The University of Oklahoma Libraries’ Bizzell Memorial Library Fifth Floor (BL5) Special Collections encompass four areas:

• History of Science Collections
• William Bennett Bizzell Bible Collection
• Harry W. Bass Business History Collection
• John and Mary Nichols Rare Books and Special Collections

All of these collections are held on the 5th floor of Bizzell Memorial Library. All books, papers, and artifacts in these collections are accessed in the Duane H. D. Roller Reading Room. The following policies and procedures apply to all four of the collections.
 

• Download a printable copy of the BL5 Policies and Procedures.

Availability of Materials for Public Use: Standard hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Saturdays 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Hours may vary during summer, intersession, and holidays. On home football game Saturdays the reading room is open until 2:00 p.m., but the exhibit hall is open until kickoff time. For questions regarding our hours, contact the welcome desk at (405) 325-2760, or view the website. Researchers are encouraged to contact the collections prior to an onsite visit to determine the availability and volume of desired materials. Access to some materials may be limited on Saturdays. Vault items are customarily pulled and made available to patrons within 48 hours or two working days. Materials are not circulated (checked out) from the reading room.
 
Application Procedures: Applicants who apply in person to access the reading room shall complete and sign a Researcher Registration Form each day the materials are used. Researchers who apply to use BL5 Special Collections materials shall provide acceptable photo identification upon request.
 
Research Policy: Special Collections staff members make every effort to assist researchers, but extensive research projects cannot be undertaken. Staff members do not interpret information contained in the materials. Requests for information by telephone or mail are handled as time and circumstance permit.
 
Copy Services: Limited copies for research purposes are provided for on-site patrons in the form of low resolution PDF scans supplied by e-mail. For additional details, please see the Copy Policy below. The curators will limit any copy activity that endangers the physical preservation of the materials, or if the request interferes with the staff's ability to serve other researchers.
 
Reading Room Use:
Access: Use of certain published materials and manuscripts is restricted by law, by reason of their origin, or by donor agreement. For the protection of its holdings, the BL5 Special Collections also reserve the right to restrict the use of unprocessed materials, or books and documents of exceptional value and fragility. Use of any material is subject to the approval of the curators.

Copyright: Published and unpublished materials may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. §§ 101-810), which governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Permission to publish must be secured from the rights holders. Responsibility for determining the rights holders and adhering to copyright law rests with the researcher. Any copies of published and unpublished materials provided by the BL5 Collections are for research, scholarship, and study purposes only, and are not to be placed on file in any other repository. Use of certain published materials and manuscripts is restricted by law, by reason of their origin, or by donor agreement. For the protection of its holdings, BL5 Special Collections also reserve the right to restrict the use of unprocessed materials, or books and documents of exceptional value and fragility. Use of any material is subject to the approval by the curators. See also the Copyright Notice within the Copy Policy (next section, below).

Researchers' Responsibility for Materials: Researchers acknowledge the receipt of all materials used by their signature on the Researcher Registration Form. The curators will typically limit the quantity of books and manuscript materials made available in the reading room to five books / four document cases at a time (with one document case on a desk at a time, and only one folder is to be removed from a document case at a time). Requests for materials to be pulled must be submitted 45 minutes prior to closing time. Researchers are responsible for all materials delivered to them until they are removed from the reading room by a staff member.

Keeping Materials in Order: Researchers shall keep unbound materials in the order in which they are delivered and filed. Researchers shall not rearrange materials appearing to be disordered, but shall notify the curators about the condition.

Preventing Damage to Materials: Researchers shall exercise all possible care to prevent damage to materials. Researchers may use pencils in the reading room. The use of pens, highlighters, or "rubber fingers" is not permitted. Materials shall not be written on, leaned on, folded anew, traced, fastened with rubber bands or metal paper clips, or handled in any other way likely to cause damage. Adhesive notes may not be attached to original materials. Researchers shall immediately notify a staff member should damage of any kind occur to any materials. Under no circumstances shall a researcher attempt to repair damage. The use of materials of exceptional value or in fragile condition may be subject to additional conditions as specified by the curators.

Microfilm Copies and Digital Access: BL5 Special Collections will not provide original materials for research use if suitable digital access or a microfilm copy of the materials is available.

