Visiting the Reading Room

Opening hours

The Reading Room is open Monday - Thursday, 9.30am - 6pm by appointment-only. Please give us as much notice of your visit in advance as possible, but at least a minimum of two working days.

Material should be ordered in advance where possible. No documents will be brought to the Reading Room between 1pm and 2pm, to allow for staff lunch breaks, or after 4pm.

All material will need to be returned 15 minutes before closing.

To make an an appointment, please email mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk 

Facilities and resources

• Staff to assist with any queries about our holdings and catalogues.
• Dedicated computers for Library and Manuscript online catalogues, and for digitised material.
• Microfilm and microfiche reader available for general use.
• For visitors to The University of Nottingham: access to a wide range of electronic resources who register for the walk-in user service.
• Wifi access via eduroam or for visitors who register for a temporary account.
• Lockers to store bags, laptop cases and coats whilst using the Reading Room.
• Fully wheelchair accessible area, with adapted toilet facilities nearby.
• For those who can't visit the Reading Room, we have a document visualizer to provide access to materials remotely via Teams (or Zoom). For more information see the video below:
  
  
  
  

Visiting

Anyone is welcome to visit the Reading Room. If you wish to consult the archives or rare books, contact us in advance, to let us know the references of the material you want to see, and to make an appointment to view the material, which can then be made ready for you. 

On your first visit you will be asked to register as a reader. Please see our 'Regulations and Registration' page for more information.

Availability of items

For various reasons, access to some material may be restricted.  Every effort will be made to give readers advance warning of such problems.  

Next page: Getting to the Reading Room