Use of the collections, and how to apply Benutzung der Bestände und Anmeldung
The charters, coins, card indexes, images and test records held by the Institute are open to use under section 4 of the statute and rules of use. Because the reading room has eight places and the staff numbers twenty-one, consultation is by appointment: application should be made five working days in advance, and only against an appointment confirmed in writing and should say as precisely as possible what is wanted, with the Institute's reference number where you have it. What follows is the practical side of the rules: how to apply, what the room is like, what may be copied, and what it costs.
Notice for the present. Since 1 January 2026 the reading room and the reference library open on Wednesday and Thursday, 10.00–15.30, without an interval at midday, and consultation is granted only against an appointment confirmed in writing. This follows from the reduction of the Institute's budget and is not a temporary arrangement of the kind that used to be announced here; it will be changed when and if the grant is restored, and a notice will be posted when it is. To save a reader a wasted journey: material is produced between 10.00 and 15.00, and the two people who produce it also answer the letters, so an appointment that has not been confirmed is not an appointment.
1. Making an appointment
| Matter | Practice |
|---|---|
| How far ahead | Five working days before the day you wish to come; fifteen working days where closed material is involved. |
| How | E-mail to benutzung [at] winddew.lab, by fax, or by post. An appointment may be made by telephone, extension 0 or 16, but must then be confirmed in writing before you come. |
| What to say | Your name, address or institution and a means of contact; the days you propose and how long you expect to stay; the purpose of the visit, whether a research subject or a commission; the material wanted, with reference numbers, dates, places of issue or names as precisely as you can; and whether you will need copies, images or testing. |
| How long a reply takes | Three working days. The answer says whether the material can be produced, how it will be issued in batches, where you will sit and whether laboratory time needs to be arranged separately. |
| Changing or cancelling | If you cannot come, say so the day before. Material is fetched for the day booked and a place is kept; a reader who fails to appear without word will be asked to explain before the next appointment is made. |
| How much at a time | Ten items at a time, twenty in the case of coins. A larger number is issued in batches, with not less than a day between them, so that everything can be checked back into the store. |
| The register | The reading-room register records the name of each reader, the purpose of the visit and the number of items issued. It provides the annual visitor figures and is handled as described in section 5 of the imprint. |
A specimen letter of application, for those who prefer a model
Dear Sir or Madam,
I should like to consult material at the Institute from 11 to 13 February 2025. My subject is the paper used in the Lüneburg court chancery in the fourteenth century. I should like to see the charter descriptions in KI-1 for the years 1420 to 1450, about twenty items, and the relevant entries in Division IV's index of hands (KI-7). I should also like to apply for image files at 1200 dpi of two charters, for use in a dissertation; they will not be used commercially. I have my own camera and would photograph some material for my own research, without flash.
Please let me know whether any further form is required.
