Our Policies
Learn more about our General Use & Service Policies below.
Other important policies:
General Use & Service Policies
Students, faculty, researchers, and members of the community are welcome to use most Special Collections & University Archives material. However, that material must be used in the Special Collections reading room with SC&UA personnel present. SC&UA materials do not circulate. Most material may be photocopied or scanned subject always to donor restrictions, copyright law, and the condition of the material (see expanded discussion below). The reading room has convenient electrical outlets for laptop computers and cameras. Please ask a staff member for assistance if you wish to make scans or photocopies.
Patrons may conduct their own research by using material in the Archives reference area near the east end of the reading room. Copies of UNI student newspapers, yearbooks, catalogues, budgets, and alumni magazines are located in this area.
In the case of quick fact-checking, the forms of communication noted above may be sufficient. However, a personal visit generally produces the most satisfactory results for all but the most basic research.
We are happy to help you identify resources and information and to use the materials in our collections. Given limited resources and staffing, some requests may take over two weeks to complete, and we are unable to provide ongoing, in-depth research assistance to individuals. For some complex research requests or in cases where you are unable to visit SC&UA in person, you may need to hire an independent researcher. We appreciate your patience and cooperation.
Please respect a librarian, archivist, or assisting staff member's evaluation of an item as too fragile, confidential, restricted, or otherwise unsuitable for use or access. Such conditions are often detailed in the Conditions Governing Access and / or Technical Access fields in a collection's finding aid.
Instruction Sessions - Spring 2025
Special Collections & University Archives is not able to offer library instruction on primary source literacy or classroom instruction with archival materials during the Spring 2025 semester due to the loss of the library’s archival instructor, resulting in a reduced number of staff.
While we cannot accommodate leading or hosting instruction sessions - including those that our archival instructor has taught in the past, we are happy to support any classroom projects involving the university's Sesquicentennial celebration. Please note that for Sesquicentennial projects, we cannot craft projects or assignments but can provide access to Special Collections & University Archives materials and provide guidance on how to use and work with the materials. If you are planning to use SC&UA materials in relation to your course, please first reach out to archives staff at libarchives@uni.edu to make sure that we have collections that can support such a project. We can then work to determine how to best provide access to your students.
SC&UA remains open for research by appointment and archives staff are able to help with reference and digitization requests. Please be aware that with reduced staffing, there may be longer turnaround times and some limitations on services offered. You can email them at libarchives@uni.edu or visit scua.library.uni.edu for more information.
We encourage students to learn more about primary source literacy with this tutorial. For additional information about pre-existing primary source sets, please visit the Primary Source Sets LibGuide created by Special Collections & University Archives and UNI Museum faculty and staff.
Preferred Citation
Adapt for each collection / series accordingly.
- [Identification of item], in the [Series / Collection Title], [folder and / or box number or title when applicable], #[series number], [Collection Name], Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa.
- Example: "Kindergarten," undated, in the University of Northern Iowa Photograph Collections, folder PLS 2, #23, University Archives, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa.
- Example: "1992 Annual Report," in the Curriculum & Instruction Brochures and Announcements collection, box 1, folder 2, #13/02/01, University Archives, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa.
- Example: Voter wagon newspaper clipping, in the Black Hawk-Bremer League of Women Voters Records, box 5, "Voter service" folder, #MsC-11, Manuscripts Collection, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa.