A New Era: The Folger Now Uses Aeon!

Arrive at the Folger and grab a locker. Check in at the Registrar desk. Find that perfect spot in the Reading Room—not too cold, with just the right amount of light. Say hello to the wonderful staff and pick up a stack of call slips. Fill them out and let the research begin!

Now imagine checking into the Reading Room and stopping by the circulation desk to pick up the books you already requested before your visit. You’ll soon be able to do just that, thanks to our new online requesting system—Aeon!

We are excited to announce that after 85 years we will be leaving behind handwritten call slips to request vault materials and transitioning to the Aeon request system on August 17, 2017. Soon, readers will be able to schedule viewing of vault materials in advance of their visit, as well as on site, by signing up for a request account.

Current readers will be authenticated upon signing up for their account—reapplication is not required.

Request vault material

This new vault material circulation system allows our Reading Room staff to streamline paging and makes it easy for both readers and staff to schedule requests and track the paging process.

Readers will be able to request vault materials directly by copying relevant information from Hamnet or through a link in our Finding Aids. (Eventually we’ll have a direct link from Hamnet too!)

Aeon can also help readers manage their large-scale research projects and the flow of requests in the Reading Room. By saving requests for review (called “Keep for Review” in Aeon), each account holder can release a few requests at a time, while still maintaining a personal queue for what they wish to see next.

Best of all, readers will have a history of their requests for easy viewing again through request duplication. The account also allows readers to create a private tagging system for their requests so that they can sort by a personal controlled vocabulary of keywords, as well as by date requested, transaction number, and status.

Become a reader

Those who wish to apply for readership at the Folger will now use Aeon to submit their application. All communications regarding readership will continue to go through our Reader Registrar, but will reference the Aeon account application. Aeon allows us to update and streamline our registration system, as well as let our readers get straight to researching by allowing them to fill out their contact information ahead of time.

Request an image

If you need new images of collection materials, we are happy to help. If you’re registered for a reader account, you are also immediately eligible to request images.

Otherwise, users who aren’t readers with us can create an image request-only account (select “Image request” in the dropdowns at the account creation screen). If you have questions about image account registration or image requesting, please contact photo@folger.edu. You can find more information about ordering images and about permissions for image use and be sure to check out our digital image database.

We are very excited to serve you with this new system! We’ll announce updates to the system here on The Collation, so check back soon!

Need help?

For more information or assistance with signing up for an account (beginning August 17!), email registrar@folger.edu or rdankert@folger.edu. Video tutorials are coming soon! Check our Folgerpedia page for updates.

Have you used Aeon at another institution? Contact me to become a Folger Aeon Ambassador!