Archives I - Archives Nationales, Paris

The first time you do anything is always the most difficult just because of the mental hurdle of the unknown, and of course this applies to working in new archives as much as anything else. There's rarely that much information on the Internet from a grad student researcher perspective, either, regarding getting around particular archives. As such, I'm going to start writing out a series of posts of what to expect from the major archives I've used in the past - all the things I wish I'd known beforehand, not necessarily because they're super important, but just so I could mentally prepare and avoid delays before diving in.

First stop, the Paris location for the Archives nationales.
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Basics:
If you're planning a research project related to French history, you'll probably end up in the Archives nationales for obvious reasons. Less obvious is where that means you'll go. The main Paris location is for state records that aren't military (see the beautifully acronymed SHAT archives for that), aren't foreign affairs (see Archives des Affaires etrangers), and took place before 1957 or so (after that are in Fontainebleau, a 45-min train ride from Paris, and possibly this gets shaken up more once the new Pierrefitte-sur-Seinne site gets up and running roughly in the 2012-2013 range).

Website
http://www.archivesnationales.culture.gouv.fr/chan/paris/index.html

Getting There
The location isn't terribly near any particular Metro, but it's a fairly short walk from several, especially Saint-Sebatien-Froissart and Rambuteau. There's also always the option of the Velib (city-run bike share program), which is a great deal but requires either jumping through some hoops or having a pin-and-chip credit card that isn't used in the US (apparently American Express works if you're either of the people who have one of those).
Basic Paris transport planning, if you're still in those stages:
Like London, Paris uses a zone system for the metro, meaning you pay based on which zone you start in and which you end in (zone 1-2, 1-1, 5-2, etc.). Also like London, it can get you almost anywhere, is reasonably efficient, and costs a lot. Unlike London, Zone 1 is really big and covers everything you'll need unless you're living way out in the suburbs.
If you want peace of mind, get a Navigo Decouverte card, which is like a BART, Metro, or Oyster card in operation but only loads up in week, month, or year payments (and in a fit of stupidity, it's a calendar week/month/year, so a week bought on Friday lasts two days and a month bought on the 15th gets you about 15 days, so be careful when you buy). With this payment, you get unlimited rides in the zones you pay for, which is great if you get lost or want to quickly drop off to see something and get back on.
The other option, usually a little cheaper depending on how often you ride (especially since you can use the Velib, which is not included on the Navigo pass, which is also poor urban planning), is to buy a pack (or 'carnet') of 10 tickets. Kind of a pain to haul around, probably slightly more economical, a little more stress if you make a bonehead move and get off at the wrong stop like I might. Your call. Tripadvisor Paris forums are a good place for further details.

Where to Stay
As I just said, public transit is pretty good, if a little pricey. If you can find a rental apartment within walking distance, you'll save a lot of money and enjoy your trip more, but obviously that really limits your options in what's already a frustratingly narrow pool of options.
Airbnb.com, vrbo.com, and some others will let you rent directly from people who have a spare room or apartment to let, and couchsurfing.org is basically the same for free in principle (I've never done couchsurfing, I have used the others). Airbnb has the advantage of an escrow system that keeps away the scammers you'll find all over craigslist Paris and other obvious places.
The best tip I got was to look at H-France listserv's housing section. H-France's website even updates the listings frequently enough. This is how I found a place for two months of my 2.5 month trip. 

Your First Visit
Walking in the door to CARAN (the main building for researchers, well marked) there's a guard just inside who will want to search your bags in a perfunctory way. Someone at the desk a bit up to your right will welcome you, make sure you have a passport/ID you'll need for a reader's card, and then check that you have specific record groups you plan to investigate. My spoken French is pretty weak, but the receptionist was happy to switch to English when we hit a point of confusion, so don't stress if your language skills aren't great. So:

1. Bring notes with the specific groups you want to access. Example: Section F 17 (Education), preferably with some extra information.
2. Bring your passport. You'll need it for the reader's ticket
3. Bring 20 Euros. That's the price for a non-student annual reader's card. You'll only pay 10 if you're a student and less for weekly passes, but better too much than too little money.

 The reception guy will point you to the office where you'll register for the card. Go through that process about as you'd expect, then she'll point you to the office near the reception desk where you have to actually pay for the card (can't just pay the card lady, for some reason). Having obtained a receipt from him, BACK to card lady to get your card. Hurrah! Now you can request documents online. She'll also point you to the lockers, where you can store your stuff.
Rules for Things:
Computers, cameras, and the usual things are fine. No liquids, food, sharp stuff, pens, or books of your own, per usual.

I arrived too late today to request files, so I've put off my first extended archivist consultation and actual file review. I'll update this section once I've spent more time here.

You can only request 5 things online in advance and have 5 in reserve, so mostly you're limited to 10 items at a time. That could be tricky! We'll see.

Food
There doesn't appear to be any sort of cafeteria around, so bring your lunch and store it in your locker or just go out to one of the cafes in the neighborhood. I'll update this section if I find particularly good ones.

Wifi
Doesn't appear to be any free wifi access as far as I've discovered. I'll update if I discover otherwise. There is a computer lab with seemingly minimal screening (someone had managed to install some malware on the one I was using already).