Research Room

Appendix 1
APPROVED
by Directive No. 1-12/32 of the Director of ERM
18 March 2019

GENERAL

1. The service hours of the Research Room of the Estonian National Museum (hereinafter ERM) (Muuseumi tee 2, Tartu) are Tuesday to Friday 10 am–5 pm, and 10 am–2 pm on the day before public holidays. From 24 December to 1 January, the Research Room is closed.
2. Museum objects may be used only on site in the ERM Research Room. The right to borrow archival materials outside the Research Room is granted only to employees of the Estonian National Museum for a period of 1 month.
3. Only items necessary for research may be brought into the ERM Research Room. Outdoor clothing and large bags must be left in the cloakroom.
4. Computer workstations are available in the Research Room, and visitors may also bring a personal computer.
5. It is prohibited to be in the Research Room while intoxicated, to eat, drink, speak loudly, talk on a mobile phone, or otherwise disturb other researchers.
6. Researchers must comply with the instructions of the Research Room consultant. In the event of violation of the rules for using the collections, the Director of the Estonian National Museum has the right to prohibit access to the collections for a fixed period.
7. Each visit is recorded in the visitor log.

BORROWING RULES

1. Using the museums information system (www.muis.ee), the card catalogue, and the main catalogues, the researcher identifies the numbers of the museum objects of interest.
2. Please submit orders in advance by email to uurimissaal@erm.ee. At one time, up to 15 small-format museum objects (for example, an archival unit, photograph, drawing, or tablet-woven belt) and 5 large-format museum objects (for example, a skirt or a long coat) may be ordered to the Research Room. The number of items that may be borrowed for study depends on the space required to examine them safely. A researcher may have up to 15 museum objects issued in their name at one time for up to 2 weeks. The deadline may be extended by a further 2 weeks.
3. Ordered archival materials and photographs are generally issued within four hours. Orders submitted after 1 pm will be fulfilled on the following working day in the morning.
4. Object collections may be consulted by prior registration. Registration can be made by phone at 7363007 or 7363080, or by email at uurimissaal@erm.ee. Researchers who registered earlier are served with priority. An order is fulfilled only if there is space available in the Research Room for studying the objects.
5. All loans are recorded in the information system. When using the Research Room for the first time, the researcher fills in a visitor card. The museum uses the personal data received only for customer service and statistical purposes.
6. Ordered museum objects are issued by the Research Room staff.
7. The following are not issued to the Research Room:
   • museum objects already issued for fixed-term use;
   • as a rule, photographs, drawings, works of art, and archival materials that have been digitised;
   • museum objects that are undergoing conservation, copying, or digitisation;
   • museum objects subject to access restrictions or whose condition does not permit use.
8. The borrower returns the materials personally to the Research Room staff member.

USE OF MUSEUM OBJECTS

1. Users of the collections must not damage the borrowed materials. The use of tools or methods that may endanger or damage museum objects is prohibited. When working with museum objects, the researcher is prohibited from:
   • taking them out of the Research Room;
   • damaging them;
   • folding the pages of archival materials, changing their order, or removing them from bindings;
   • placing self-adhesive bookmarks in archival materials;
   • making notes in archival materials;
   • moistening fingers to turn pages;
   • making notes directly on museum objects;
   • placing open museum objects on top of one another;
   • making direct-contact copies from the surface of a museum object;
   • turning objects inside out or stretching them in order to count loops or stitches (special cases must be agreed with Research Room staff).
2. Objects and photographs may be handled only with the gloves provided for that purpose.
3. Researchers working with objects may use only an ordinary pencil and coloured pencils as writing and drawing implements.
4. Archival items, photographs, and objects may be photographed with your own phone or camera (without flash) for personal, non-commercial purposes, provided that you inform the Research Room consultant beforehand.
5. In the case of works protected by copyright law, it is permitted, without the author’s consent and without payment of author’s fees, and provided that this does not conflict with the normal use of the work or unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the author, to make copies only for personal need and non-commercial purposes and for scientific, educational, informational, judicial, and administrative purposes; however, in such cases of free use of a work, the author’s moral rights must be respected.

