University of Guelph Library
Students, faculty, visiting scholars, and members of the general public with research inquiries are welcome.
Hours
The hours for the Archival & Special Collections Reading Room can be found on the main Library Service Hours page.
Note: Retrievals always end fifteen minutes prior to closing time.
The Wellington County Room (Reading Room)
The reading room for the Archival and Special Collections is called the Wellington County Room, as county funds provided the major contribution to the Library's cost of renovating this area in 1990. To reach this room take the single elevator or set of stairs in the southeast tower (past the Circulation/Reserve area located at the front entrance) to the lower level.
The reading room is designated as a library "quiet area" intended for private study and research. Conversation should be very quiet and brief, and cell phone use is not allowed. Laptop computers may be used with sound and audio features turned off.
The reading room has two computer workstations that take precedence as express stations for searching the library catalogue; they are not designated for working on assignments. Please note that these computers are subject to the library's No Parking policy: personal belongings left unattended at a computer/audiovisual equipment workstation for more than fifteen minutes may be removed by Facilities staff and kept at the Circulation desk to be claimed by the owner.
There is a microfilm/microfiche reader, tape recorder, television, VCR and 8mm film player for use with our audiovisual materials.
Wood's prize mower
There is no food or drink in the Wellington County Room. Notes must be made in pencil or by computer (Microsoft Word is available on two workstations), and rare books or materials may require handling with gloves. Displays of our research collections can be found in our Cameron and Anne Armstrong Memorial Gallery.
Finding & Accessing Materials
The Primo catalogue — shared with the universities of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier — is the primary tool for identifying materials housed in the Archival and Special Collections section. Please consult our guide for the best way to find our holdings by using multiple combined keywords, e.g. Una Abrahamson Collection or Shaw Festival Archives, in conjunction with the use of catalogue search limits. Guelph records that bear the location Archives, Rare Books, or Restricted Collection do not circulate and must be asked for in the Wellington County Room. Researchers are asked to complete a request form before any item is retrieved as public access to these "closed" stacks is not permitted. We do not require formal registration: acceptable identification, such as a current university card or driver's license, will be held while the material is in use, and, in the case of certain collections, an additional acknowledgement form must be signed. Retrievals normally take only a few minutes unless materials are located in our storage facility.
All material is to be consulted in the Wellington County Room and must be returned to the staff at closing time, when it can be set aside for use the following working day if required. The only exceptions are books from the Restricted Collection which are housed here for various reasons relating to format, condition, or value. Unless stamped as non-circulating, these books may be borrowed according to regular circulation procedures and loan periods by valid borrowers. Certain special collections, such as non-rare and non-archival parts of the Scottish Collection, may be located elsewhere in the Library, according to the subject involved and may necessitate consultation with staff.
All material must be returned to the staff at closing time, when it can be set aside for use the following working day if required.