Research Rules of the Masaryk Institute and Archives of the CAS

(Research Rules of the Archives of the Masaryk Academy of Sciences and the Archives of the Institute of the Masaryk Academy of the Czech Republic)
Issued on the basis of Section 36 (a) of Act No. 499/2004 Coll. on Archives and Records Management and on Amendments to Certain Acts, and Decree No. 645/2004 Coll. as amended.

Article 1. General provisions

Archival material may be consulted only after the conditions laid down in the Act have been met and in the premises designated for this purpose (hereinafter referred to as the 'research room'). The premises in which archival material is stored are not accessible to applicants for consultation (hereinafter referred to as the 'researcher').
On entering the research room, the researcher shall enter the research room's visitors' book, stating the date of the visit, his or her name and surname (or, where appropriate, the place of work), the purpose of the visit (or the subject of study) and signing his or her name.
In the research room of the archive, the researcher truthfully fills in the research sheet, which is also an application for access to the archives. In order to verify his/her personal data on the research sheet, the applicant for access is obliged to present his/her identity card at the request of the employee in charge of the service and supervision in the research room (hereinafter referred to as 'research room supervisor'). For the purposes of this Act, an identity card shall be a document which is a public document containing the name, if any, and surname, date of birth and address of the place of residence in the territory of the Czech Republic, if any, or of residence abroad, and which also shows a likeness or other information enabling the applicant presenting the document to be unambiguously identified as its authorised holder. The supervisor in the research room shall check the accuracy of the information given in the research certificate. In the case of an electronic research certificate, the research certificate is completed by the supervisor in the research room with the full participation of the researcher, who checks all the data and signs the research certificate after printing it. In the case of remote electronic access and registration in the electronic system Archival VadeMeCum (valid from the announcement), the researcher, on the first visit to the research room, proves his/her identity to the research room supervisor and signs the printed research sheet in his/her presence, which he/she has previously filled in online. The researcher must fill in a new research sheet for each calendar year in which the archives are consulted, for each change in the purpose of consultation and for each change in the topic of study.
If the researcher is unable to provide the research room supervisor with proof of identity using a valid ID according to the criteria listed above, he/she will be denied access to the archives.
The researcher shall fill in a request form indicating his/her name, surname, the name of the fonds, the carton number, book number, or inventory number or signature or folio he/she is requesting to study, and sign and date it. The researcher may also send his/her request to the archives in advance by means of remote access (internet, fax, telephone, ordering via the electronic system Archival VadeMeCum). If the request sent by means of remote access does not contain all the required information or if the wording of the request for the submission of archives is unclear, imprecise or unspecific, the request sent in this way is considered informative and non-binding. Such a request may be granted within a reasonable period of time after it has been clarified during a personal visit by the researcher to the archives. At the time of the visit to the archives, the researcher shall fill in the request form and sign and date it, or sign the online completed and printed request form. The application form is then attached to and becomes part of the research sheet.
Before entering the research room, the researcher shall leave his/her coat or overcoat, hand luggage and other similar items in the designated place. The researcher may only enter the research room with a pen, pencil, his/her own loose sheets of paper without folders and recording equipment such as a camera, camera, handheld scanner or laptop computer without a case. Upon completion of the study, the researcher shall present his/her belongings for inspection to determine whether he/she is removing archival materials from the research room (in particular, opening the laptop, scanner, presenting the sheets of paper brought in). Items brought into the research room by the researcher shall also be presented for inspection, on request, before the research room is opened. The research room is not open to persons who are dirty, under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or armed.
It is necessary to keep quiet in the study room, smoking, eating, drinking and telephone calls are not allowed. The researcher shall turn off all sound signals for any equipment brought into the research room.
In order to ensure the protection of the National Archive Heritage against damage, deterioration, destruction and theft, imposed by Act No. 499/2004 Coll. on Archives and Records Management and on the amendment of certain acts, as amended by Act No. 190/2009 Coll., the publicly accessible areas of the archive are monitored by a camera system and a record of it is kept for possible resolution of offences against the Research Regulations. In accordance with the provisions of Act No 101/2000 Coll., a sign is placed on the entrance door stating "The premises are monitored by a camera system and a record is kept." Researchers interested in the study of archival documents confirm their familiarity with and agreement to the rules by signing the research sheet.

