Lucy Shelton Caswell Reading Room at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum

The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum is part of The Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections.  The Lucy Shelton Caswell reading room is used primarily for individual research and for use of the library collections.

If you are interested connecting your college class with collection materials, please check out Scheduling a College Class Visit.

Please contact us for research and reproduction services by emailing cartoons@osu.edu or calling 614-292-0538.

 

Preparing for your Research Visit

*Masks are optional.

Consult with library staff 
To get started, contact library staff for help to find and select materials for your research.  Please contact us at cartoons@osu.edu.

Hours 
Please check for our current hours here.

Make an appointment 
Appointments will be required to ensure material can be prepared in advance. Email  cartoons@osu.edu to schedule an appointment.

Appointment date and time must be confirmed–please do not visit unless you have received your confirmation.

Reasons you might not get your choice of appointment:

• Hours are limited.
• Materials may not be immediately available depending on where they are housed.
• Staffing availability may require cancellation of appointment. You will be notified as soon as possible if this were to occur.

Send us a Request List
To accommodate your request, we will require that you send us a list of what you want to view in advance of your visit. We will be unable to schedule a visit without this information. To find items relevant to your research, see our Collections page. Prepare a list of items you would like to view during your visit by sending a request list to: cartoons@osu.edu. Be sure to include important details about the item to ensure we prepare the correct item. We recommend using our Materials Request Form Guide which walks you through how to find the necessary information.

Review Reading Room Policies
Visitors will be required to:

• Wash hands prior to handling materials. Please do not use hand sanitizer because it could damage our rare materials by leaving a residue.

In addition, please review our Reading Room Policies. These policies are in place to preserve and protect collection materials. For additional information on why these Special Collections policies are in place, please review this brief guide to Special Collections policies.

Day of your Visit

Arrival & Sign-in
We are located in Sullivant Hall, on the north side of the building, on the first floor.

After entering the North Lobby, the reading room will be located on your right (west side).

Complete Patron Registry Form
When you arrive, you will be asked to sign in to the reading room log book.  You will be asked to complete the Special Collections Registration Form and present a current photo ID to complete the patron registry process.

Store Belongings and Set-up
We will ask that you place all personal belongings in the assigned lockers provided (located just outside the library doors). All food and drink must be disposed of outside of the library.

We will ask that you begin your research with clean hands. Restrooms are located on the second floor. Do not use hand sanitizer prior to your appointment. Hand sanitizer will be available only after your research is complete.

While you conduct your research, you may have a laptop computer, tablet, smartphone (silenced) or paper and pencils at the table with you. No other materials will be permitted. There are a limited number of electrical outlets in the reading room, so you may wish to bring a fully charged laptop. To protect library materials, pens may not be used for note-taking during research.

Using materials
You are permitted one item at a time. As you finish with each item, you may return it to your book truck in exchange for another. If you would like to page additional items, there may be limitations to paging materials the same day. Please ask staff for assistance.

Computer Access
Bring your own laptop, tablet or smartphone.

One public computer will be available.

Wireless access is available through WiFi@OSU. Instructions for setting up access can be found through our OCIO Department.

Reproductions
The material used by the researcher may be protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code).

High-Resolution (600dpi) Reproductions
New high-resolution (600 dpi) scans are limited at this time. Please ask for updates.

Existing scans of collection materials can be found in the library’s Digital Collections database.

Photocopy Reproductions
Photocopy reproduction requests will delayed due to staffing.

To request photocopies, you will be asked to mark items for reproduction with placeholders and to compile a corresponding list of the items to be reproduced.

If you would like photocopies from a folder of loose pages, please leave the items in their original order, and use the placeholders to distinguish the locations of your requests.

Photocopies will be stamped with a COPY stamp. Fragile items or items larger than 28 x 43 cm (11 x 17 inches) cannot be copied; however, these items may be considered for digital imaging. For information about fees and shipping for photocopies, please see Research & Reproductions.

Digital Photography
The Ohio State University Libraries do not own the copyright to all of the materials in its collections. Copyright may belong to the creator, their estate, or assignee, although some materials may fall into the public domain. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, securing appropriate permissions for use and publication of reproduced materials, and fully crediting sources as required under the Research Registration & Handling Policy. If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction of a copyright protected work for purposes beyond those permitted by the copyright owner or any statutory exception, including fair use, that user may be liable for copyright infringement. The Ohio State University Libraries do not make any representations as to the validity of third-party copyright claims.

Wrapping up
When you have completed researching for the day, please inform the library attendant that you have finished. You will be asked to sign out of the reading room log book.