User’s Responsibilities

• Readers are to ensure that their hands are clean when handling documents. Strips of white paper can be used as markers to read down the text.
• Pencils only should be used for taking notes in the reading room. Pencils are the least damaging writing instruments. Any form of ink, erasers, highlighters, correcting fluids and pointed instruments should be kept out of the reading room. When it comes to sharpening pencils, this should be done in one central location away from the documents. The reason for this is that the pencil shavings and graphite abrade and cause damage to its structure.
• All types of food and drink are not permitted in the reading room.
• Leaning on documents, putting objects on them or writing notes on top of them is not allowed.
• A number of foam supports are available at the National Archives. These should be used to support documents. For the larger documents, great care should be taken so that documents are not left hanging over the edges of tables and the necessary weights to keep the documents flat should be asked for.
• With bound volumes, particular care should be taken to avoid stress on their bindings. Sometimes, cushions loosely filled with inert material such as polystyrene beads and covered with soft archival quality cloth, are very effective to support such volumes. They can be moulded to fit the shape of the record and thus avoid stress on the binding.
• With certain materials, especially bound volumes or large maps, restraints have to be used to keep the pages from turning or the edges flat. Most archival institutions provide snakes (lead pellets covered in soft archival quality cloth). These should be used with care to keep the pages in place. With larger items, such as maps, weights covered with leather serve the same purpose effectively.
• Any damage like torn pages on the originals should be reported to the officer-in-charge of the reading room. Readers should not remove tags or open sealed documents.
• When handling photo collections or negatives, the use of gloves is strongly recommended. Cotton gloves prevent grease or dirt being transferred to the surface of the photo, causing permanent damage to the emulsion layer of the photo.
• Whenever microfilm, microfiche or surrogates are available, readers are to use these instead of the originals.
• Documents made up of loose papers must be kept in the order in which they are found, even if a researcher thinks that the order is not the right one. Where such difficulties arise, or where gaps in the documentation or damage are noticed, readers are to inform the reading room staff.
• Some of the documents might be difficult to read due to faded ink, paper deterioration, or palaeography difficulties. Readers should refrain from trying to overcome these shortcomings using methods, which for them seem fitting without the proper approval of the archives staff.
• To enhance faded ink the usual practice is to use ultra-violet light.