What care must I take when handling documents?
36 C.F.R. § 1254.36
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01To prevent damage to documents, we have rules relating to the physical handling of documents.
(a) You must use only pencils in research rooms where original documents are used.
(b) You must not lean on, write on, refold, trace, or otherwise handle documents in any way likely to cause damage.
(c) You must follow any additional rules that apply to the use of special media records at our facilities, such as wearing cotton gloves we provide you for handling still pictures and any original film-based materials.
(d) You must identify documents for reproduction only with a paper tab that we provide you. You must not use paper clips, rubber bands, self-stick notes or similar devices to identify documents.
(e) You must use exceptionally valuable or fragile documents only under conditions the research room attendant specifies.
(f) You must request that research room personnel unstaple or remove other fasteners from documents that cannot otherwise be read.
(g) If you notice damage to any document(s), notify the research room attendant immediately.
Source: eCFRURL: https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2024-07-01/title-36.xmlFetched: 7/26/2026