Access to the Collection
For admission to the Berg Collection please contact berg@nypl.org. Describe your research topic, summarize your research to date, cite the items you wish to study, and explain why they are necessary for your project. Please allow up to two business days for a reply. The Berg Collection Reading Room (Rm. 320, Third Floor) is open to researchers Tuesday-Wednesday (11:00 - 7:00 p.m.) and Thursday-Saturday (10:00-5:45 p.m.). Material is not paged after 5:30 p.m. Please note that on Fridays and Saturdays the reading room is closed 1:00-2:00 p.m. Upon arrival at the Library, please check your coat/outerwear (if you are sensitive to cold, please wear a sweater to the reading room), bags, briefcase, computer case, umbrella, etc. in the cloakroom on the Ground Floor; these items may not be brought into the Reading Room. Your computer will be placed in a plastic bag for ease of transportation. If you do not wish to leave your purse in the cloakroom and cannot carry your wallet on your person, upon your arrival at the Berg these items will be locked in a cabinet in the Reading Room.
From the cloakroom proceed to the Deborah, Jonathan F. P., Samuel Priest, and Adam R. Rose Main Reading Room (Third Floor, entrance through Rm. 315). There you will apply for a LIBRARY card, which is required to use the Library's General Collections and to obtain a Special Collections reader's card. Present your completed form and at least one ID containing a traceable number and a photograph of you. Your LIBRARY card will be ready for your use within minutes. Please present it at the main reference desk in Room 315, where, you will explain why your research project requires you to use the Berg Collection's holdings. If the interviewing staff member approves your request, you will sent to the Berg Collection. Upon your arrival at the Berg, please present your LIBRARY card and other ID, and our staff will discuss your project with you and present you wth a Special Collections Reader's Card for the Berg, for a defined period. This period may be extended, if necessary. Faculty members and graduate students should bring their university ID, as well as proof of address. Undergraduates must also bring a letter from their professor explaining why they must use Berg materials.
You may bring your own books and notebook into the Reading Room. Only pencils are allowed for writing. Laptops are permitted, and electrical outlets are available. Materials must be treated with care and used in accord with staff instructions.
Requests for material from the following archives should be made at least three days before the date of your arrival (not including Sunday-Monday): Jane Cooper, Bruce J. Friedman, Alfred Kazin (1938-1999), Philip Levine, Kenneth Koch, and May Sarton. No more than 5 boxes may be requested initially. On subsequent days, no more than 5 boxes from these archives will be retrived once a day (3:00 p.m.), if staffing permits. (Retrieval may be delayed until the following day.) You may e-mail a retrieval request for these materials to berg@nypl.org. Please note that on days when staff is short handed, only one retrieval trip, or in rare cases, even none, may be possible. Therefore, should you need to consult these materials, notifying the Berg prior to your visit is strongly advised.
The Berg Collection was established for the use of scholars and researchers. Conservation concerns, as well as other demands on staff time, require that we limit the use of our materials to this group. We do, however, attempt to satisfy the general public's interest in our holdings through interpretive exhibitions and group presentations. If your group (minimum 8 persons, maximum 20) would like to schedule a presentation with the Curator, please contact him (igewirtz@nypl.org).