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A closed stack library contains books and other items that are not available for viewing or browsing by the general public. Many important libraries close their stacks of books to the public, limiting retrieval to professional library staff only (policies on who may use the collections varies). Most private, larger public, and university/academic/research libraries who have open stacks also have special collections that are closed. Reasons for having closed stacks vary, and include preventing theft, vandalism, and minimizing reshelving errors.[1]
Having access to the stacks limited to the staff of the library or to a limited group of library users.
We maintain a closed stacks reading room for scholarly access to our book collections, archival and manuscript collections, and media holdings.
... access to this area is restricted to faculty and graduate students of the University of Illinois and those patrons with special access cards
The collections are non-circulating and are used only in designated reading rooms.