Removal of Materials: Researchers shall not remove materials from the reading room. Briefcases, books from outside the collections, backpacks, coats, wraps, purses, and other personal articles must be stored in the lockers provided on site. Researchers shall, on request, present for inspection on leaving the reading room, any package, envelope, or other article which could contain materials furnished for researcher use.

Use of Sound Recording Equipment: Researchers shall request sound recordings from a staff member who will instruct the researcher in the proper use of the equipment. Researchers shall operate equipment in a manner which will prevent damage to either the equipment or the material. The curators may place time limitations on the use of sound recording equipment in order to permit other researchers access to the machines.

Use of Personal Copying and Recording Equipment: Researchers may request permission to photograph books and manuscripts using their own handheld devices. The photograph permission request form is available online and at the research desk. Photograph collections may not be photographed. All camera/device flashes are prohibited, and electronic equipment must not directly contact collection materials. Flatbed scanners are not allowed. All such photography is subject to staff approval and supervision. Researchers are solely responsible for recording their own citations for all materials used, copied, and photographed.

Conduct: Researchers are not allowed to eat, drink, or smoke in the reading room. Cell phones must be set to “Silent” and be used only outside the reading room. Loud talking or other activity which may disturb other researchers is also prohibited.

Pets: Researchers cannot bring animals into the reading room. Registered service animals are exempt from this regulation.

Retrieval: All stacks are closed. Research materials will be retrieved from and returned to closed areas by staff members. Researchers shall not enter the stack areas.

Recommended Citation: For citations in published or unpublished papers, this repository should be listed in the following format, inserting the name of the appropriate collection: [Name of Collection], University of Oklahoma Libraries, Norman, Oklahoma. Example: History of Science Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries, Norman, Oklahoma. Collections of papers or archives should also include the name of the manuscript or archives collection, along with the box and folder number. Example: John Doe Collection, Box 5, Folder 2. Bass Business History Collection, University of Oklahoma Libraries, Norman, Oklahoma.
 

General Provisions 

• The BL5 Special Collections provide copies only for research use by the person requesting them. Copies provided are not to be used by other researchers or placed in any other library, museum, or repository.
• The BL5 Special Collections reserve the right to limit or deny copy requests of rare or fragile materials. All copy requests are subject to approval by collections' staff.
• The number of copies to be made from any manuscript or archives collection is limited to 500 pages.
• Interlibrary loan requests are not permitted for older, rare, and fragile materials; vault materials; or manuscripts, photographs, maps, posters, and sound recordings.
• The BL5 Collections do not claim copyright to materials in the collections. The researcher is responsible for determining copyright for any materials used.
• Permission to publish must be secured from the rights holders. Responsibility for determining the rights holders and adhering to copyright law rests with the researcher.
• The researcher is responsible for crediting the proper collection for any materials used.

Reading Room Copy (Scanning) Policy 

• All copying of collections materials on OU Libraries’ equipment will be performed by collections staff.
• Copies are provided as low-resolution PDF scans sent by e-mail, usually within 48 hours or 2 working days.
• On-site scan requests should be submitted to collections staff no later than 45 minutes prior to closing time.
• Researchers may request permission to photograph books and manuscripts using their own handheld devices by completing a photography request form, available online and at the Research Desk. Researchers are not permitted to take photographs of the people or premises of the Collections (with the exception of the decorative screen and exhibit cases.) Photograph collections may not be photographed. All camera/device flashes are prohibited, and electronic equipment must not directly contact collection materials. Flatbed scanners are not allowed. All such photography is subject to staff approval and supervision. Researchers are solely responsible for recording their own citations for all materials used, copied, and photographed.  

Copyright Restrictions on Copying 

• Only two chapters per book or two articles per journal issue may be copied, or 20 percent of a book or journal volume, not to exceed 50 pages (whichever comes first).
• Only 20 percent of a musical score may be copied, as long as that portion copied does not comprise a performable unit of work.
• No portion of a work intended by the publisher to be consumed by the original user may be copied (e.g. workbooks, etc.)

Materials in the Public Domain 
No laws restrict copying of public domain materials. However, BL5 Special Collections reserve the right to limit or deny copying in order to protect materials which might be physically harmed as a result of such copying.
 

The U.S. Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. §§ 101-810) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.