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ITS has issued the following reading room rules according paragraph 6 of the User Regulation. They will allow users to pursue their studies undisturbed. At the same time the rules serve the protection of the original documents.

It is emphasized that these rules be observed along with the » User Regulation and the » User Statement

Opening Hours:

Monday - Thursday: 8:30 a.m. – 5.00 p.m. (changes reserved)
Friday: 8:30 a.m. – 13.00 p.m.

Issuing of Archives

(in this context, please see » paragraph 3 of the User Regulation)

Monday – Thursday: 9.00 - 11.00 a.m. and 2.00 – 4.00 p.m.
Friday: 9.00 - 11.00 a.m.

Reading Room Rules of the International Tracing Service (Bad Arolsen)

According to » paragraph 6 of the User Regulation of the International Tracing Service (ITS), the following reading room rules are issued:

Working in the reading room, making use of technical equipment

1. On principle, the archives of the ITS can be accessed in the reading room of the ITS only. The user must not remove archives, finding aids, microfilms or other documents/files presented to him/her from the reading room.
2. A particular work station or place in the reading room cannot be claimed. The supervisory staff in the reading room is entitled to reserve single work tables or give the users particular places. They may prescribe the use of certain access-ing aids or other measures they deem fit for preserving the archives.
3. Technical equipment such as personal computers or luminescent reading glasses may be utilized as far as and as long as damage to the archives or in-terference with the reading room activities can be ruled out. Mobile phones must not be used in the reading rooms.
4. The archive is not to be held responsible for objects users brought into the reading room.

Conduct in the reading room

1. Clothes and bags must not be brought into the reading room. Pigeonholes and lockers are available outside the reading room.
2. To allow users to pursue their studies undisturbed, strict silence is to be kept in the reading room.
3. Users must neither smoke nor eat or drink in the reading room.
4. The instructions given by the supervisory staff in the reading room are to be obeyed. They may forbid users in particular to bring specific objects into the reading room.

Identifying and ordering archives, guidance

1. The overall surveys of the ITS documentation users may find online and in the reading room offer them initial guidance relating to the holdings on stock. To identify the individual archival units, though, users in general will have to look through the (digital) inventories, finding books and indexes of the ITS relating to the respective holdings. Doing so, they will, as a rule, continue to depend on assistance given by ITS staff – at least until the ITS is able to place further finding aids at their disposal.
2. The supervisory staff in the reading room or the responsible caseworker can only give such guidance as is justified compared to their other duties.
3. On principle, the archives are ordered electronically. When the user of the archives has signed a user statement, a user account will be opened for him or her and a password be issued. The user profile will include information as to when visitors of the archive may log in and which user permits apply.
4. For every user project, the subject of the paper, the purpose of use and possibly also the name and contact data of the client initially are to be indicated (the application for use is to be filled in definitely!) The documents ordered are taken out of the archive at fixed times. So to avoid any waiting periods, the us-ers may order in advance a limited number of archives quoting the accurate file numbers.
5. The archival units ordered are to be used on principle in the reading room only and on the very day they were ordered. The supervisory staff in the reading room may reserve, for limited time, archives that were taken out, but have not yet been looked through or are needed once again.
6. After consulting with the supervisory staff in the reading room, the client may also use literature from the library holdings of the ITS.

Using the archives

1. The archives ordered are handed out by the supervisory staff in the reading room and are to be handed back to them after use. Having finished his/her work, the user is obliged to report to the supervisory staff in the reading room that he is leaving.
2. On principle, the client is presented a maximum of three archival units to look through at the same time.
3. The client cannot claim to look through original documents. As far as paper copies, microforms or digital copies are available for use, original documents may be presented to the client with the explicit permission of the responsible caseworker only.
4. On principle, archives that either are damaged or in danger to get damaged through use must not be presented to the client. In special and well-founded circumstances, the responsible caseworker may allow access on special con-ditions.
5. The archives presented are to be touched/treated with utmost care. In particular, it is to be avoided to change the order of the archives, remove integral parts of the archives such as sheets, slips of paper, envelopes, seals, stamps and postage stamps, attach new notes to the archives or erase existing ones or use the archives as writing or drawing pad.
6. Reading the archives, the user must neither hold them in his/her hands nor lean their backs against the edge of the table. While using them, he is to place them onto the table surface if there are no special devices to be used. Nor is the user permitted to lean on the archives or moisten his/her fingers when leaving through the pages.
7. Bound archives must be opened with care. They must not be filed open with their backs upward. The supervisory staff in the reading room may prescribe the use of bookstands and devices for fastening open pages.
8. Maps and other large-format documents must not hang over the edge of the table.
9. The user may be obligated to wear cotton gloves available from the supervisory staff of the reading room at cost price when handling sensitive papers, coloured cards/maps and prints, manuscripts and photographic documents.
10. Even when taking a short break only, the user must close the archives.
11. Damage assessed and irregularities stated of the archives must be reported to the supervisory staff in the reading room immediately.
12. After finishing his/her work, the user must pack the archives in their due and proper order – assisted, if necessary, by the supervisory staff. It has to be applied such care as to prevent any damage whatsoever.
13. The rules come to for using the archives accordingly apply to using finding aids, other aids and reproductions.

Reproductions of archives

1. The user must neither photograph or scan nor otherwise copy or photocopy the archives by help of electronic storage media.
2. The ITS itself (or a firm ITS commissions to do) will take care of all types of photographing and copying orders within the scope of what is possible today. All further details are covered by the scale of fees of the ITS in its current ver-sion. Order forms and fees’ lists are available both on the ITS website and from the supervisory staff in the reading room that will also take the respective orders.
3. The documents of the archival units that are to be reproduced must be duly marked by the paper strips available to that purpose only.
4. If interested in having digitised documents reproduced, the user must fill in the respective order form. He/she may order: paper printouts, CD ROM, DVD or copies on hard disk. The costs depend on the order scale and the personnel needed (see the » scale of fees of the ITS).

Restriction, denial and withdrawal of the right to use

As far as the reasons cited in » paragraph 6 and/or » paragraph 7 of the user regulation apply, especially so if the user either repeatedly or severely violates the user regulation or reading room rules or does not adhere to conditions of use imposed on him, the ITS may restrict or deny his/her right of using the archives. 

Entry into force

These reading room rules enter into force promptly as non-published administrative direction of the ITS.