Researchers can make an in-person appointment in the self-service system, using any computer or mobile device. 

Make a Reading Room Appointment
Accessing physical collection materials and using computers (Ancestry.com, Newspapers.com, etc.)

Make a Microfilm Appointment
Using machines to view newspapers, death certificates, and other microfilmed materials 

If you don't know which type of appointment would work best for you: Please call us at 651-259-3300

Advanced appointments are not required, but have a number of benefits:

• Guarantee a table/station in the research room of your choice
• Items can be waiting at your table when you arrive!  Use the link in your confirmation email to request up to 3 items in advance.
• Save waiting time on your next visit by holding materials for a future date/time.
• Reserve a specific type of microfilm machine (scanner, printer) or a dedicated computer-only station
• Receive direct email communication in cases of unplanned closures like winter weather.  
• Specify if you have particular needs for your workstation (near an electrical outlet, accessible table, number of chairs at your table)--we’ll do our best to accommodate
• Help with library preparation by indicating if you will be working with oversized materials, photographic negatives, institutional records, legislative research, etc.  
• Same day research appointments can be made when you arrive onsite, but they are subject to availability.  

About Appointments

• Offered when we are open for in-person research: Thursday to Saturday (10am to 4pm)
• Open on a rolling basis, several weeks in advance.
• Appointments close in this self service system 24 hours before the start of the appointment time.
  • To make an advance appointment within 24 hours of the start-time, call 651-259-3300.  

• Researchers should arrive within the first 30 minutes of their appointment time or contact us to say that they will be late.  

  • Similar to a restaurant reservation, if you are more than 30 minutes late and haven’t contacted us, we will open your table/station to same-day researchers
  • If you are not able to make your appointment, please cancel using the link in your confirmation email or call us.  This will open up your space to another researcher!
• Offered as individual appointments or appointments for 2 or 3 people 
  • Note: Each appointment is for one station/table, and all researchers on the appointment will be looking at the exact same materials.  If you plan to work separately, please make separate appointments with different email addresses.  
• There are currently no limits to the number of appointments per researcher per week 
• Researchers can come and go during their appointment time (for breaks, etc.).
• Appointments are specific to one room (Reading Room or Microfilm)
  • You cannot make simultaneous appointments in both spaces in the self-service system because you cannot be actively working in two spaces at the same time  
  • If you complete work in one room and would like to use the other, please ask staff to see if there are available stations!
• Research stations are scheduled with back-to-back appointments.  Morning-only researchers must depart their station by 1pm and afternoon researchers should not arrive early.  Library staff will provide time warnings, so that morning researchers can be finished and packed up before the next appointment begins.  

 
If there are no open/available appointment slots (all appointment blocks are red, rather than green), this means that all appointments have already been claimed by other researchers.   

If you have a true research emergency (e.g. an immediate court filing deadline) and cannot find an appointment time, call us at 651-259-3300.  We will do our best to help you. 

If you do not have an emergency, please check the scheduling site again; if a researcher cancels their appointment it will open back up for another researcher to claim.      

We are open to in-person research all day Thursday through Saturday (10am to 4pm), and appointments are 3 hours long. 

If you would like a full-day appointment, just sign up for two consecutive appointments!   

Thursday 10am to 4pm

Friday      10am to 4pm 

Saturday 10am to 4pm