House rules

Items from the heritage collections of the Allard Pierson are often rare and valuable. That is why we have drawn up some house rules.

 

  • The Reading Room is exclusively for consulting material from the heritage collections and reference libraries of the Allard Pierson. It is not a general study room.
  • The reading room is only accessible with a valid UvA/HvA staff pass, a UvA/HvA student pass or a library card of the UvA/HvA Library.
  • Coats and bags (including handbags and laptop bags) must be stored in the lockers near the Reading Room.
  • Eating or drinking is not permitted in the Reading Room and reference libraries.
  • Do not disturb other visitors. Turn mobile phones off or on silent.
  • You should obey staff instructions at all times.
    • You may consult a maximum of 4 pieces at a time (depending on material).
    • Heritage material may not leave the Reading Room.
    • Copying from heritage material is not allowed.
    • Images of heritage material may be taken with your own camera or smartphone without flash and/or tripod. High-resolution images (300 dpi) can be made by the photographer of the Allard Pierson. Information will be provided by the desk staff.
    • Only consult heritage materials with washed hands. When consulting some works, wearing gloves is compulsory.
    • When consulting bound items, please use the cushions and lead snakes provided if necessary.
    • Do not open a too-tightly bound book too far.
    • Do not lean on the material you consult, hold it against the edge of the table or take it on your lap.
    • Do not place opened books upside down on the table or stack them on top of each other.
    • Carefully fold out and in fold-out sheets.
    • Keep pieces in the order or composition in which you find them. Do not remove staples, paper clips or folders.
    • For writing, use only the pencils on the tables.
    • When turning pages, put the pencil down.
    • Do not put writing paper on the consulted material.
    • Return consulted heritage material to the desk during breaks.
    • Do not put back used books from the reference libraries yourself; the desk staff will do that.
    • The documents may contain personal information of persons still living. Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), you must respect the protection of these personal data.
    • Data on living persons may only be used for historical (including genealogical), scientific or statistical research. It is not allowed to publish personal data of living persons unless they are anonymized and cannot be traced back to the persons concerned.
    • When you consult records containing personal data of individuals still living, you declare that you will comply with these provisions of the GDPR.
    • If you have any questions about the protection of personal data or wish to object to the inclusion of your own personal data in a private archive managed by the Allard Pierson, please contact the Allard Pierson Reading Room.