Terms and Conditions

These rules are in place to ensure the security and preservation of the collections in our care and to provide for the overall safety of our readers and staff.

• A valid reader’s ticket is required if you wish to study or research in the reading rooms.
• You must show your reader’s ticket on entering a reading room and before material is issued to you.
• A digital image of your ticket on your phone or device is not acceptable.
• Outdoor coats, jackets and bags (including laptop cases and pencil cases) are not permitted and must be left in the lockers provided for this purpose.
• Pencils only are allowed in the reading rooms even if you are not using the collections.
• Pens, erasers, markers, sharpeners, highlighters and any sharp implements are not permitted in the reading rooms as they can damage the collections. 
• Food and drink (including bottled water) are not permitted in the reading rooms.
• In the event of an emergency evacuation please follow the directions of staff.
• You are reminded that it is your responsibility to comply fully with copyright law when using National Library of Ireland materials.

• The National Library of Ireland is a reference only library. Material may not be removed from the reading rooms.
• Theft will result in legal action or criminal prosecution.
• The material in the collections must be handled with great care at all times, please follow the guidance provided by our staff as they are expert in caring for the collections.
• When items from our collections are issued to you, they are your responsibility at all times. Please return them to reading room staff when you are leaving your desk, even for a short time.
• Should you wish to make a copy of material from our collections, please seek permission from staff beforehand.
• When permitted, digital devices (phones, small cameras or a tablet) may be used to take images. Flash photography is not permitted.
• Scanners or tripods are not permitted.
• When you make a copy of an item in our collections you are responsible for ensuring that any re-use complies with copyright legislation.
• If a surrogate copy of an item is available on microfilm or as a digital image on our online catalogue, the original item will not be issued.
• There may be times that material is deemed too delicate to issue and this may not be apparent until the material is retrieved. Where feasible we will contact you if this is the case.
• In the Manuscripts Reading Room, readers can consult only one folder of loose material at a time. Material in the folder must be kept in the original order.

When you are on library premises we would ask you to:

• Treat our staff and other readers with courtesy and respect.
• Respect the privacy of others.
• Behave in a manner so as not to disturb or inconvenience others.
• Do not take selfies, videos or photographs of the reading rooms as this is disruptive and an invasion of readers’ and staff privacy. 
• Phones, laptops, tablets, and other devices must be on silent mode, and must not cause any disturbance to other readers.
• Do not take or make calls in the Reading Rooms. If you need to take a call please move to where you will not disturb other readers.

The NLI provides access to WiFi and e-Resources free of charge for research and reference purposes. When using NLI computers and our network the following conditions apply:

The NLI:

• assumes no liability for any loss, damage or injury, direct or indirect, suffered as a result of using the NLI’s computer resources or network.
• is not liable for any third party content on the electronic subscription resources or the Internet that users may find offensive, upsetting or inflammatory.
• is not liable for any security breaches, including viruses or malware, suffered by readers or visitors when using NLI equipment or network, or for any loss or damage suffered as a result of the unavailability of NLI equipment or the Internet, including interruptions during use.

Security

The following activities are prohibited on the NLI’s computers or on personal devices connected to the NLI’s Wifi network:

• any activity prohibited by national or international law
• Cyberbullying, harassment, hate speech, or discrimination, breach of copyright laws when downloading, copying, or printing materials.
• attempting to make unauthorised access to other computers, data, or networks.
• obtaining, displaying or distributing material which could be considered obscene, offensive or abusive.
• unauthorised downloading of any software or the unauthorised use of USB devices, floppy disks, CD-ROMs on NLI computers.
• Excessively large downloading or bandwidth-heavy usage which impact other users

All NLI computers are situated in public areas, within clear view of staff. In addition, the NLI applies web filtering software to screen out potentially offensive and potentially illegal material. The NLI can monitor access to internet sites, and any access of illegal, offensive or controversial material may be the subject of further action. If you suspect legitimate content is being filtered in error, please report this to Reading Room staff.

If you witness the misuse of NLI computer equipment, you should report to a member of Reading Room staff.

Any user using their own equipment should ensure that their chosen operating system has the latest system patches, and that the anti-virus software is active and up to date before connecting to the NLI’s Wifi Network.

You are responsible for protecting your personal information — always log out and avoid saving passwords or other personal information on public computers.

Please respect NLI equipment and networks. Do not attempt to fix technical or software problems or change settings; instead, report any issues to Reading Room staff. Leave all equipment switched on.

Modern archive material may contain personal data. Such material is subject to the EU General Data Protection Regulation 2016 (‘GDPR’) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

• When using personal data for research, you must be aware of and comply with EU and national data protection law.
• You are responsible for any personal data concerning living individuals that you take away from the collections (including any notes, digital images and/or photocopies). You become a ‘data controller’ of the personal data you hold about the individual/s (the ‘data subject/s’). The GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 do not apply to the personal data of deceased persons.
• You must assess and manage the data protection risks of your research. Such risks can be higher if you process sensitive information including special category data, as defined in Article 9 of the GDPR. This includes personal data relating to political or religious views, mental or physical health, race or ethnicity, sexual orientation etc.
• You must ensure that the collection of personal information is limited to what is directly relevant and necessary to achieve your purpose for processing, in line with the GDPR principle of ‘data minimisation’. Where appropriate, technical and organisational measures such as pseudonymisation should be applied to achieve this.
• Where the purpose of the processing can be fulfilled in a way that does not permit the identification of the data subject, it should be fulfilled in this manner.
• All researchers should familiarise themselves with the NLI Data Privacy Statement.
• You can find out more about the GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 on the Data Protection Commission’s website.