Charles Babbage Institute
The Charles Babbage Institute (CBI) is an archives and research center dedicated to preserving the history of information technology and promoting and conducting research in the field.
Contents |
Address
211 Elmer L. Andersen Library 222 21st Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55408
Website
Telephone
612-624-5050
Fax
612-625-8054
cbi@umn.edu
Schedule & hours
Open Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30, and Saturday 9:00 to 1:00 U.S. Central Time. Closed for major U.S. holidays.
Working language(s)
English
Layout
Located on the second floor of Elmer L. Andersen Library, on the West Bank of the University of Minnesota campus. We share a central reading room with the other archives units in Andersen Library.
Directions
Please email or call for more extensive directions.
Holdings
Catalogues & finding aids
Research procedures
Access
Appointments are encouraged, but walk-in research is permitted. No letters of introduction are needed, with the exception of several collections that you need advanced written permission from the archivist to access.
First visit
You will be asked to fill out a patron registration form and to show a photo ID. You will also get a brief introduction to the archives and procedures.
Permitted and prohibited items
(if possible, account for laptop computers, cameras, scanners, phones, pens and pencils, loose papers, and so on)
- Permitted: Laptop computers (limited wireless Internet access available), digital cameras (on silent, non-flash mode), phones (on silent), pencils, small notebooks, looseleaf paper
- Prohibited: Pens, scanners
Document ordering
Request documents for viewing from the archivist assisting you. You can generally have a cartful at one time, which will be about six archival boxes or so.
Document delivery
If you have requested materials in advance, they will be waiting for you when you arrive. If it is an on-the-spot request, it will take about 15 minutes to pull the boxes (unless they are in remote storage, in which case it will take 24 hours). Materials will be delivered to the reading room. Let the archivist know when you are finished with the boxes.
Photocopying, photography, microfilming
Black and white photocopies cost 25 cents per page, and color photocopies cost $1.00 per page. For a small order, the turnaround time is usually 1-2 days and can sometimes be done on the spot. Image scans cost $10.00 apiece, plus a $5.00 processing fee and potentially a use fee depending on your proposed use.
Key individuals
Archive staff
- Stephanie Horowitz, Assistant Archivist (horow021@umn.edu)
- Arvid Nelsen, Archivist (nels0307@umn.edu)
Scholars
- Thomas Misa (tmisa@umn.edu)
- Jeff Yost (yostx003@umn.edu)
Practicalities
Food
There are vending machines easily accessible on the ground floor from the elevators at the campus entrance to the building. There are also two convenience stores and a pizza shop in the adjacent campus buildings. Seven Corners, the closest off-campus neighborhood, contains a number of restaurants of varying types.
Lockers
Lockers are right across the hall from the reading room. They take a 25 cent deposit, which is returned to you when you return the key.
Washrooms
When you leave the reading room, go either left or right around the hallway. You will see the restrooms ahead of you.
Transportation
Internet access
Funding
Bookstore
The Coffman Student Union, containing a campus bookstore, is about a 10-minute walk from Andersen Library
See also
(links to relevant websites and resources)
