Wayfarer
Day use | No ticket needed
Sign the register at the desk.
Free
Resident
One year | Stack access
Photo identification at the desk.
$40 requested
Lamplighter
One year | Stack access
For readers who can give more.
$120 requested
There are three ways to read here. A Wayfarer signs the register and reads for the day, with no ticket at all. Resident and Lamplighter are the two reader tickets, each good for a year.
Day use and the two tickets compared
| Benefit | Wayfarer | Resident | Lamplighter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Use of the reading room and open shelves | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Help from the reference desk | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Books fetched from the stacks | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Browsing the stacks yourself | No | Yes | Yes |
| A reserved shelf for up to six books, for four weeks | No | Yes | Yes |
| Appointments outside open hours | By arrangement | Yes | Yes |
| Invitation to the quarterly evening talks | No | Yes | Yes, with a guest |
| Requested contribution | None | $40 a year | $120 a year |
The Resident ticket is $20 a year for students and for anyone for whom $40 would be a hardship. No one is refused a ticket for want of money. Tell the keeper, and that is the end of it.
How to get a ticket
Tickets are issued in person at the desk on any open day. Bring photo identification that shows your name. We record your name, your town, and an email or postal address, and nothing else. A ticket runs for one year from the day it is issued.
Paying
Contributions are accepted at the desk in cash or by check. We take no payments through this website or by email, and we will never ask you to make one.
Where the money goes
Rent for our two rooms accounts for about two thirds of what we spend each year. The rest goes on archival boxes and folders, shelving, insurance, and electricity. No one is paid. The accounts are read aloud at the open meeting each November.
About the names
In the legend no one passed the gates of Adocentyn without the leave of their guardians. Ours wave everyone in. A wayfarer is passing through, a resident lives in the city, and someone has to light the beacon. See The Name Adocentyn.