The reading room
There are 15 workstations in the reading room of the city archive.
You can consult archival documents and books there.
A member of staff will be happy to help you if you have any questions or are looking for information.
You can search for archive material in finding aids on computers.
You can write down the shelfmarks of the archive materials you wish to consult on order slips.
These will then be retrieved from the stacks for you.
The last time you can place an order is 45 minutes before the reading room closes.
Orders placed later can only be viewed on the next opening day.
You can bring a laptop with you. There are power sockets at every workstation in the reading room and free WLAN ("MS-public"). Paper and pencil are of course also permitted, but ballpoint pens may not be used.
Archive materials can be ordered in advance by telephone on 0251/492-47 11 or by e-mail archiv@stadt-muenster.de.
Jackets, coats, rucksacks and bags may not be taken into the reading room.
You can hang up jackets and coats at the cloakroom in the entrance area and lock rucksacks and bags in lockers.
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Photographing archive material yourself
Often you are allowed to take photos of archive materials with your own camera or mobile phone.
Before issuing them, the archive will check whether there are any legal reasons against taking photographs.
If photography is permitted, we will place a green sheet of paper in the archive records.
If there are restrictions, a red sheet of paper is inserted.
Flash devices (including on mobile phones) and flatbed scanners are not permitted in order to prevent damage to the archive material.
You must use the aids provided, such as cushions or lead cords, to prevent damage.
The reading room supervisor will be happy to help you.
Please note: The green insert is not a licence to publish the photos! If you wish to publish the images, you must first ask the reading room supervisor. You are responsible for clarifying copyrights and rights of use.
Use on site is free of charge
Your visit to the reading room of the city archive is free of charge.
Even if you need help or advice, there is no charge.
We are happy to help you with your questions.
If you would like to use the city archive in a different way and this involves additional work or costs for the archive, you will have to pay administrative fees. For example, we charge fees if we respond to written enquiries and have to search for information in our archive. If we issue a written invoice, a minimum charge of €10 applies.
All fees can be found in the archive statutes. The most common cases are described below.
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💰 Charges for services
- Time-consuming research, provision of archive material and time-consuming digitisation: €10 per quarter of an hour or part thereof
- Photocopies from books (in the reading room): €0.10 per page
- Photocopies on the microfilm reader (in the reading room): €0.30 per page
- Scans of archive material or books: €0.50 per scan
- Sending scans as email attachments or download links: free of charge
- Sending scans on storage media or printouts: flat rate € 2.00
- Certification of copies of school certificates and other official documents: flat rate € 10.00 per original
- Certified copies of marriage, civil partnership, birth and death certificates: € 15.00 per certificate
- if multiple copies of the same certificate are required € 9.00 for each additional certified copy
- Fees for information from the historical registration files: € 15.00 per item of information
- for more complex searches: € 10.00 per quarter of an hour or part thereof
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