Uppsala University Library's cultural heritage and special collections are available for research and study in the Special Reading Rooms at Carolina Rediviva. Over and above the Library's general rules, there are special ones for the use of these collections and access to the special reading rooms.

In the Special Reading Room (on the ground floor of Carolina Rediviva) you can study manuscripts, music scores, works printed before 1851 and items from any of the special collections, as well as large or otherwise cumbersome items.

In the Maps and Pictures' Special Reading Room (in the basement of Carolina Rediviva) you can study maps, drawings, engravings, lithographs etc. as well as photographs.

How to gain access to the Reading Rooms

• On your first visit you will be asked to fill in a form.
• All first time visitors must show proof of their identity with a valid identification document and must be prepared to show proof of identity also on subsequent visits.
• Visitors residing in non-Nordic countries must produce their passports. For citizens in the European Union, who live in countries that have signed up to the Schengen Agreement, proof of nationality is sufficient.
• Passports and other identity documents may be kept by the librarian on duty during your visit in the Reading Rooms.
• All visitors to the Special Reading Rooms must sign the visitors' register and note their time of arrival. On leaving, whether temporarily or finally, the visitor must sign out giving the time. 

What you may take into the Reading Rooms

• You may take in paper for making notes, pencils, a laptop computer and books you need for your studies in the reading rooms.

Everything must be handed over to the librarian on duty both on entry and departure.

What is not allowed in the Reading Rooms? 

• Outdoor clothes, bags/computer cases.  (There are lockers and a manned cloakroom in the Library foyer.)
• Handbags, mobile phones, cameras, scissors, knives and other implements are not allowed. Small lockers are available outside the reading rooms.
• Food and drink are prohibited.

Loan periods

• Items that have been requested for use will be available for 8 days from the date of the request.
• You may have no more than 5 volumes on your desk at any one time.
• Material that will be used over a period of time can be stored in repositories in the reading rooms. The borrower's name is written on a chit and placed with the books. The date of each use will be noted.
• Materials will be returned to the stacks after 30 days if they have not been used.
• Items will be withdrawn after 30 days if another library user has requested them.

Handling the materials

In order to save our common cultural heritage for future generations, please handle items with due care.

• The librarian on duty may tell you where to sit if the item you are studying requires it.
• Keep the order of documents in their boxes or folders.
• Turn pages cautiously and do not pile opened books on top of each other.
• Items that are presented in plastic slip cases must not be removed from them.
• Use bookends, weights and protective plastic as directed by the staff.
• Use cotton gloves when studying photographs, negatives and photographic postcards. In all other cases ensure that your hands are clean when handling the materials you have requested.
• Maps and drawings must lie flat and not be allowed to overlap the edge of the table.
• Do not use the materials as a desk mat.
• Tracing is forbidden.
• Pencils are to be used, not pens.
• No materials may be removed from the reading rooms, not even reference books, without the permission of the librarian on duty.

What about photocopies and photography?

• All photocopying and photography is done by the staff at the Library. Photography with your own camera, scanner or other device is not permitted.
• The Library decides what items may be copied as well as the method of copying.

These rules were approved in December 2009.