ORDERING COPIES

1. It is possible to order a digital copy of museum objects; for this purpose, an agreement on ordering and using copies must be completed. The order is fulfilled within 2 weeks.
2. Copies are not made of museum objects that are physically damaged or where copying would cause damage.
3. The customer pays for copies according to the valid price list. Payment can be made in cash at the information desk or by bank transfer on the basis of an invoice issued. The customer receives the copies after payment of the invoice, either from the Research Room or by post (postage added). Digital copies may, if desired, be delivered via an FTP server.
4. Photocopies are not made of museum objects.

LIABILITY

1. Researchers must treat museum objects with due care. They are obliged to inform a Research Room staff member immediately of any damaged museum object or any damage caused by themselves. Liability for damage to or theft of a museum object is determined in accordance with the Penal Code. In the event of material damage, the person responsible must compensate for it.
2. When using museum objects with access restrictions, the researcher must observe and comply with the legal conditions of those restrictions. The researcher undertakes to respect the right of others to the inviolability of family and private life and is responsible for the use of sensitive and private personal data that may become known to them incidentally.
3. The researcher bears responsibility for infringement of copyright law.
4. ERM is not responsible for personal belongings left in the Research Room.
5. Materials from ERM collections may be quoted and referenced in research, using a correct citation system (see citation rules) and taking into account any restrictions placed on the materials and the right of sources to privacy.
6. When publishing materials from ERM collections, acknowledgement of ERM is mandatory.
7. We are grateful for donations to the ERM Library of research and other publications based on the museum’s collections.

In the text

In publications outside ERM, materials belonging to ERM collections must be cited as the Estonian National Museum (ERM). Because the database used at ERM does not accept a space after a colon, no space is used there in citations either.

Ethnographic Archive: archive abbreviation (EA), volume number, pages, for example:
ERM EA 118:14

Archive of Correspondents’ Responses: archive abbreviation (KV), volume number, pages, for example:
ERM KV 449:62, 209

Topographical Archive: archive abbreviation (TA), diary number, page, for example:
ERM TA 719:12

Sanitary-Topographical Archive: archive abbreviation (STA), notebook number, pages, for example:
ERM STA 14:9, 10

Collection of Ethnographic Drawings: archive abbreviation (EJ), collection number, drawing number, for example:
ERM EJ 29:35

Archival Collection: archival collection abbreviation (Ak), collection number, series number, archival unit number, for example:
ERM Ak 18.1.233

Institutional Archive of the Estonian National Museum: archive abbreviation, fond number, inventory number, file number, page, for example:
ERM ARH f 1, n 1, s 99, l 43

Photo Collection: collection code (Fk), series number, photograph number, for example:
ERM Fk 1523:14

Object Collection: subcollection code (A, B, C, D, K), collection number, object number, and, if necessary, topographical provenance, for example:
ERM A 230:17 Kullamaa

Audiovisual Collection: subcollection code (F, V, Fn), collection number, for example:
ERM V 28:1

Postal Museum, Heimtali Museum, and Tartumaa Museum: accession code (PM, HM, TM), subcollection code, collection number, object number, and, if necessary, topographical provenance, for example:
ERM PM Ü 1:212
ERM HM E 1851 Paistu
ERM TM Ar 88:12

In the list of sources and literature used

Archive abbreviation, volume number, author, year, title, pages. For example:
ERM EA 199. Heiki Pärdi 1984. Aravete settlement, nature, and settlement history, 6–107.

If a photograph is available in the MuIS environment, please use the file available there whenever possible. When downloading, use the .tif version, which is of better quality.
 
The order is fulfilled within ten (10) working days.

* Specially commissioned photo or digital copy:

• a photo of an object detail, multiple objects in one image, or other special requirements requested by the client regarding deadline, lighting, composition, or post-processing of the images;

• special requirements requested by the client regarding the digitisation of photos and negatives, post-processing of images, or deadline.