The volumes in the reading rooms of the Chamber's Library can be accessed freely. Users have to fill in the special form and put it on the shelf in place of the volume they have taken to read. The volumes have to be left on the tables after users have finished reading them; they are put back on the shelves by the library staff only.
The current periodicals can be consulted on the fifth floor: the loose issues are to be found in the Periodicals Reading Room, while the bound volumes of the last five years are housed in the corridor opposite. If users wish to consult previous years, they have to fill in the special form and present it to the distribution point on the same floor.
The material housed in the storerooms (including non current periodicals) has to be requested at the distribution point, on the ground floor.
The volumes placed in the external storerooms are accessed by a shuttle service running three times a week (on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays).
The old and prized volumes can be consulted adhering to specific procedures and with the assistance of the Library staff. On a general basis, the library rules allow the public to consult no more than six volumes at a time.
Requests can be made up to 30 minutes before Library closing times. After consultation, the volumes requested from the storerooms have to be handed back at the distribution point, or can be left on deposit for up to two weeks.
None of the material that can be consulted directly (parliamentary records, legislative collections and the volumes in the rooms) can be left on deposit. Users are obliged to treat the material lent to them with great care and prevent it from being damaged. Any persons removing, defacing or damaging the Library contents will be barred from the Library and charges preferred against them.
Only Members of parliament and employees of the Chamber and Senate administrations are allowed to borrow books.
The Library accepts interlibrary borrowing from the Libraries of other constitutional bodies. Other requests will be considered individually.
For more information, please refer to the bibliographical orientation and information service.
As from February 2007, users of the Chamber's Library have also been able to utilise the services offered by the Senate Library in line with the Joint Parliamentary Library project.