Consultation of historical archives and antique materials

Antique and valuable materials are available as reference only and can be reproduced in the dedicated room.
To book an appointment please call 055 275 1370 o contact Lucia Frigenti, Laura Quinto or Ada Schettini.

The following antique documents of the Library have been digitized and are available online:

• Historical card catalogue of the Biomedical Library
• Antonio Cocchi's Effemeridi
• Impronte digitali - Biomedical section

Antique and valuable materials are available as reference only. For specific needs please contact the librarians during the opening hours.

Part of the antique material has been digitized and is available online. For more information please visit the page below:

• Archives, historical collections and digitizations of the Sciences Library

Historical archives and materials published before 1886 are available upon request in the dedicated room on the second floor with the following hours:

First time users must fill in a registration form to access the service in the dedicated room.

To request the material a form must be filled out and handed in at the desk on the ground floor at least 30 minutes before the distribution hours for storage material (10.30 am, 12.30 pm and 4.30 pm).

Antique and valuable items are available for consultation only. Such material can be reproduced according to the copyright laws and the internal Rules for authorised photographic and film reproductions.

• Agriculture library
  Ask the librarians at the information desk. Normally the material is available for reading only.
• Architecture library
  The material is available for reading only. On wednesdays and thursdays, reading is available from 9.30 to 13.30 at the Sala Archivi e Fondo Storico on the second floor. On mondays, tuesdays and fridays to request an item a form must be filled out and handed in at the information desk at least 30 minutes before distribution times (9.30 and 11.30 am); the items must be read in the Reference Room and returned by 1.30 pm.
  A selection of the documents has been digitalized and can be accessed online: https://www.sba.unifi.it/p210.html
• Engineering library
  Materials are distributed upon request during opening hours. They are only available for reading with the exception of the Montefusco archive that can be borrowed.

Antique, rare and valuable material as well as other archival materials can be consulted in the Rare Books Room  on the first floor of the library's main building in Piazza Brunelleschi. All print material dating before 1830 is considered antique, rare and valuable as defined in art. 2 of Regulations for the consultation of antuique, rare and valuable material and the access to historical archives. In the Rare Books Room users can also access the volumes held in the Paleography section.

Albeit some of the antique material (16th to 19th century) has got entries in the online catalogue, call numbers must be searched through the card catalogues.

Volumes published before 1886, manuscripts and letters cannot be photocopied. They can be photographed, however, upon request to be submitted to the library director. Users will be charged of all the reproduction expenses. All reproductions have to abide by copyright laws and the internal Rules for authorised photographic and film reproductions.

The consultation of archival material is possible for all catalogued archives, according to the limitations set by the donor and the general rules for access to private documents. The consultation of non-catalogued or partially catalogued archives must be authorized by the library director.

Enquiries to: umanistica.rari(AT)sba.unifi.it

Rare Books Room opening hours:

From November 27, 2023, the Rare Books Room will be closed on Mondays and Wednesdays.