The Reading Room is open by appointment.
Reading Room is open to all researchers with a need to use items from our collection. Appointments are available Monday–Friday, 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. (CST). It is preferred that appointments be made at least three days prior to a visit. Note: Next day or same day appointments are not always available. Contact the Access Services Department at 773-955-4545 ext.288 or email asd@crl.edu to make arrangements for a visit.
Requesting Materials for Use in the Reading Room
When making an appointment, please provide Titles and/or catalog links to the material you would like to review. Prior to your arrival CRL staff will let you know if the requested title(s) are available. Be generous in your requested date(s) and time, sometimes multiple days are needed to review material requested and next day appointments may not be available on short notice. Paging additional titles on the day of your appointment may not be possible.
A Reading Room “request” is defined as a per-title maximum of:
- 12 reels of microfilm
- 24 sheets of microfiche
Using the Reading Room
CRL's Reading Room is located at our facility at 6050 S. Kenwood in Chicago. Our Reading Room has microform readers, printers, and power outlets for the use of researchers while on site. WiFi is not available. Within reason, users may bring their own devices, such as thumb drives, laptops, phones and cameras, to capture copies for their personal research use. In instances of simultaneous requests for materials or equipment, priority will be given to patron's from member libraries. CRL is a secure facility, under no circumstances may visitors browse our stack areas or enter staff only areas. CRL reserves the right to refuse access to the reading room when a person's behavior or activities are unreasonable, unlawful, or hazardous to our staff, facility or collection.
Copyright
CRL follows fair use guidelines for copyright. CRL staff will not provide copyright or publication advice to researchers.
Non-Member Fees for using the CRL Reading Room
Individual Researchers and those affiliated with non-member libraries may use the Reading Room in Chicago for a fee. All fees for visits are expected to be paid on the day of the visit. Payment is made by cash or credit card (please note we charge a 3.8% fee for each credit card transaction). Independent researchers and undergraduate/graduate students and faculty at non-member Colleges and Universities are charged a fee of $50 per request per day. Commerical Researchers are charged a fee of $75 per request per day. Should a visitor need additional days to review material a daily fee will be charged for each day. A list of CRL members is available here, https://www.crl.edu/membership/members