Research Rules

Research rules of the State Regional Archive in Litoměřice issued based on Section 36(a) of Act No. 499/2004 Coll., on archives and records management and on amendments to certain laws, as amended, and related laws:

Article 1
General provisions

1. Viewing archival documents is possible only upon fulfilling the terms and conditions set out in the Act and inside premises designated for such purposes (the “research room”). An applicant wishing to view archival documents (the “researcher”) does not have access to the premises where the archival documents are stored.

2. The researcher shall register in the visitors’ book upon entering the research room. He or she shall indicate the date of the visit, his or her name or names and surname and purpose of the visit. Anyone who is unclean, under the influence of alcohol, drugs or other psychotropic substances or carrying weapons shall not be admitted to the research room.

3. The researcher shall fill in the research form, which is also the application for viewing archival documents, truthfully in the research room. The researcher shall present a valid personal identification card or passport or other similar identification to the on-duty supervising employee in the research room (the “research room supervisor”), who shall check the correctness of the data stated on the research form. If the research form is in electronic form, the research form shall be filled in by the research room supervisor with the full cooperation of the researcher, who shall check all of the data on the research form once printed and then sign it. The researcher shall fill in a new research sheet for each calendar year in which he or she does research in the archival documents, upon every change of purposes of viewing and upon each change of topic of study.

4. If the researcher is unable to prove his or her identity with a valid personal identification card, passport or other similar piece of identification, he or she shall be refused access to the archival documents.

5. The archival documents shall be provided to the researcher based on his or her express request, which may be sent to the archive in advance also via post or via means of electronic communication (e-mail, fax, telephone) to the archive’s contact address published on the official notice board, if one is set up, and on its website. If a request that is sent in writing does not contain all of the data stipulated in paragraph 6 or if the wording of the request for access to archival documents is unclear, unspecific or inexact, such request shall be deemed informative and only archival documents where there is no doubt about their being the subject of viewing will be prepared for the researcher.

6. The researcher shall fill in archival document request form in the research room with his or her name or names, surname, subject of study, name of archival set, carton number, book number, or inventory number or press mark or folio which he or she is requesting for study and shall sign it and indicate the processing date. The archival document request form forms an annex to the research form. If the researcher has made use of the procedure for requesting archival documents under paragraph 5 and his or her request fulfils the requirements of the form under such paragraph, the document dispatched by the researcher shall be appended to the research sheet. If the archive has received an incomplete or inexact request, the researcher shall fill in the archival document request form in the research room. If the researcher has followed the procedure under paragraph 5 and requests archival documents other than those requested in advance, he or she shall fill in the archival document request form only in the scope of the newly requested archival documents.

7. Prior to entering into the research room, the researcher shall remove his or her coat or jacket, any hand-held luggage and other personal belongings at the designated location. The researcher may enter the research room only with a pen, pencil, own sheets of blank paper without boards, and recording equipment, such as a camera, video camera, handheld scanner or mobile laptop without cover. After completing his or her studies, the researcher shall present his or her items for examination to ensure no archival documents are being taken out of the research room (in particular, he or she shall open up the mobile computer, scanner, present the sheets of paper brought in). The items brought in by the researcher shall be presented by the researcher for examination upon request even prior to commencing studies in the research room.

8. Everyone must keep quiet in the research room and respect the study environment, which must not be disturbed by noise, loud communication with other researchers, excessive movement around the research room and similar disturbances that do not correspond to the purpose of the visit to the research room. Smoking, eating, drinking and telephoning are not allowed in the research room. The researcher shall turn off all sound on equipment that he or she was allowed to bring into the research room.

Article 2

1. The archival documents deposited in the archive according to the contract of deposition are possible to view under conditions given by the Act on archives, the research rules and under conditions stated in the contract of deposition.

2. In the research room are given the copies of the archival document, which are made for the use of the researchers. The original of the archival documents are given to the researcher only when there is made no copy of these documents. If the copy was made, the viewing of the original is allowed only by the person heading the archive, when it is necessary for the purpose of the study.

3. When viewing, the researcher shall follow the instructions of the research room supervisor. The research room supervisor may ask the researcher to use only ordinary pencils of medium hardness when making extracts and notes from certain types of archival documents. The research room supervisor is not obliged to help the researcher to read text in the archival documents, translate into different languages, interpret historical events related to the archival documents, etc.