Article 2

When consulting the archives, the researcher shall follow the instructions of the supervisor in the research room. The researcher may be required by the research room supervisor to use only ordinary pencils of medium hardness when taking extracts and notes from certain types of archives. The research room supervisor is not obliged to provide assistance to the researcher in reading the text of the archival material, translating it into other languages, giving explanations about historical realities related to the archival material, etc.
The researcher shall spare the archival material as much as possible when consulting it. Archival materials may not be used as writing pads, copied directly from with tracing paper, underlined, crossed out or inscribed, or used in any other way or for any purpose other than consultation. Physical damage to archival materials by a researcher will result in immediate termination of the researcher's permission to consult the archival materials.
Researchers are prohibited from removing archival materials from the research room without the permission of the research room supervisor. Removal of any archival material from the research room will result in the immediate termination of the researcher's permission to consult the archival material. The matter will also be referred to the Public Prosecutor's Office for investigation.
Only one person at a time may consult archival material requested by a researcher, namely the researcher whose research sheet the archival material has been submitted to. In justified cases (e.g. didactic, excursions), the research room supervisor may allow more than one person to consult the archives.
Archival material shall be submitted for inspection by the researcher within the time limit, in the total quantity and in the quantity per day of the visit, according to the operating conditions and technical possibilities of the research room, taking into account the significance and purpose of the inspection. The quantity of archival material submitted per order or visit is limited to 3 cartons and 10 inventory numbers or 500 folios. Depending on the capacity of the archives, orders are prepared for the following day at the earliest. Orders with an exact archival citation can be placed in advance and prepared for an agreed-upon date. However, the amount of material that can be ordered or submitted for study, or the date of submission, can be adjusted by the research room supervisor according to the current situation, the decisive factor being the amount of archival material (number and condition) that can be easily checked by the research room supervisor on return.
The archives shall not reserve the archives in the research room for the researcher if the researcher does not start consulting the archives within thirty calendar days of the agreed date for their submission or if the researcher interrupts the consultation for more than thirty days. The archives shall be reserved for the researcher in the research room for the time necessary for consultation. If the researcher does not consult the reserved archives on a regular or regular basis and does not return the reserved archives himself or herself, the archives shall be deemed to be reserved for a period of three months from the date of the order. After this period, the reservation may be extended for a further period, normally for a period not exceeding the end of the calendar year, in justified cases. When extending, account shall also be taken of whether there are other applicants for access to the archives in question.
The archives shall allow a researcher other than the first researcher to consult the archival material if the first researcher to whom the archival material is reserved consents to such consultation by the second researcher, or if each of the researchers demonstrably consults the archival material for a different purpose or studies a different subject. In the event of simultaneous consultation by two or more researchers, the archives shall allow consultation of these archival materials only by the researcher to whom the archives first reserved them. In disputed cases, the Director (Deputy Director for Archival Activities) of the archives shall decide.
Access to archival material stored in the archives shall be refused if:
1. the physical condition of the archives does not permit inspection;
2. the state of processing of the archives does not permit consultation;
3. a natural person has objected to access to archival material containing his or her personal data
4. the natural person does not give written consent to consult archival material containing his or her sensitive personal data;
5. a special legal regulation excludes consultation of archives or the applicant for consultation does not meet the conditions laid down in the special legal regulation.

Archival material less than 30 years old is not accessible for consultation in archives, except for archival material created before 1 January 2006. January 1990 from the activities of state bodies, security forces as well as social organisations and political parties associated in the National Front, archival material that was already publicly accessible before the application for consultation was submitted or was publicly accessible as documents before it was declared archival material, and archival material whose content consists of statistical data sets obtained during demographic and statistical surveys, if the personal data contained in such archival material can be anonymised before consultation. The restriction shall not apply to the originator of the archival material or their successors in title.

Archival material which has been entrusted to the archives for safekeeping on the basis of a safekeeping agreement may be consulted under the conditions laid down by law and under the conditions specified in the safekeeping agreement. The rights and special arrangements in favour of the owners of the archives shall remain unaffected by the consultation.

9. Where copies of archives intended for user work are made, these shall be submitted for inspection. Original archives may be consulted only if copies have not been made. If such copies have been made, the original archives may be produced for inspection only with the consent of the Assistant Director for Archival Activities if the purpose of the inspection so requires.

10. The Research Room is open to the public, unless otherwise decided for operational reasons, on Mondays and Wednesdays continuously from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Between 12.00 and 13.00, the operation of the research room is limited to supervision and study only. Therefore, no other services are provided to researchers during this time - no loans are issued or accepted, no new materials can be ordered, no reprographic work can be requested, no consultations can be made, etc.

Article 3

In the research room, it is possible to use one's own reproduction equipment to make reproductions of archival material for the researcher's personal study purposes only with the consent of the researcher's supervisor in the research room, provided that the conditions laid down by the supervisor are met (maintaining quiet in the research room, using only non-contact devices, not using photo flash, turning off sound signals) and that other researchers are not disturbed. Consent shall be expressed by signing a written application form completed by the researcher, a specimen of which is attached to the Research Regulations. This is without prejudice to the protection of any property, copyright and related rights.
The researcher shall leave his/her place in the research room in good condition after finishing the consultation of the archives. He/she shall not leave extracts, notes and other aids or items in the research room, but shall take them with him/her.
At the end of each consultation of the archives, the researcher shall return the archives in the number, sequence and condition in which they were presented to him. Failure to do so shall result in the immediate termination of the researcher's permission to consult the archives.
The research room supervisor must check the number and condition of the archives returned by the researcher and confirm their proper return by signing the research sheet before the researcher leaves the research room.
The researcher shall use the information obtained from the archives only for the purpose stated in the research sheet. When using it in scientific or other works, the name of the archive, the archive files used and the signatures or inventory numbers of the archives (archival citations) from which it was drawn shall be indicated. Example of a citation. Further citation of archival material: AAV or AÚTGM, fund x, etc.

