Access

Access to the Environmental Design Archives is by appointment only. The Research Room is open Wednesday through Friday, 9:00am to 4:30pm.

Reference inquiries are accepted by e-mail, phone, and fax. Contact Miranda Hambro, Assistant Curator, formore information or to schedule an appointment.
Email: designarchives@berkeley.edu
Tel. 510.642.5124 Fax. 510.642.2824

NOTE: due to an unusually high volume of "spam" and virus-infected email, many emails are being deleted unread. To ensure that your query is received and read, please use an appropriate subject line.

The collection is open to all members of the University of California community, as well as scholars, architects, landscape architects, preservationists, and the general public. Staff members will provide assistance in determining which materials are appropriate for specific research projects and will also refer researchers to other resources on and off campus. Finding aids for some collections are available through the Online Archive of California. More detailed finding aids to many of the collections are available at the Archives. Selected images from the collection can be viewed on SPIRO, the web site for the Architecture Visual Resources Library.

Fees

There is no research fee for students, faculty or staff of the University of California. An hourly research fee for using the collections is required for non-UC researchers. Reproduction, publication, and exhibition of images from the archives are also subject to fees.

Policies

Holdings of the Environmental Design Archives are available to faculty, staff, students, and the public for research, within conditions imposed by donor agreements and institutional policy. Researchers are also required to comply with access rules designed to protect archival material for use by future generations.

Researchers are required to complete a registration form and to furnish personal photographic identification, such as a valid driver's license, college or university identification, or an employer's identification card. The registration form includes a statement of agreement to abide by the Environmental Design Archives regulations, which researchers are required to read and sign before gaining access to collections.

Stack areas are closed to the public. Materials cannot be removed from the Archives. Researchers are not allowed to take coats, briefcases, backpacks, handbags, books, etc., to the research tables. We provide an area for the storage of such items. No food, drinks, or smoking is permitted.

Personal computers, typewriters, and tape recorders may be used for taking notes provided that their use does not disturb other researchers. Use of such equipment is subject to approval by the staff. Scanners are not permitted.

Access to collections does not constitute procurement of permission to publish, reproduce, exhibit, broadcast, or electronically disseminate Environmental Design Archives materials. Researchers must obtain permission for these activities by separate agreement with the Archives. Researchers are responsible for observing all U.S. and international copyright regulations.

Reproduction Services

The Environmental Design Archives provides reprographic services for a fee. Photographic reproductions and some other copying will be sent to external vendors. Researchers should consult the staff for current prices, procedures, and estimates of turnaround time. The Archives provides reprographic services on a prepaid basis only.

The Archives reserves the right to refuse reproduction of its materials due to their physical condition, donor limitations, or legal requirements. All photocopying is done by staff. If necessary, the copies will be mailed to you following your research visit.

The Archives provides reproductions for personal research only. Permission to publish, reproduce, exhibit, broadcast, or disseminate, including in electronic formats, must be obtained by separate agreement with the Environmental Design Archives. Procurement of copies is contingent on disclosure of purpose and does not constitute permission to publish, reproduce, exhibit, broadcast, or disseminate, including in electronic formats. Nor may copies be placed in another repository without prior written permission from the Environmental Design Archives. In addition, drawings from the collection may not be used to build new structures.