Reading Room Identity Cards

Identity cards for reading rooms make up a part of the Royal Library's provisions against theft from the collections, and among other things the cards ensure that the identity of the borrower and the purpose of use are known to the library.

The use of valuable and rare materials is allowed, provided that the borrower has a special identity card with a picture, which is to be shown before the material is handed out either in the reading room or in the centre. The identity card does not in itself grant the use of valuable and rare works, but the identity card is a prerequisite for the department to decide whether to lend the material requested.

In order to obtain a reading room identity card the borrower in question must be registered as a borrower. Fill out an application form for the ID card at Reading Room West (Læsesal Vest) or at the centre reading room the borrower wishes to use. Foreign borrowers have to present identification. A written reference from an institution or a curriculum vita may be demanded. The application has to be approved by the library. After approval, the application form can be picked up at the same reading room where it was handed in, normally the following working day. Together with a valid library card the approved application is then shown at the circulation desk at Slotsholmen, where the identity card can be issued. Foreign borrowers have to present identification again. It is not necessary to bring a photograph, because the lending department takes a photograph.

Employees at the institutes of the University of Copenhagen can immediately receive the reading room identity card when contacting the lending department. The card can be issued at once if the institute library card is brought along. If the institute library card is not brought along, the application form must to be filled out and the card is delivered the following day.

When the users leave Reading Room West (Læsesal Vest) or a centre reading room they are to - without being asked - present the material they wish to bring out with them in order for the reading room guard to look through everything - including private materials.