The Library of Montserrat makes its bibliographic and digital resources available to researchers for the development of their scientific activities. 

Appointments are required. Requests for documents must be made in advance by e-mail biblioteca@abadiamontserrat.net or by telephone 93 877 77 68 

Opening hours are from Monday to Friday, from 9:15 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 3:30 to 5 p.m. 

Documents are served in the consultation room, which is the only space accessible to researchers. Admission to the library rooms is not permitted.

To access the Montserrat Library, a researcher’s card or a personal identification card, such as an ID card or passport, must be presented.
In order to consult certain reserve collections, an official letter of introduction from an academic research organization, signed by a university lecturer or a member of an officially recognized research academy, will be required.
The consultation of this collection is subject to the express authorization of the person in charge of the library.

General terms of use

Coats, backpacks, handbags, suitcases, packages, folders, etc … and sharp or prickly objects that can cause damage to the bottoms should be left aside.
For safety and hygiene reasons and to ensure the preservation of funds and equipment, it is not allowed to eat food or drink in the library’s consultation room.
Silence is required to facilitate the study and research work and therefore the use of mobile phones is not allowed in the consultation room. Devices must be muted.
It is compulsory to follow and respect the health and safety regulations in force at all times.

Rules for manipulating the collections kept in the Montserrat Library 

In order to ensure proper handling of documents during their consultation and to guarantee the conservation of its collections, users are requested to collaborate in complying with the following rules for handling the collections held in the Library of Montserrat:

• Fill in the necessary forms to request the materials.

• Before consulting a document, you need to make sure that your hands are clean and dry. Fingers should not be wet to turn the pages.

• For the consultation of some specific materials, gloves should be used, which will be provided by the library staff. 

• Materials should always be consulted on the table in the proper position. When working with bound volumes, binding should not be forced. 

• It is not allowed to rely on documents to write or trace the material being consulted. 

• Some documents cannot be placed on top of others. 

• Sheets should be handled carefully to prevent them from tearing or bending. The maps, engravings and drop-downs that some books contain require special attention. If you have difficulty unfolding or folding the sheets, consult with the library staff.

• To mark a reading point, a bookmark should be used, never stickers, pens or clips. 

• Only pencil can be used to take notes. The use of pens, or markers is not permitted. 

• Engravings, drawings and illustrations or microfilm copies may be affected by direct contact with the hands. Try to handle them by the edges.  

• Loose documents that are stored in folders, envelopes, boxes or bundles may be used one at a time, to avoid misplacing the documents they contain. The user will not alter the order of the documents.

• If a document is detected in poor condition, incomplete or with unopened pages, you can report it to the library staff.

• For reasons of preservation, facsimile, digital or microfilm reproductions may be provided for consultation in place of some documents, if their state of preservation so requires. 

Pictures

Researchers can take photographs of the holdings of the Library of Montserrat with their mobile devices. However, the permission of the library staff is required.
The use of the images made must respect the legislation on copyright and intellectual property. The images may only be used for study and research purposes and in no case for commercial purposes. 

Not allowed

• Reproduce documents with materials with folders or complex handling and those whose state of conservation, in the opinion of the library staff, discourages it. 

• Photograph works that have already been digitized. 

• Photograph more than 20 pages of the same work. 

• The use of elements to support or hold the works, not provided by the Library of Montserrat.  

• Use of flash, tripod or additional lenses. The use of personal scanners. image and sound recordings. Photograph computer screens. 

Lending of instruments for the proper consultation of materials 

• The Library of Montserrat makes available to researchers pencils, gloves, magnifying glasses, strips of conservation paper, lecterns, support cushions for materials, supports with various opening angles, weights that allow to keep the works open during the consultation, lamp of cold light for the consultation of watermarks and ultraviolet lamp. 

• We have a wireless technology service to access the Internet for free from laptops, tablets or mobile phones.

The works published with material from the Library of Montserrat will be cited with the acronym BAM (Biblioteca de l’Abadia de Montserrat) followed by the topographic signature of the cited document or funds: 

Examples: 

BAM, Ms. 174 ; BAM, Segle XVI 8º 42 o BAM. Fons Xavier Fàbregas The works published with material from the Archive of Montserrat will be cited with the acronym AAM (Arxiu de l’Abadia de Montserrat). 

The works published with material from the Music Archive of Montserrat will be cited with the acronym AMM (Arxiu Musical de Montserrat). 

The works published with material from the Photographic Archive of Montserrat will be cited with the acronym AFM (Arxiu Fotogràfic de Montserrat). 

In the case of editions in which reproductions of the collection of the Montserrat Library, the Abbey Archive, the Montserrat Music Archive or the Montserrat Photographic Archive appear, this text should appear in the footer: All rights reserved © BAM; All rights reserved © AAM; All rights reserved © AMM; All rights reserved © AFM.

The revised text of the Intellectual Property Law, approved by Royal Legislative Decree 1/1996, of 12 April (updated in some aspects by Law 21/2014, of 4 November) attributes to the authors the full provision and the exclusive right to the exploitation of the work, without more limitations than those established by the law itself. The exploitation rights of the work will last for the entire life of the author plus 70 years after his death (art. 26) or 80 years in the case of death before 1987 (fourth transitional provision). The right to exploit the work includes its reproduction, distribution, public communication and transformation (art. 17). Therefore, if the exploitation rights of the work correspond to third parties, the applicant must process and obtain the necessary permits from the rights holders or the corresponding management entities. 

With regard to the images owned by the Montserrat Library, it reserves the right to reproduce its documentary collections according to the state of conservation, the reserved nature of the materials or the clauses established in its transfer. 

For images owned by the Library of Montserrat, in case they are intended for public use, the authorization form must be requested from the Library of Montserrat and the corresponding fees must be paid. 

In case of doubt, the person in charge of the library will be the one to authorize, in the last instance, the most appropriate method of reproduction, after assessing the physical condition of the works.