Reading Room Rules

Before commencing research, all researchers must review and agree to the following rules of the Archives' Reading Room. Please read them carefully. For further information on any of these points, please consult a member of the Archives staff.

1.　Permission to use the Archives for the purposes of conducting scholarly research is granted by the Archives staff, in accordance with established access policies. Any commercial use of archival materials requires the approval of the General Council of the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America, Inc., the Congregational Leadership Team of the Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic, Inc., or the Leadership Team of the Maryknoll Lay Missioners.

2.　Permission to use the Archives does not constitute permission to quote from or to publish any materials. Permission to quote from archival materials must be requested in writing from the Archives. In addition, researchers are asked to provide the Maryknoll Mission Archives with a complimentary copy of any resulting publication or production.

3.　Researchers must complete and sign a "Researcher Application" form, providing contact information and stating the purpose of their research and the records they propose to consult. Your signature on this form constitutes your agreement to abide by the reading room rules.

4.　Researchers must assume full responsibility for conforming to the laws of libel and literary copyright that may be involved in the use of archival materials. (See "Copyright Note" at end of document.)

5.　Access to the stack area is restricted. Researchers request materials from the Archives staff, who will delivery the materials to the reading room. Only three boxes or volumes of materials can be provided at a time.

6.　When working with boxed archival materials, please remove only one folder at a time. Use the placeholder provided in order to ensure proper folder location before removing the next folder. Please maintain the order of the documents within each folder.

7.　Researchers must return all materials to the Archives staff. No materials may be removed from the Archives, nor may they be transferred to another researcher for review without the knowledge and consent of the Archives staff.

8.　For security purposes, the Archives staff reserves the right to inspect all articles brought into the reading room. Food and beverages are prohibited at researcher tables.

9.　Records shall be handled with care. The use of pens is prohibited. Pencils are available for researchers to use. The tracing of documents is not permitted. Researchers are not permitted to add, remove or alter information contained in any archival materials. Laptop computers and/or tape recorders may be used in the Archives as long as other researchers are not disturbed.

The Archives can reproduce most archival materials for a moderate fee. Researchers desiring photographic duplication or photocopy services should review and complete the appropriate forms. The Archives staff will review the proper procedures for identifying items to be copied - please do not remove materials from their folders. Archives staff performs all photocopying. The Archives reserves the right to refuse to photocopy materials.

COPYRIGHT NOTE: The Society, the Congregation and the Lay Missioners own the copyright only to materials produced by their respective members or employees in the course of work for the Society, the Congregation and the Lay Missioners. The copyright privileges to materials received by the Society, the Congregation, and/or the Lay Missioners regardless of format, remains with the creating/generating individual or organization. Although these materials are contained in the Archives, it is the responsibility of researcher interested in quoting from such documents to secure permission from these individual authors or organizations.