4. The researcher shall take maximum care when handling the archival documents. Every researcher, who studies the originals of the archival documents older the year 1850 is obliged to use the protective gloves, the research room supervisor can order the use of the protective gloves also for the younger archival documents. The archival documents may not be used as support for making notes; they may not be copied directly from using carbon paper; text may not be underlined or crossed out in them; notes may not be made in them; and they may not be used for any other purpose or in any other way than for viewing. Archival documents physically damaged by the researcher will result in the immediate revocation of the researcher’s permission to view the archival documents.

5. It is forbidden for researchers to take archival documents out of the research room. Taking out any archival documents from the research room shall result in the immediate revocation of the researcher’s permission to view the archival documents.

6. Only one person, the researcher, may view the archival documents at one time, and such archival documents had to have been listed in the respective researcher’s research form. In justified cases (e.g., didactic, during excursions), the research room supervisor may allow viewing by more than one person.

7. Archival documents shall be presented to the researcher for viewing in the period and in the total number requested or in the number allowed by the operating conditions and technical possibilities of the archive on any given visiting day, with account taken of the importance and purpose of the research. Only the number of archival documents that can be easily checked by the research room supervisory upon their return shall be provided. As a rule it is possible to hand in subsequently up to 8 evidential unites (boxes and books), out of which at most 3 are boxes, other archival documents shall be judged separately (charters, maps, planes, photographs etc.). The archival documents shall be prepared in 24 hours to 7 days since the request. The alteration of this rule can be made by the decision of the person heading the department.

8. The archive shall not reserve archival documents in the research room if the researcher does not commence viewing the archival documents within thirty calendar days of the agreed day of provision or if the researcher suspends research for a period of more than thirty days. The archival documents in the research room are reserved for the researcher for a period necessary for viewing. If the researcher does not view the archival documents systematically or regularly and if he or she fails to return the reserved archival document him or herself, the archival documents are deemed reserved for three months from the order date. At the end of such period, it is possible in justified cases to extend the reservation for a longer period of time, as a rule no longer than one calendar year. When deciding on extension, other applications for viewing the archival documents shall be taken into account.

9. The archive shall allow the archival documents to be viewed by a different researcher than the one for whom the archival documents have been reserved first if the researcher for whom the documents have been reserved first gives consent to such viewing by another researcher or if each such researcher demonstrably views these archival documents for a different purpose and studies a different topic. In case of such concurrent viewing by two or more researchers, the archive shall allow the archival documents to be viewed by the researcher for whom the archival documents were reserved first. In case of dispute, the person heading the archive shall be the one to make the final decision.

Article 3

1. In the research room, it is possible, upon fulfilling the terms and conditions stipulated by the research room supervisor (e.g., maintaining silence in the research room) and if the other researchers in the research are not disturbed, u se one’s own recording equipment to produce a copy of the archival documents for the personal study needs of the researcher only with the consent of the research room supervisor. The research room supervisor shall express consent by signing the request form filled in by the researcher. A sample form is appended to the sample research rules. Any proprietary rights or copyrights and other related rights shall not be affected thereby.

2. Upon finishing viewing of the archival documents, the researcher shall leave his or her spot in good order. Extracts, notes and other aids or items shall not be left in the research room, but taken with the researcher.

3. Upon ending viewing of the archival documents, the researcher shall return the archival documents in the number, order and state in which they were provided. Breach of this obligation shall result in the immediate revocation of the researcher’s permission to view the archival documents.

4. The research room supervisor shall check the number and state of the archival documents returned by the researcher, and shall confirm their due return by signing the research form still prior to the researcher leaving the research room.

5. Information obtained from the archival documents shall be used by the researcher only for the purpose set out in the research form. If the information is used in scientific or other work or published, at least the name of the archive and the archival sets used and a more detailed designation of the archival documents (citations) from which the information was drawn shall be indicated.

6. If the researcher published a paper which was created based on viewing the archival documents stored in the archive, he or she shall send one copy thereof (e.g., archival edition) to the appropriate archive. If the researcher drew information from archival documents located in more than one archive, he or she shall send the published paper only to the archive from which he or she drew the most information; the researcher shall share bibliographical data about the published paper with the other archives or shall send the paper to them electronically in PDF format.

