The principal service rendered to the public is to ensure consultation of the documentary material preserved within the Institute. This service takes place in the reading room, which is open eleven hours per day, from Monday to Friday, and in a more limited way also on Saturday morning.
In addition to the reading room there are other services, all designed to give users the maximum benefit to be gained from the documentary patrimony. The services consist of:
- a laboratory of photo-reproductions that makes reproductions of documents, upon request of the user, on the basis of fees defined by ministerial tariff;
- a restoration laboratory that works on deteriorated material in order to obtain long term conservation of such documents;
- an internal library of the Institute that is at the disposal of the scholars for use only within the Institute.
A research service by correspondence provides answers to specific questions about the historical materials possessed by the Bologna State Archives and enables an initial orientation experience for those who cannot directly access the reading room or who want to verify the existence of particularly pertinent  material before planning a stay in Bologna.
Finally, very appreciated is the Institute’s didactic activity, principally addressed to students of all levels, from primary schools to university.