While personal cameras, phones and tablets are permitted in the Reading Room with permission for research photography, visitors may also request research scans conducted by Archives and Special Collections staff. These requests can be submitted through AEON. Use the directions below to submit your request and a staff member will be in touch. 

• Scans will be sent via email and AEON. Items are jpegs scanned at 300 dpi unless otherwise specified. 

• Certain Archival and Special Collections items will not be scanned due to preservation concerns, donor restrictions and staff discretion. 

• Due to copyright, no more than 10% of an item that is not in the public domain will be scanned. 

• Please allow 5-10 business days for your scanning request to be processed and sent. 

• Some large scanning requests from researchers will be subject to a charge at the discretion of Archives and Special Collections staff. 

Permission To Publish

Obtaining a research copy or image does not grant you the right to publish. If you are interested in publishing material from our collections, contact Special Collections and Archives staff or submit the request through AEON, checking the “For Publication” box. 

Please be sure to include the following information about the materials in your request:

- Title and author

- Call number

- Catalog record link

- Box/folder or volume number

Staff will evaluate the request and if approved, send an official Permission to Publish form to the requester. 

For additional questions regarding scans, please contact RISD Special Collections at risdspecial@risd.edu.