Policies and Services in the Reading Room

Abstract

Policies and services in archival reading rooms in South African
university libraries were studied by means of a survey. Ten reading
rooms were asked to answer ten questions regarding access to and
services in the reading room. It was found that South African archival
reading room policies agree on basic principles such as the
prohibition of food, drink and the use of cell phones. Differences exist
in policies around access to digitised copies of archival documents,
the use of gloves in handling photographs and documents, costs of
photocopying and scanning of photographs and documents and in
the use of portable digital devices for copying of photographs and
documents. Further study is necessary on the use of gloves in the
reading room and the use of personal scanners and digital cameras.
A more in-depth study is necessary in order to standardise charges
for services.