Visit the Archives

Do I need an appointment to visit the Archives?

The Cooper Union Archives & Special Collections keeps the same hours as the Cooper Union Library, and does not require current students, faculty or staff to make appointments in order to view archival material during these hours. Outside researchers are advised to write archives@cooper.edu with the date and time of your intended visit, so that access can be arranged with building security.

Additionally, because some of our archival material is stored off-site, we encourage anyone planning to view a specific collection to email a few days before your visit with the collection name and call number, so that we can be sure that to have it on site and available when you arrive. 

How do I get to the Archives?

The Cooper Union Archives & Special Collections are housed in the mezzanine of the Cooper Union Library, located in the Foundation Building at the intersection of 3rd Avenue and 7th Street in downtown Manhattan.

The Archives have their own adjacent reading room for researchers to spend time with archival material. Unfortunately, this room is not currently ADA accessible, but we are more than happy to make arrangements to serve archival materials to researchers in the library on the ground floor. Please contact us at archives@cooper.edu if you have questions or concerns about ADA accessibility and the Archives. 

Anything else I need to know before I go?

Glad you asked! There are a few quirks of archival research that it's handy to be prepared for, such as:

• You will be asked to check your coats and bags at the door. 
• You are welcome to use pencils, notepads, laptops, or tablets. You can not bring pens, food, drink, or gum into the reading room. 
• Photographs are allowed for research purposes. If you would like to use an image from the Archive in a published work, please contact archives@cooper.edu for information on rights and permissions.
• Scans of archival material are made on a case-by-case basis. Some of our material is too fragile to submit to a scanner, and we reserve the right to refuse to photocopy certain collections.