Onsite Use of Special Collection Materials
Be sure to plan ahead if you’d like to use special collections materials onsite in our reading room.
Request the materials you'd like to view and schedule an appointment at least 10 days in advance. If you plan to request 10 boxes or more, please contact us directly at special.collections@umich.edu at least 2 weeks in advance of your visit.
During your visit, you can capture images using your camera or phone. There may be some exceptions, especially with fragile materials.
Get started
To get started, make sure you’re registered as a researcher to access our materials.
See our introduction to finding special collections and archival materials if it’s new to you.
Request materials
We use a few different tools to describe our varied collections. How you place a request depends on where you found the item.
As part of your request, you need to make an appointment to use the materials. Once you have an appointment slot, you can continue adding materials to it.
Library Search or Subject Vertical File
From U-M Library Catalog Search or the Labadie Collection Subject Vertical File listing:
- Select Request this, which will take you to our reading room request form. Log in if needed.
- Complete the form — including making an appointment.
Online finding aid
From the online finding aid you’re interested in:
- Select Request Material From This Collection for Use in the Special Collections Research Center. Log in if needed
- The finding aid will appear in your request account with a list of checkboxes. Select Expand All to see a detailed content list for each box and select the respective checkbox to request it. If a single box number is repeated in the selection list, it only needs to be checked once.
- Complete the form — including making an appointment.
Make an appointment and submit
Under Appointment, either select the New Appointment button to view available dates and times, or choose an existing appointment from the drop-down menu.
To schedule a new appointment:
- Double-click in the calendar’s white space for available dates and times (please wait about 10 seconds for your browser to load this grid).
- After selecting a date, set the length of your appointment in the pop-up window and select the Schedule button.
- Your appointment will appear as a blue block in the grid. Select Close for the appointment selection window
After your appointment is set, select Submit to complete the request. We will email to confirm your visit date and time.
A number of our collections are located off-site and require time for us to make them available. Our staff may contact you to reschedule depending on the delivery schedule.