Regulations for Consultation

The Historical Archives can be accessed by anyone who agrees to comply with the provisions laid down to this effect.

The consultation of archival documents can only be carried out in the Reading Room and is subject to the rules  below.

 

Admission

Researchers are kindly requested to present themselves at the Reception Desk of the reading room on arrival.

The request form for consultation of the archives is available at Reception. The scope and subject of the research must be clearly stated (and if applicable the name of the Director in charge of the research). If the researcher changes the subject of research, he/she must complete a new consultation request form.

Coats and bags must be left in the apposite lockers. Only pens, papers and portable computers can be brought into the Reading Room. Drinks and food are not allowed. Mobile phones must be set at « silent » mode.

 

Consultation

The Archives has finding aids exist for all its fonds (printed inventories or on-line). The reference service directs researchers to the most appropriate documents for their research topic and provides the inventories which correspond to the documents.

Researchers can consult a maximum of three documents at any one time. The document ordering form should only mention one record code (except when the file numbers are consecutive), which that of the document requested.

Researchers are requested to return the files – in good order – to the reception desk after consultation. The user must not pass the documents to a third person without them having first completed the request form for consultation.

Where possible the documents will be made available in microformat.

If a researcher needs more than a day to consult a document, he/she may put the file in deposit for consultation in the following days. Any document which is not consulted during the next five days will returned to the storage area.

The consultation of certain private fonds (Ernesto Rossi, Pier Virgilio Dastoli, Klaus Meyer, Interviews) is subject to prior written authorisation by the depositor.

 

Copying documents

The photocopying of originals can only be carried out by the staff member present at reception:

• Photocopies cost 0,10€ per page
• Fonds coming from Community Institutions (EC): unlimited
• Fonds coming from deposits or private collections (DEP and COL): 500 photocopies per fonds/collection, per researcher, per year
• Fonds from the archives of the Foreign Ministries of Member States of the EU are strictly limited to 300 photocopies per fonds, per researcher, per year
• Fragile original documents or documents in poor condition must not be photocopied

  All digital copying of documents (by digital camera or mobile phone) must be previously requested by using the apposite forms which are available at the Reception Desk.

 

General condition

• Smoking, drinking and earing are forbidden in the Reading Room
• Bags and coats must be left in the lockers outside the Reading Room
• Mobile phones cannot be used in the Reading Room

  Community regulations prohibit the consultation of original documents but documents are available in microformat. Exceptions to this rule are only made in extremely specific circumstances.

 

Citation of sources

The citation of documents consulted at the Historical Archives of the EU must be formulated in the following manner:

Acronym of the Archives in the language of the book or article written (eg. HAEU, Historical Archives of the European Union), followed by the acronym of the fonds (eg. AS for Altiero Spinelli) and the number of the file (eg. 1…, 2 …etc.).

Completed example: HAEU, AS 1

 

The researchers are obliged to submit free of charge a reprint or copy of works produced with substantial use of archival documents of the Historical Archives, immediately on publication.