers and RAC staff alike can enjoy their lunch hours and so that we can prepare for the 1:30 pm delivery.

Materials Delivery Time	Deadline to Move Requests into To Be Paged Queue
9:30 am (material available on arrival)	5:00 pm the previous business day
10:30 am	10:00 am
11:30 am	11:00 am
1:30 pm	1:00 am
2:30 pm	2:00 pm
3:30 pm	3:00 pm
4:30 pm (last delivery of the day)	4:00 pm

Reading Room Practices

As previously discussed, Desk Monitors assist researchers in navigating the collections in support of their research while also ensuring the safety and security of archival materials in the reading rooms.

Other projects, such as processing, answering research requests, or other computer and desk work, should be kept to a minimum and should not distract from monitoring the room and supporting the researcher experience. Desk Monitors should periodically walk around the room to observe each researcher, make any course corrections needed in terms of materials handling, and generally appear accessible and inviting.

Welcoming Researchers to the Reading Rooms

Desk Monitors should assume that researchers arriving for their first day of an appointment have never worked in an archival repository or handled archival materials before.

Researchers should be welcomed by the Desk Monitor and instructed as to what items are and are not permitted in the reading rooms. Researchers should be directed to the lockers to secure all items not permitted in the reading rooms.

The following are allowed in the reading rooms:

pencils
loose papers or notes brought into the room are discouraged, but if absolutely necessary, only a small amount is permitted in the reading rooms. Researchers should leave other notes and notebooks in their locker. (Desk Monitors must check any loose papers at the end of the day)
laptop computers
tablets
cameras
cell phones

The following are not allowed in the reading rooms:

food
beverages
tobacco items (smoking is prohibited in the building)
chewing gum
pens
handheld scanners
briefcases
computer cases or other bags (large bags or suitcases that don’t fit in the lockers can be stored in the coat closet on the first floor)
purses
excessive papers or notebooks
coats and other outerwear (if a researcher takes off a hat, scarf, sweater, or jacket while working in the Reading Room, it should immediately be placed in a locker)

Materials Handling

Desk Monitors should ensure that each researcher has been instructed in basic procedures and best practices for handling archival materials, including:

Researchers are limited to reviewing one folder at a time. They should use an Out card to mark the folder’s place in the box.
For nontraditional containers (such as accordion folders or boxes of index cards), the monitor should engage with the researcher about proper placement of the Out card.
Researchers should not rearrange the order of materials in folders nor the order of folders in boxes.
Weights and cradles are available to support bound volumes.
Researchers should not walk around the room with archival materials. The Desk Monitor should go to them to answer a question about the records.
Researchers may not remove archival materials from the Reading Room.
Researchers should always leave the call slips in place so that the barcode can be easily scanned by staff.

Researchers should keep the folder flat on the table with the contents always within the folder and should turn the pages gently, as if they were turning the pages of a book. Make sure that researchers are not leaning on, writing on, folding or bending pages, or removing fasteners without permission or assistance. If a researcher’s computer or other possessions impede the proper handling of the archival material, suggest a new arrangement.

If specific preservation issues arise, desk monitors should fill out a preservation concern form. These issues will then be addressed after the researcher has completed using the records and the records have been removed from the reading rooms.

Camera Policy

Researchers are permitted to photograph archival materials with a camera or device. Use of small tripods or camera stands is permissible as long as the archival material is handled with care and according to the RAC rules.

Using Equipment and Special Formats

Microfilm

The RAC has several digital microfilm readers, allowing researchers to capture and save documents as digital files (PDFs, JPGs, etc.). If requested, researchers wishing to view microfilm can be given a brief tutorial on proper handling of microfilm and on the operation of the microfilm machines and software. Researchers typically will use a USB device, email, or a cloud storage service to save their copies, although the machines are connected to a printer.

If a reel of microfilm breaks, the reel should not be put back in its box and marked for reshelving. The Preservation Concern form should be used to report a break.

Photographs

Photographs should be handled with the nitrile gloves (or cotton gloves for latex-intolerant researchers) available in the reading room. However, photographs housed in mylar sleeves can be handled without gloves. Photographs housed in mylar sleeves should not be removed from the sleeves.

Bound Volumes

Researchers must use a book cradle with larger bound volumes to hold open the outside edge of the page. The cradle can be adjusted to avoid pressure on the spine of the volume. Weights are available from the desk monitor. Researchers should avoid creasing the pages or pressing down on the spine of the volumes.

Audiovisual Materials

Researchers can access digitized access copies in the Virtual Vault.
Researchers can view digital access DVD copies for material not available in the Virtual Vault. The free-standing DVD player (located in the closet to the right of the researchers’ bathroom) can be borrowed. The desk monitor can provide headphones.
Some analog film formats, such as 16mm and 35mm film, can be played in the Preservation Lab. If a researcher is interested in viewing a film, advanced notice of at least 48 business hours must be given to allow for proper staging and assessment.

Closing the Reading Rooms

Approximately 10 to 15 minutes prior, remind researchers of the reading room closing time.
When researchers are ready to leave for the day, confirm whether they are returning and when.
Scan the items to the appropriate Aeon queue. A finished cart of materials belongs in the “Reshelve Item” queue, while a cart with materials still in use goes in the “Item on Hold in Vault” queue.
Both finished and active/still in use carts should remain in the reading rooms until taken to the vaults by an Access team member.
Sign all researchers out of the reading rooms in Aeon.
Check researchers’ notebooks and any loose papers for archival material.
After the researchers depart, ensure that all carts are returned to Room 103.

Systems Used in Support of Reading Room Operations

Aeon: The RAC’s request and retrieval system, it is a proprietary software of Atlas systems which the RAC has customized for its use. The system includes a web-based portal for researchers, donors, and outside users, as well as a local instance available to RAC staff that allows for different tasks. Through Aeon researchers and staff can submit requests for archival and library materials, request duplications, track the status of requests, and create activities to track archival material used for events.
osTicket: An open source online ticketing system used by the RAC for researcher and donor requests. It allows staff to communicate with researchers and donors in such a way that the requests are tagged and searchable.
ArchivesSpace: An open source collections management system used for managing and providing access to information about the archival collections. Through this system, the RAC can track locations, restrictions, inventories, and descriptions about collections.
Microsoft Teams: A communication platform that allows departments to chat, share files, set up meetings and collaborate remotely. It is integrated with other Microsoft systems such as Outlook and Word. At the RAC, each department has its own Team within the larger system.
Asana: A web project management application designed to help organize, track, and manage projects and workflows.