New Jersey State Archives
Division of Archives and Records Management
Department of State
Guide to Reproduction
and Research Services, Policies and Fees
rev. March 2003
The
mission of the New Jersey State Archives is twofold: first, to
preserve the permanent historical public records of the state and colony
of New Jersey; and second, to provide and ensure public access to these
records. This guide provides a summary and explanation of research
and reproduction services offered by the Archives under New Jersey’s
public records law (N.J.S. Title 47) and the Open Public Records Act
of 2001. Statutory and/or regulatory authority is cited for each
type of reproduction or search service, along with an explanation of
special service charges when applicable.
| I. |
Legal
Basis for Services - Search and reproduction services
and fees are based, generally, on the following statutes or regulations:
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a)
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N.J.S.
22A:4-1a, Fees for miscellaneous documents, Section 11e, which
stipulates: “For services herein enumerated the [Secretary
of State] shall collect the following fees … For a paper
copy of any document on file, $1.00 per page. If a roll
of microfilm images is requested, the [Secretary of State] shall
collect a fee of $1.00 for each image on the microfilm roll.
If a microfiche copy of a microfiche is requested, $3.00.”
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b)
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N.J.S.
47:1A-5c (New Jersey Open Public Records Act, P.L. 2001, c. 404),
Special service charges, which stipulates: “Whenever
the nature, format, manner of collation, or volume of a government
record … is such that the record cannot be reproduced by
ordinary document copying equipment … or involves an extraordinary
expenditure of time and effort to accommodate the request, the
public agency may charge, in addition to the actual cost of duplicating
the record, a special service charge that shall be reasonable
and shall be based upon the actual direct cost of providing the
copy or copies …”
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c)
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N.J.S.
47:2-4, Examination of records …; indexing and preservation,
which stipulates that “Any public official may … establish
such rules and regulations concerning the care and preservation
of such records as to him shall seem proper in any department
of which he is in charge.”
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d)
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N.J.S
47:2-5, Preservation and restoration of certain records, which
stipulates that “The [Division of Archives and Records Management]
shall take such action as may be necessary to put the records
… into the custody and condition contemplated by the various
laws relating thereto, and shall provide for their restoration
and preservation.”
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| II. |
General
Considerations – Given the statutory mission of the
State Archives to preserve New Jersey’s public documents,
the following general considerations apply to our reproduction
services and policies:
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a)
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The
State Archives maintains accessioned public records that have
been legally transferred into the ownership of the Archives.
It is the statutory obligation of the Archives to provide access
and reproduction of such materials under the public records law
and the Open Public Records Act of 2001.
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b)
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The
State Archives also maintains—as reference material—printed
books, microfilm of county records, federal censuses, vital records,
etc., and other materials including database and CD-ROM resources.
Reproduction and printing from these media is discretionary on
the part of the Archives management and not subject to public
records law. While photocopying from printed books and microfilm
is available on premises, we do not offer color photocopying or
photographic reproduction of published sources, illustrations
from books, or copyrighted material.
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c)
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In
accordance with citation I-c) and I-d) above, the Archives professional
staff have been authorized by the Director to make a determination
as to the fragility of manuscript and graphic material and, when
appropriate, to deny direct photocopying requests. It is
generally the Archives’ policy to allow photocopying whenever
possible in cases where an alternate media such as microfilm of
the original does not exist. However, manuscript and graphic
material (including photographs) suffers damage from repeated
light exposure and requests for multiple photocopies of such material
may be denied for this reason.
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d)
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In
accordance with citation I-c) and I-d) above, in order to protect
original materials the Archives prohibits the use of outside scanning
and photography equipment other than a non-lighted/non-flash hand-held
camera. Special arrangements must be made in advance of
a visit for non-flash photography and non-lighted video.
In accordance with citation I-b above, special service charges
may apply in cases where extensive staff time is required (see
below). The State Archives’ photographic equipment
is for use by Archives staff only.
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e)
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Reproduced
images used in publications and websites or otherwise widely distributed
should credit New Jersey State Archives, Department of State.
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f)
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All
payments (except for professional photographers’ charges
as explained below) should be payable to New Jersey General
Treasury.
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| III. |
Standard
B&W Photocopying – In consideration of citation
I-a) above, the State Archives charges the following for standard
black-and-white photocopying:
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a)
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$.10
per page for up to 8.5”x14” copies of printed material
from the Archives’ reference book collection
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b)
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$.50
per page for up to 11”x17” copies of manuscript material
provided in response to in-person requests for specific materials
already retrieved from the stack areas
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c)
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$1.00
per page for up to 11”x17” copies of manuscript material
provided in response to mail or other requests from offsite users,
or in cases which require Archives staff to pull or copy material
beyond the in-person visit of the requestor
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d)
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$.50
per page for up to 11”x17” copies made from microfilm
reader-printers
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| IV. |
Color
Photocopying – The State Archives offers color photocopy
services for original materials in our collection, including manuscripts,
small maps and photographs. We do not offer color
photocopying of printed materials from our reference collection,
illustrations from books, or copyrighted materials.
It is important
to note that the color photocopy process is considerably more
expensive than B&W photocopying in terms of supply costs.
