Reading room house rules

Access to the reading room

The reading room is accessible free of charge. In order to visit the reading room, you need a visitor pass.
You need to present a valid passport to acquire a visitor pass.

Laptop, notepad, camera and/or pencil without an eraser can be taken inside. If needed, pencils are available at the desk in the reading room. Pens are not allowed inside.
Please leave coats and bags in the cloakroom, or in a locker. Transparent bags are allowed inside, and can be found in the cloakroom if you need one. Please return it after use.
Please switch your mobile phone to silent mode, and leave the reading room in case of a phone call.
Don’t take food or beverages inside.
You may take photographs of items from the archive. Read the terms and conditions about photography.
You can make use of the scanner in the reading room.
Don’t bring items inside that bear a resemblance to archival material, e.g. maps, photographs or other documents.
Pets are not allowed.

To keep the archives available to everyone, now and in the future, please bear in mind the following when handling material from the archive.

Wash your hands before and after touching documents from the archive. Please do not wet your fingers to turn pages.
Wear gloves when handling photographs, negatives, or seals. Gloves can be obtained at the desk.
Make sure the archival material lies level. Use cushions or lead laces when consulting fragile items.
Leave records exactly as you receive them. Do not remove labels or staples. Don’t remove or add material, or change the order of documents.
Don’t place archive boxes on the ground.
Don’t place objects, e.g. laptop, notebook, mobile phone, on top of archival material.

All items with public access can be photographed.
No item with restricted access can be photographed or copied.
When publishing photographs, or when sharing on social media, do make sure not to violate copyrights. Any judicial consequences are your own responsibility.