Aeon
RBSCP is now using Aeon, UR’s Special Collections request system to manage researcher visits and reproduction requests. Aeon replaces the online and paper forms we had been using. If you would like to visit us in-person, request digitization, or book an optional appointment, you must create an Aeon account and submit your request there.
Instruction
Our curators have extensive experience teaching with primary sources. We work with faculty across the University to provide hands-on instructional sessions that introduce students to our collections and help them build archival research skills. Classes, groups, and individuals are welcome to visit us. Please contact the department to arrange for a class session in RBSCP.
Research
We welcome researchers of all backgrounds and with all levels of experience working with archives and special collections. Our curators and staff are here to help you navigate our collections and achieve your research goals. Although it is not required, we suggest that researchers make an appointment and complete an online registration form prior to their visit. All researchers must create an Aeon account to make an appointment.
Researchers may bring laptops, phones, cameras, chargers, pencils, and loose paper into the Reading Room. All other personal items must be left in one of our lockers.
We are not a circulating library; all of our material must be consulted in our Reading Room.
Digitization and Publication
Researchers are allowed to use personal cameras and RBSCP's document scanner while in the Reading Room. Most of our collection material can be imaged. We also provide digital reproductions of material from its holdings for research and publication. We also reserve the right to limit reproductions because of physical, contractual, or copyright restrictions. Researchers must complete a Reproduction Order Form, noting as much information about the item as possible, including collection or book title, and box, file number, and/or call number. Researchers must create an Aeon account to submit a reproduction request. Digital reproductions will be emailed to the researcher. Researchers can request up to 300 pages per semester. There is no charge. Orders take 8 to 10 weeks to complete.
With few exceptions, we do not hold the copyright to materials in its care and, therefore, cannot grant or deny permission to use them. Accordingly, you are solely responsible for determining the copyright status of any materials you may wish to use, to investigate the owner of the copyright, and to obtain permission for your intended use. In all cases you must cite “Rare Books, Special Collections and Preservation” as the source with the appropriate credit line, and, if a particular material is copyrighted, you must cite all copyright information and comply with all other terms or restrictions that may be applicable to that material.
Internships and Fellowships
RBSCP offers many opportunities to get hands-on experience working with archival materials through internships and student projects. If you have an interest in working with a specific collection or exploring a specific subject matter, please contact us.
Year Round Internships
English Department Internship Program in RBSCP
The internship is designed to encourage and support University of Rochester undergraduate students’ engagement in research-based projects using primary source materials in RBSCP. The internship aims to stimulate students' personal and intellectual growth as well as build and strengthen library and archival research and innovation. Internships are offered Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters.
Contact in the English Department: Curt Smith
Summer Internships and Fellowships
Students Experiencing History Directly
This internship will provide an opportunity to engage directly with archival material. Working independently and with direct supervision by a graduate student and indirect supervision by library staff and faculty, interns will use 21st-century techniques and innovative digital media skills to understand, analyze, and interpret rare and unique historical material. Interns will bring archival materials to broader audiences through developing a digital project, transcribing digitized letters, manuscripts, and oral histories, or creating of a collection description and online finding aid.
David and Ann Vincent Fellowship
Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation (RBSCP) in the River Campus Libraries at the University of Rochester offers two competitive, short-term student fellowships to support research for one undergraduate and one graduate student in the summer of 2026. The fellowships are available to undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral researchers at the University of Rochester or such students outside the Rochester, NY metropolitan area. They are intended to support academic research and creative projects that would benefit from research conducted on-site in RBSCP. Fellowships run six weeks, from May 15 to June 30, 2026. The graduate fellowship provides $7,000 and the undergraduate fellowship provides $5,000.
For further information, please visit the fellowship listing on the Humanities Center website: https://www.sas.rochester.edu/humanities/students/vincent-fellowship.html
Exhibitions
RBSCP has a robust exhibitions program with spaces in the department and other parts of the River Campus Libraries. We showcase collections, research, and develop creative and innovative ways to look at how exhibition work can be used as a teaching and research tool. Exhibits change on a regular basis. We welcome individuals to contact us if they have an idea for an exhibit based on our collections or their experience working with the collections, or have an idea for a collaboration of any size or scale.
Events
We host both physical and virtual events. Please contact us if you have recently used material from our collection in a publication, project, or other project and would like to collaborate on an event or talk. See our events calendar to find out more about our upcoming events.
