The Center is open Monday-Friday from 10am to 2pm. The Center will be closed for university holidays, fall break, and spring break.

An appointment is not required; however, please be advised that research assistance may be limited on a walk-in basis. We strongly encourage you to contact us well in advance of a planned visit to discuss your research topic and confirm the availability of relevant materials.

For information about searching our collections, visit the Find Material page.

Visitors may bring laptops, cell phones, digital cameras, pencils, and notepaper into the reading room if they wish. Pens, food and beverages, bags or cases of any kind, and any other personal belongings will need to be placed in a locker for the duration of your visit. Personal research materials may be permitted subject to inspection and approval by a staff member.

Visitors may photograph materials themselves using digital cameras, touch-free overhead scanners, or mobile devices under the following circumstances:

• The materials are not restricted
• A staff member approves the request
• No flash or exposure to light is used

The following is not permitted:

• Personal scanners that require physical contact with the materials or expose them to bright light.
• Removing items from folders, or positioning them in a way that might damage them, in order to get a good photograph.

If a visitor is seen to be damaging materials or handling them roughly trying to get a good photograph, permission to photograph will be revoked.

Collections may be photographed for personal use only; permission to photograph does not constitute permission to publish. 

If you are unable to visit the Center in person, we will be happy to try to assist you remotely. Please contact us.

Photocopies of materials may be requested in person, by phone, or by email. As long as there are no restrictions or preservation concerns associated with the materials being requested, we can usually provide users with a limited number of photocopies or scans of material via email. We offer this service free of charge. Due to the high volume of inquiries we receive, please allow up to one week for a response to your request. Any copies provided will be for personal reference only and subject to copyright restrictions

• Limits on photocopying requests are determined on a case by case basis, but generally may not exceed more than 100 pages per user.

We are happy to assist with publication requests. Most materials in our collections require permission prior to being published or otherwise disseminated.  Please contact us via email, phone, or in person to discuss your needs.

We welcome visits from community groups or classes to use the Center's collections. Please visit our Instruction page for more information about how to request a group visit.

We accept donations of original materials that fit the Center's collection development policy. Please note that the Center's staff cannot accept unsolicited donations of materials in the reading room without advance notice. Please contact us to discuss the materials you wish to donate before bringing them to the library.

Users are welcome to bring in photography equipment to photograph materials exclusively for research/duplication purposes, subject to approval of such equipment by CSENCAH staff. 

If you are interested in filming in the reading room for other purposes, please reach out to csencah@uncw.edu at least 48 hours in advance. An appointment is required to film in the reading room. All filming requests are subject to the Library Filming policy and the policies of UNCW’s Enterprise Risk Management.