Article 4

1. The archive shall allow the researcher to view archival aids.

2. Archival aids presented for viewing, provided they are not official works and provided they fulfil the attributes of protection under the Copyright Act, shall be handled as if they were literary works (e.g. the inventories introductions).

Article 5 Procuring copies archival documents

Copies of archival documents are provided by the archive from the archival documents that the researcher is studying or needs for the purposes of official or own work listed in the research form depending on any approval provided in advance by the owner of the archival documents or on the protection of any copyrights or related rights. Copying of archival documents shall be provided depending on the operating conditions and technical possibilities of the archive. Copies are not made of archival documents if their physical state does not allow for it.

Article 6 Lending archival documents for the purpose of studying outside the archive

1. Lending of originals of archival documents for viewing to a different archive than in which they are stored may be permitted by the person heading the archive in exception cases with account taken of the purpose and circumstances of their use, safety of transport and security provided at the location of their temporary storage and with regard to the costs associated therewith. The archival document may not be sent by post; they shall always be transported by an employee authorised by the person heading the archive lending the archival documents.

2. Lending of originals outside the archive may be permitted by the person heading the archive in exceptional cases and under the conditions set out in paragraph 1 above only to the owner or originator of the archival documents and to public authorities, cultural and or scientific institutions for exhibitions or other public presentations organised by them, to local governments and to persons who are authorised under a special legal regulation to view documents where the viewing of the documents is required for the discharge of their office. Lending of originals of archival documents may not be refused to the originator of the archival documents if the archive stored the archival documents based on a storage agreement or based on a gift of deed or purchase agreement and lending of the archival documents is a condition in such contractual documentation.

3. If archival documents stored in a public archive are not owned by the Czech Republic, by a legal person established by law or by a local government, the lending of such documents shall required the consent of the owner thereof.

4. Upon lending the archival documents, the archive shall issue to the borrower a bond containing:
a) an exact description of the archival documents being lent
b) the purpose of the loan
c) date of the loan and the deadline for returning the archival documents
d) the borrower’s name, surname and address of residence in the Czech Republic or address of residence abroad based on an identity card if the borrower is a natural person
e) if the borrower is a legal person, the address of the registered office and the name and surname of the person authorised to act on its behalf
f) the borrower’s own-hand signature or that of the authorised person if the borrower is a natural person; in case of an authorised person, the name or names, surname and address of residence in the Czech Republic or address of the place of residence abroad according to an identity card, and the date of the presented power of attorney.
g) the own-hand signature of the borrower’s statutory body or that of the person authorised thereby attached to the name or business firm of the legal person that is the borrower; if the signature card of the person acting on behalf of the legal persons contains a stamp, the stamp of the legal person shall also be attached to the signature.

5. The lent archival documents shall be recorded by the archive in a special logbook used to record all archival documents lent and borrowed.

6. If the borrower fails to return the archival document lent by the archive by the agreed deadline and no extension of the deadline has been agreed, no more archival documents will be lent to such borrower until the archival documents are return.

Article 7

1. Viewing into the digital archival documents is provided by the national portal or portals for the accesing of the digital archival documents.

2.Viewing into the digital reproductions of the archival documents in the analogue form is provided through the remote access– www.soalitomerice.cz. This viewing has no specified conditions and is free of charge.

Article 8 Use of the archive library

The researcher may use books, magazines and newspapers from the archive library in connection with his or her study topic and scope thereof. The use of books, magazines and newspapers from the archive library for study purposes shall be governed by the borrowing rules issued by the person heading the archive.

Article 9 Excursions to the archive

When visiting the archive with an excursion, visitors shall sign in. Access to other archive premises other than the research room may be permitted by the person heading the archive and shall take place only in the company of an authorised employee.

Article 10 Allowance for the services provided to the researchers and the reproduction charges

1. The costs associated with the sevices provided by the archive upon the researcher’s request and the costs associated with making reproductions of the archival documents shall be stated in the Pricelist for services.

2. The Pricelist for services is available to view in the research room and via the remote access.


Article 11
Final provisions

If the researcher breaks any of the basic obligations imposed on him or her by the research rules, he or she may be barred from further access to archival documents or may have his or her permission revoked.

In Litoměřice 1st of October 2012

PhDr. Mark Poloncarz
Director of the State Regional Archive in Litoměřice