History of Medicine Collection Access
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About This Policy
- Effective Date:
- 04-01-2020
- Date of Last Review/Update:
- 08-04-2023
- Responsible University Office:
- Dean’s Office of Educational Affairs
- Responsible University Administrator:
Gabriel Rios -- Library Director
- Policy Contact:
Brandon Pieczko -- Digital and Special Collections Librarian; bpieczko@iu.edu
- Policy Feedback:
- If you have comments or questions about this policy, let us know with the policy feedback form.
- Print or view a PDF of this policy
- Many policies are quite lengthy. Please check the page count before deciding whether to print.
Scope
Ruth Lilly Medical Library staff who provide access to materials in the History of Medicine Collection and Indiana University faculty, staff, students, and members of the general public who use materials from the collection.
Policy Statement
General Room Regulations
- The History of Medicine room (IB 307) may be used for classes or research by contacting the curator directly. Preferred appointment hours are Monday-Friday 10:00am-4:00pm (excepting holidays when the library is closed), but exceptions may be made by prior arrangement.
- No eating or drinking is permitted in the reading room for the protection of the materials. When reserving the room, alternate room arrangements must be made for any food or beverage service accompanying a meeting or presentation.
- Only research materials, notebooks, pencils, laptop computers, tablets, digital cameras, cell phones, and adaptive/assistive equipment are allowed in the reading room. All other belongings must be stored at the front of the room or in lockers available on the second floor of the library. The library is not responsible for lost or stolen articles.
- Library staff have the right to inspect any materials taken into or removed from the History of Medicine Room for security purposes.
Use of Materials Regulations
- All materials in the History of Medicine Collection are non-circulating.
- Use pencil only for taking handwritten notes. Laptop computers may also be used.
- Handle all materials with care and retain the order of papers or items within a file or box. If you find damaged material or believe there are missing items within a file, please alert the staff.
- When viewing photographs, gloves (provided by library staff) must be worn to protect the photographs.
- When handling fragile materials, certain precautions may be taken (e.g., the use of gloves, book cradles, etc.) to ensure that the materials are not damaged. Library staff will instruct you on proper handling procedures.
- Photocopies and scans are not permitted by users. Users are permitted to take photos of materials with their camera or cell phone (without flash) for personal research use. For a fee, library staff may reproduce some items, within copyright restrictions, for individuals provided that the material is not fragile or damaged.
Copyright Disclaimer
Materials in the Ruth Lilly Medical Library History of Medicine Collection may be protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S. Code), which governs reproduction, distribution, public display, and certain other uses of protected works. Users of materials in the History of Medicine Collection are responsible for compliance with the law. Uses may be allowed with permission from the rights holder, or if the use is fair use or within another exception, or if the copyright on the work has expired. The Ruth Lilly Medical Library is the copyright holder for some, but not all, of the materials we hold. Please note that we do not know the copyright status or copyright holder for some of the material in our collection and cannot grant permissions for any materials to which we do not hold copyright. Contact us for information on the copyright status of specific materials.
Reason for Policy
This policy outlines policies and procedures for accessing materials in the History of Medicine Collection, a non-circulating special collection unit within the Ruth Lilly Medical Library. Its primary purpose is to ensure the accessibility of historical resources to researchers while protecting the library’s special collection assets.
Procedures
- All on-site researchers who use materials from the History of Medicine Collection should complete and sign a User Agreement Form before accessing materials in the collection.
Definitions
User agreement form – A formal document that must be signed by all on-site patrons who use materials in the Ruth Lilly Medical Library’s History of Medicine Collection. In addition to outlining policies for use of the collection, the form also records demographic information about users as well as their research topic for statistical purposes.
Sanctions
- Researchers and other visitors to the History of Medicine Collection who repeatedly violate the policy will be asked to leave and denied future access to the collection.
History
- Policy created on 01 April 2020.
- Policy updated with minor cosmetic changes on 04 August 2023.