In the case of work on an edition of archival material, the researcher is obliged to conclude a special contract with the archive.

If the researcher has published a work that has been produced on the basis of consulting archival material deposited in the archives, he/she shall send one copy of the work (e.g. an edition of archival material) to the relevant archive. If the researcher has drawn on archival material stored in more than one archive, he/she shall send the published work only to the archive from which he/she has drawn the most; to the other archives he/she shall communicate the bibliographic data on the published work or send the work electronically in PDF format.

Article 4. Use of archival aids

The archives shall make archival aids available to researchers.
Archival aids submitted for consultation shall be treated as literary works (e.g. introductions to inventories) if they are not official works and if they meet the characteristics of the subject of protection under the Copyright Act.

Article 5: Acquisition of reproductions of archives

A researcher may either acquire a reproduction of archival material himself using contactless devices (see Article 3, paragraph 1) or request the archive to provide a reproduction according to the price list.

Reproductions of archival material are provided by the archives from archival material that the researcher is studying or needs for official purposes or for his/her own work, as specified in the researcher's certificate, subject to any prior consent given by the owner of the archival material or to the protection of any copyright and related rights. If the researcher requests the provision of a reproduction of an archival document for the purpose of its publication, he/she shall indicate in his/her request the exact designation of the archival document to be reproduced, the form chosen for the reproduction and the basic bibliographical details of the periodical/publication where the document is to be printed. The researcher undertakes to use the reproductions of the archival material exclusively for his/her own study needs or in accordance with the purpose stated in the request for reproductions.

Reproductions of archival material shall be provided according to the operating conditions and technical possibilities of the archives. Reproductions of archives whose physical condition does not permit it shall not be provided.

Loans of archives for the purpose of study outside the archives

The lending of original archives for consultation in an archive other than the one in which they are housed shall be authorised by the Director (Deputy Director for Archival Activities) on an exceptional basis, taking into account the meaning, purpose and circumstances of their use, the safety of transport and the protection of the archives at the place of temporary storage and the costs involved. Archival material may not be sent by post, but shall always be transported under prearranged conditions by an authorised staff member designated by the Director (Deputy Director of Archives) who is lending the archives.
The Director (Deputy Director for Archival Activities) shall permit the loan of original archives outside the archives, exceptionally and under the conditions referred to in paragraph 1, only to the owner or originator of the archives and to a State authority, a local authority and persons who are authorised to inspect documents under a special legal regulation if the purpose of the inspection requires it for the performance of an official function. The originator of archives may not be refused the loan of original archives if he has deposited archives in the archives on the basis of a custody agreement or on the basis of a donation or purchase agreement and has stipulated the loan of archives in the agreement.
If the archival material stored in a public archive is not owned by the Czech Republic, a legal person established by law or a local government unit, the written consent of the owner of the archival material is necessary for the loan of the archival material.
When lending archival material, the archive is obliged to issue the borrower with a reverse containing:
1. a precise inventory of the archival material to be loaned,
2. the purpose of the loan,
3. the date of the loan and the deadline for the return of the archival material,
4. the name, surname and permanent address of the borrower according to his/her identity card, if a natural person, or,
5. in the case of a legal person, the registered office of the borrower and the name of the person authorised by the borrower; and
6. the handwritten signature of the borrower or the person authorised by him and the official stamp of the borrower, in the case of a legal person.

Borrowed archives shall be entered in the archives in a special book of loans and borrowings.
If the borrower fails to return the borrowed archives within the agreed time limit, and does not agree on an extension of time, no further requested archives shall be lent until the borrowed archives have been returned. At the same time, a penalty of 0.1% of the insured price of the borrowed archive materials for each day of delay will be assessed.

Article 7 Use of the archive library

The researcher may use books, magazines and newspapers from the archive library in connection with his/her study topic and within the scope of his/her study. The study use of books, journals and newspapers from the archive library shall be governed by the borrowing rules issued by the Director (Deputy Director for Archival Activities).

Article 8: Excursions to the archives

Visitors to the archives shall make a note in the visitors' book when they visit the archives. Entry to archives premises other than the archives research room is authorised by the Director (Deputy Director for Archive Activities) and is only allowed when accompanied by a member of staff authorised by the Director.

Article 9 Payment for services rendered to researchers and reproduction fees

Payment for the services provided by the archives at the request of researchers and payment of reproduction fees is set out in the Price List for Services and Reproduction Fees applicable in public archives.
The schedule of services and reproduction fees applicable in public archives is available for inspection by researchers in the archives' research room and by remote access. For other services, the contractual prices apply according to the Price List of other services and fees not included in the Price List of services and reproduction fees applicable in the public archives, contained in Appendix 6. The Archives shall provide only those services which are within its technical possibilities.

Article 10 Final provisions

If a researcher violates any of the basic obligations imposed by the Research Rules, he/she may be denied further access to the archives, or the consent granted may be withdrawn.

Prague, 4 January 2016
PhDr. Luboš Velek, Ph.D., v. r.
Director of the MÚA AV ČR