It also requires extraordinary effort and staff time to ensure
acceptable color balance, resolution and image clarity while at
the same time minimizing light exposure. In accordance with
citation I-b) above, the State Archives charges fees as shown
below. In accordance with I-c), I-d) and II-c) above, color
photocopying will be limited to three copies of an image provided
the staff determines that the condition of the original is such
that the document can be photocopied.
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a)
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For
8.5”x11” color photocopies: $3.50 for the first
copy of an image; $1.50 for the second and third copies of the
same image
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b)
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For
11”x17” color photocopies: $4.50 for the first
copy of an image; $2.00 for the second and third copies of the
same image
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| V. |
Traditional
Photographic Reproduction - Traditional (film-based) photographic
reproduction is available to users in need of B&W or color
prints, slide duplication and copy negatives. Such services
require the work of a professional photographer, and are therefore
considered a special service under the Open Public Records Act;
see I-b) above. Further, the Archives may require that offsite
photography take place in the presence of an Archives staff person,
by appointment with the photographer, in order to provide security
and ensure proper handling of original archival materials.
In such cases, additional “rush” fees may be charged
by the photographer. Based on I-c) and I-d) above, the Archives
may also require that a negative, or second negative, be produced
for retention by the Archives as a preservation measure to protect
the original image or document and to prevent unnecessary repeated
future handling and light exposure.
The State Archives
has established regular business with several photographers in
the Trenton area. Photographers’ charges are paid directly
to the photographer by the person requesting the work. Contact
Archives staff for a list of photographers’ prices.
In addition, the Archives charges the following special service
fees based on actual costs of staff hours (onsite and/or offsite)
as authorized by the Open Public Records Act:
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a)
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If
no negative or slide exists for an original document or image
to be reproduced: $25.00 special service charge for
up to 5 items; $5.00 for each additional item. State Archives
will retain the negative; a second negative for the researcher
can be produced at the researcher’s cost, if needed.
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b)
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If
the Archives already holds a reproducible negative in additional
to the original item or if a copy negative already exists:
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i.
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For
negatives up to 8”x10”:
$10.00 special service charge for up to 5 negatives; $2.00 for
each additional negative.
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| ii. |
For
negatives larger than 8”x10” if
the researcher only requires a contact print (otherwise,
see below): $10.00 special service charge for up to 5 negatives;
$2.00 for each additional negative.
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c)
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If the Archives holds an original negative, or if the reproducible
negative is larger than 8”x10” and the researcher needs
more than a contact print: $25.00 special service charge
for up to 5 negatives; $5.00 for each additional negative.
The researcher will bear the cost of the archival print to be
retained by the Archives for future reproduction use, if no print
exists; the researcher will bear the cost of the copy negative
to be retained by the Archives for future reproduction use and;
the researcher will bear cost of the second copy negative if a
negative is required by the researcher.
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| VI. |
Slide Production – The Archives offers in-house
slide production (original photography) for original archival
materials up to roughly 24” x 27”. This is considered
a special service (see I-b above). The Archives charges
service fees accordingly based on the cost of film and staff hours
(assuming a minimum of one hour studio time), and as authorized
by the Open Public Records Act. Slide production charges
are $35.00 for the first item and $8.00 for each additional item.
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| VII. |
Electronic Scanning – The Archives offers in-house
scanning of items up to 11” x 17” on an Epson Expression
1640XL (resolution 1600 x 3200 dpi). This produces a JPEG
file on 1.4 MB 3.5” diskette, CD-ROM, or ZIP disk.
This is considered a special service under the Open Public Records
Act, and charges are therefore based on the actual cost of supplies
and staff time. The Archives charges $25.00 per item.
Additional media costs will depend on the size of the electronic
file(s) produced and the researcher’s requirements. Charges
are as follows: 3.5” diskette, $2.00; CD-ROM (with case):
$7.00; ZIP disk, $20.00. The researcher can provide
his/her own diskette, CD or Zip disk to avoid media charges.
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| VIII. |
Staff Labor Charges for Video/Documentary Production
– Technical staff are available by appointment for assistance
in video/documentary production. As a special service (see
I-b above), the charge is $25.00 per hour, per staff person.
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| IX. |
Microfilm
Duplication – The Archives offers vesicular duplication
of microfilm reels of archival records filmed by the Division
of Archives and Records Management, including state census records
and newspapers. This is a special service (see I-b above);
duplication prices based on actual cost of supplies and staff
labor are as follows:
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a)
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35-mm:
$35/reel (certain record series may be discounted to $25/reel
if print negatives exist)
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b)
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16-mm:
$25/reel
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| X. |
Research
Services – In addition to duplication services, the
State Archives also offers research services for several genealogical
collections. Searches in certain record series are more
time-consuming than other series, hence fees vary. Also,
in the case of 1848-1878 vital records, an additional cost related
to the preservation of the original records is factored into the
fee. All fees include search charges and photocopy charges
for 8.5”x11” up to 11”x17” B&W photocopies,
as appropriate. Varying data elements (search keys) are
required in order for the Archives staff to initiate a search.
For more information consult Search
Services and Fees. Fees are based on the statutes cite d in
Section I above as follows:
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Record
Series |
Basis |
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Birth, Marriage & Death Records, May 1848 – May 1878
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I-a,
I-b, I-c, I-d |
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All other records owned by the State Archives |
I-a,
I-b |
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Federal census records, obituaries and West Jersey Proprietors surveys |
I-a |
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