Yours faithfully, — (name, address, e-mail, telephone)
2. In the reading room
| Matter | Rule |
|---|---|
| Arriving | Register at the academic office, room 1.02, and show identification; you will be given a reader's ticket for the day. Coats and bags go in the lockers in the hall; bring only gloves, pencils, paper and equipment that has been agreed. |
| Stationery | Pencils only, 2H and HB, supplied by the Institute. Ink pens, erasers, correcting fluid, adhesive tape and sticky labels may not be brought into the room. |
| Handling originals | Charters are consulted at the designated desk and do not leave the room. Cotton gloves are worn. No mark, fold, moisture or weight; nothing in direct sunlight or on a radiator. |
| Coins | Handled on a felt pad only, and never with a metal instrument. If they are to be weighed, the balance room is used and a member of Division I does the weighing. |
| Light | Four adjustable lamps are available; your own light needs the duty officer's agreement. Ultraviolet examination is limited to three minutes at a time. |
| Photography | Permitted for private research if registered first, without flash, and without a tripod standing over an original. Five frames per item; no charge. |
| Recording | A conversation with a member of staff may be recorded if you say so first; the Institute supplies no equipment and makes no transcript. |
| Food, drink, telephones | None in the room; telephones on silent, calls taken in the hall. |
| Afterwards | Leave material on the desk. A duty officer checks it back into the store; please do not return anything to the shelves or the strongroom yourself. |
3. Copies, images and testing
| Item | Charge | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| Photocopy, black and white, A4 | €0.25 a page | Made by the Institute; readers may not use the machine. Tightly bound or brittle items are not copied. |
| Photocopy, colour, A4 | €1.20 a page | Plate material is normally supplied as an image file instead, so that an original is not exposed repeatedly. |
| Image file, already captured at 1200 dpi | from €3.00 an item | Free for research, teaching and public institutions; beyond a reasonable number the cost of materials is charged. |
| Image file, to be captured | from €6.00 an item | A date is given when the capture is arranged. |
| Copy from microfilm | €0.40 a page | On thermal paper; must be copied again if it is to last. |
| Testing, partner institutions and public museums | no charge | See the terms of Division VI. |
| Testing, other academic institutions | from €6.00 an item | According to the method; the director decides on remissions. |
| Licence to publish or exhibit | free for academic publication | An application form is completed; commercial publication is charged at the rate set by the Land. |
| Postage | at cost | Media other than paper are sent by recorded delivery only. |
Anyone applying for a copy or an image is asked what it is for, how many are wanted and whether publication is intended. Images supplied carry the Institute's reference number and the words "not to be altered"; they may not be cropped, colour-adjusted or enlarged in part for separate publication. An application for a publication licence should be made eight weeks before publication, and is answered within fifteen working days.
4. What it is actually like to work here
Not a rule, but the things readers most often ask about or are surprised by.
- Places. Eight, two of them at sloping desks for charters. If two parties want to work on charters at once the Institute has to stagger them; say when applying that you need a sloping desk and it will be reserved.
- No air conditioning. The western sun is strong in the afternoon. Charters are better consulted in the morning. Tell us the day before if you expect a long session and the lighting over that desk will be reduced in advance.
- Winter temperature. Heating is capped at 19 °C for the sake of paper and parchment and will not be raised; bring a jacket.
- Transcribing. The Institute does not copy out long passages for readers. If you need a transcript, see the research data page for how to apply.
- Questions. Duty officers will find cards and explain the vocabulary of a description, but will not settle a research question for you; that belongs in a colloquium or an appointment with the division concerned.
- Lunch. There is no canteen. Two small restaurants stand at the mouth of the lane, three minutes away. There is a water tap and a kettle in the hall.
- Staying longer. A visitor staying two weeks or more is given a fixed place in the reading room with a small board bearing their name and subject; see the note at the foot of Teaching and instruction.
5. Questions we are asked
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Can you look something up for me without my coming? | Yes. Questions of fact — whether a charter is held, whether a year is described — are answered free of charge within ten working days. Transcriptions and images are charged as above. |
| May I send a list first and then decide whether to come? | Yes, and it is the better way. Twenty items is a sensible list; longer lists should be sent in instalments, since every card is found by hand. |
| May I have fifty charters out at once? | No. Ten at a time, further items in later batches. The limit protects the originals and keeps the checking back accurate; there are no exceptions. |
| May I photocopy the cards myself? | No. They are paper and suffer from handling and from the copier. Complete a slip and the Institute will copy, or apply for an image file. |
| May I use a laptop in the reading room? | Yes, on battery or from one of the two sockets provided, but never resting on or among originals. |
| May I bring a colleague? | Yes, say how many when applying. Places are limited, and anyone not consulting is asked to wait in the hall or the library. |
| What if the material I want is closed? | Closure follows section 4.6 of the rules of use; state the purpose of the research and how personal data will be handled and the director decides. Closure of personnel material for 1933 to 1945 is never waived. |
Compiled by the academic office. Where a charge or a period is changed, this page is the notice of record and anyone with an appointment is written to.
Page WI-SER-02 · compiled by M. Tiedemann · read by the director's office · last modified 18 September 2026