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Visiting Special Collections

A photo of the Reading Room. There are many people sitting at tables looking at materials, including books and manuscript boxes. Some fo the tables have standing desks, so one researcher is standing

We welcome you to visit Special Collections on the first floor of the Harrison Institute/Small Special Collections Library, one floor down from the main entrance. See current hours and a map of Library locations. 

Plan a Visit

All those wishing to come to the Reading Room to use Special Collections materials must create a Special Collections account.  Researchers under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a parent or a responsible adult in our Reading Room.

For information on how to request materials, please go to our How to Register + Request Materials page. When requesting materials, the system requires you to make an appointment; this is so the materials are pulled before your arrival. If you are running a little late, or need to come the next day, no worries and no need to contact us! We will hold the materials for two weeks. 

Appointments are not required; researchers are welcome to come anytime the Reading Room is open and can request materials up to 30 minutes before we close. 

Our year-round hours in the Reading Room:

Monday: 1:00pm-5:00pm

Tuesday: 10:00am - 5:00pm

Wednesday & Thursday: 11:00am - 7:00pm

Friday: 10:00am - 5:00pm

Saturday: 12:00pm - 4:00pm

Sunday: CLOSED

Hours may change during holidays and intersessions. For updated information, check this page for library hours. 

  • Visitors may reach Charlottesville by airline (Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport is served by American Airlines, Delta, and United), Amtrak train, and Trailways-Greyhound bus.
  • The most convenient points of entry by car are U.S. 29 north or south, and Interstate 64 from east or west.
  • Parking is available in the Central Grounds Parking Garage, 400 Emmet St. Pay via ParkMobile.
  • Accessible parking is available on McCormick Road in front of Shannon Library.
  • Temporary parking permits for up to three months may be obtained for lots not on Central Grounds. Please see General Visitor Parking Information.
  • Hotels within walking distance include: Courtyard by Marriott, The Graduate, Hampton Inn & Suites, and the Oakhurst Inn.

More information is available from the Charlottesville-Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Policies

  • All those wishing to use Special Collections materials must register. A valid photo ID is required to check-in when you arrive at the library. Researchers under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a parent or a responsible adult. 
  • Please do not bring any food and beverages into Special Collections. A table is provided outside of the Reference area for researchers to store food and drink items.
  • Only loose paper, pencils and a laptop or computer tablet are permitted in the Reading Room. No bags (laptop, tablet, camera, or glasses cases), binders or notebooks, or containers of any kind are permitted.
  • Lockers are provided for safe and secure storage of your belongings. Any materials you take into the Reading Room will be examined by library staff when you leave.
  • You may request and view up to six items at a time in the Reading Room. After you return items, you may request more during your visit. 
  • We pull requests on the half hour. For example, on Tuesdays and Fridays when we open at 10, we pull at 10:30 a.m. and then every half-hour until before we close. 
  • Requests made at least one day in advance will be pulled prior to your scheduled appointment.
  • Materials housed off-site at Ivy Stacks (Request from Ivy) require at least one week to process and arrive at the library.
  • Appointments must be made in advance to use media formats such as LPs, audiotapes, videotapes, films, CDs, and DVDs held by Special Collections. In most cases, materials must be reformatted before they can be accessed, sometimes at the researcher’s expense. Please use our online reference request form to ask for further information or to schedule access to audio-visual materials. Access cannot be guaranteed unless prior arrangements have been made.
  • Wireless internet is available in the Reading Room. See the University’s page on wireless access for connection information. Library staff will assist you in setting up wireless internet access when you arrive.

It is not necessary to seek the Library’s permission as the owner of the physical work to publish or otherwise use materials from collections. This applies whether your use is non-commercial or commercial. For Special Collections materials, we do ask as a courtesy that you credit the Library as the holder of the original materials in the forms described below, as reasonably possible given the context of your use.

However, the Library’s consent as the owner of physical or digital copies of any given work does not address copyright or other legal issues that may affect publication or other re-use of these materials. 

Read the full Permissions and publishing policy, and learn more about citations and copyright for Special Collections items.

Special Collections must always be cited as the source of text or images when published or otherwise distributed. In general, Special Collections materials should be cited as:

 [title of work or collection name], Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library,
University of Virginia

Items from the Barrett or McGregor libraries should be cited as:

[title of work or collection name], Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature,
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia

[title of work or collection name], Tracy W. McGregor Library of American History,
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia

If you have any questions concerning the proper citation or description of materials in Special Collections, please contact us.

Some materials in Special Collections may contain confidential or sensitive information protected by state and federal right to privacy laws, such as Social Security numbers, addresses, and telephone numbers, as well as medical, educational, financial, and personnel information.

Special Collections seeks to balance making materials available to researchers while still protecting the privacy of individuals and upholding laws that restrict access to personally identifiable information. If you encounter material that contains confidential or sensitive information you agree that you will notify reference desk staff immediately. No duplications may be made of files that contain confidential or sensitive information.

The researcher is liable for any consequences resulting from the publication or dissemination of the personally identifiable information.

Use of Cameras in Special Collections  

General Policy: As a convenience to researchers and to reduce the handling of fragile materials, hand-held personal cameras and camera phones may be used to take images of materials in the reading room under most circumstances. The library will deny requests to use a personal camera if such use may result in unauthorized reproduction of restricted materials, damage to materials, or for other reasons in its sole discretion. Some of the Library’s collections include donor restrictions that prohibit reproductions. Researchers may not bring a camera into the reading room when viewing such collections. Some materials deemed unsafe for individual photography may be digitized by the Library’s Digital Production Group for a fee (link to: https://dpg-orders.library.virginia.edu/). The Small Special Collections Library seeks to maintain a reading room that encourages scholarship and reflection. Taking photographs of other researchers or library employees in the reading room is not permitted; only photographs of collection materials are allowed. Individuals permitted to photograph materials must not disrupt other researchers. All photographs or images created may be used only for personal research and study and may not be published, distributed on the web, or given to another library, archive, or repository without written permission from the University of Virginia and any relevant copyright holder. 

Permissions: Researchers should be aware that many items in Special Collections are still under copyright. Permission to photograph items for personal research purposes does not imply permission to publish. Permission to publish, exhibit, perform, broadcast, mount images on the web, or otherwise make the materials available must be applied for separately from any relevant copyright holder. For information on using Special Collections materials in publications or on websites, please refer to our Permissions and publishing page.  

Equipment: Researchers must provide their own equipment. For security and preservation reasons, tripods and handheld or flatbed scanners are NOT permitted in the reading room. No additional lights, including built-in flashes, may be used. Special Collections cannot supply batteries, memory cards, or film. Please silence any audio signals emitted by the camera or camera phone. 

Handling Guidelines: All materials must be handled carefully in a manner that will not damage them. Materials must be kept in the order in which they appear in folders and/or boxes. Nothing may be laid on top of a book, manuscript, or other items except for a book weight provided by desk staff for this purpose. No part of the camera equipment may touch the materials. Researchers should never write on, erase marks from, or otherwise alter a book, document, or other item. Books must be photographed on cradles provided by desk staff. Researchers using manuscript collections or archives should keep items flat on the table while photographing them. If the document has a fastener, the researcher should ask the attendant at the reference desk for assistance. Researchers may not remove photographs or documents from plastic mylar sleeves. For security reasons, researchers must remain behind their tables, facing forward, while making digital images. 

Lockers are available to store your belongings while you are in the Reading Room. 

Long-term visiting researchers may request a temporary locker assignment during their stay. Please contact Heather Moore Riser, Head of Operations, at (434) 924-4966 or octavo@virginia.edu if you are interested in this program.