It goes without writing that these are very uncertain times with lots of factors in play. With so many of our sister libraries, archives, museums, and historical societies currently operating under new terms of service, getting to the information you seek is likely to be harder and take more time than in the recent past.
Please be patient. Many of us GLAM employees (Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museum folks) are teleworking with sporadic access (at best) to our respective holdings - and not every organization is managing to keep staff on the payroll. Those connected to colleges and universities may not be planning to re-open until the Fall.
It is prudent to contact any institution you hope to visit in advance to confirm its current operations and service delivery rules and schedule. Circumstances can change quickly as it did for the Beaufort District Collection around mid-day on June 18th. One minute I had customers and appointments set up into the following week and the next minute, the Research Room was closed until further notice.
But even in uncertain times, being courteous and reasonable with others can go a long way in establishing a good working relationship between a researcher and an institution's staff responsible for special collections materials. Michael John Neill, my favorite genealogical guru, offers a few pertinent reminders about how best to get a good response from library or archives staff about your request for assistance:
Please be patient. Many of us GLAM employees (Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museum folks) are teleworking with sporadic access (at best) to our respective holdings - and not every organization is managing to keep staff on the payroll. Those connected to colleges and universities may not be planning to re-open until the Fall.
It is prudent to contact any institution you hope to visit in advance to confirm its current operations and service delivery rules and schedule. Circumstances can change quickly as it did for the Beaufort District Collection around mid-day on June 18th. One minute I had customers and appointments set up into the following week and the next minute, the Research Room was closed until further notice.
- Be polite.
- Try and be specific in your request.
- Do not send rambling emails with extraneous information–the archivist is there to help you find a document not a solution to your personal problems.
- View online inventories and finding aids, if available.
- Use online indexes and databases, if available.
- Be patient–you are not the only patron.
- Images or copies of records may not be free.
- Ask if there is something on the record you do not understand. The archivist may be able to give you a quick answer or refer you to someone else.
- The archivist is also under directive to preserve the records.
Please feel free to contact me with your request for assistance during the temporary shutdown of the BDC Research Room:
You can call 843-255-6446 and leave me a voice mail. I will return your call within 72 hours. - You can send an email to gracec@bcgov.net; bdc@bcl.net or bcl@bcgov.net. Those will be monitored Mondays through Fridays, 9 AM to 5 PM.
Take care.
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