Reference Manual

Introduction & General Principles

The Smithsonian Institution Archives (SIA) is the collector and keeper of records of the Smithsonian Institution, and of other documents pertinent to its history, collections, and research interests. SIA holdings are essential for institutional maintenance and accountability, and as a major source of evidence for scholars interested in Smithsonian history and the history of American museums, science, technology, art, and culture.

Reference service at SIA is designed to provide maximum benefit to institutional and public users. The Archives is not, however, a general information database for comprehensive public knowledge, so it is less well suited to random, general interest inquiries unrelated to Institutional history or subjects related to Smithsonian interests. Routine inquiries that cannot be readily answered from sources at hand in the Archives are referred to more appropriate sources such as curatorial departments and special collection repositories at the Smithsonian; the National Archives and Records Administration; the Library of Congress; local college or public libraries; or other repositories as appropriate.

Reference service at SIA impacts many staff members in different ways. While a team of archivists is dedicated to reference, the service transcends team boundaries and the Records Management, Arrangement and Description, and Preservation Teams all play critical roles in assuring that it functions at a high level. While both the Archives Division and Institutional History Division answer reference inquiries received from a common clientele and many of the policies and procedures used are the same or similar, reference service performed by the Archives Division is the primary focus of this manual.

Research & Reference Service Defined

Research and reference service are not the same thing. Research is labor-intensive; involving extensive searching through, reading, and intellectual immersion in large quantities of documentation. The researcher seeks to attain comprehensive mastery of the material, and thereby, gaining understanding and drawing trustworthy conclusions from it.

There are two kinds of reference service. Reference service can be systematic assistance to help researchers employ their research time effectively and to direct them to large bodies of material most likely to contain the richest yield of information pertinent to their topics for research. It can also be searching, sometimes extensively, for particular answers to relatively narrow questions of fact. The former requires approximation, the latter precision.

Both kinds of reference service take place at SIA, and is undertaken by staff of both the Archives Division's Reference Team and the Institutional History Division (IHD). Research is undertaken primarily, but not exclusively, by our scholarly patrons, both from inside and from outside the Institution. Some research work is undertaken by members of the Archives staff, particularly the IHD.

Reference inquiries are received from a host of patron-types from both within and outside of the Smithsonian. Institutional patrons include administrators, general counsel, human resources personnel, curators, historians, fellows, interns, and collection management personnel. Outside users of the Archives include members of the scholarly community (historians and scientists); genealogists and family historians; the media, including video and film production companies; website developers; students; and the general public.

Reference staff provide guidance and answers when asked about . . .

• how to use the holdings for intensive research,
• specific information from the holdings,
• the nature and organization of SIA and its holdings,
• hours of operation, location, and procedures for use of the reading room, copying services, etc.,
• other repositories, libraries, or curatorial departments,
• general preservation issues and procedures; and
• the archival profession, in general.

Reference Service Objectives & Standards

There are four primary objectives of reference service:

• to help patrons find answers they need to specific questions;
• to guide patrons to sources of material through which they may search to master chosen topics of study;
• to lead patrons to other sources/repositories which may be helpful in answering inquiries; and,
• to ensure the survival of materials for future use.

Reference service is at its best when researcher and archivist both are excited by discoveries made in the course of research, and when each respects the professional integrity of the other's work. Archivists achieve this standard by a thorough knowledge of the collections, by understanding the nature of research inquiries and researcher needs, and thereby acting as brokers between the researcher and the myriad documents in the Archives.

Knowledge of Smithsonian history and an understanding of how the collections relate to that history and to the disciplines associated with the Institution are essential in becoming a good reference archivist at SIA. Archivists are familiar with frequently used records, special collections, and publications in the Archives. Archivists are also aware of and comfortable with the numerous databases, websites, and other on-line tools that have become essential in answering reference inquiries.

Reference service is an archives' most public activity and the value of archives is realized only when they are used. Therefore, staff members engaged in reference service must ensure that service is polite, thorough, and informed. Their responses are prompt, accurate, and complete.

Access & Restrictions on Use

The Smithsonian is a public trust dedicated to the increase and diffusion of knowledge. Its Archives is dedicated to providing equitable service to all registered researchers and inquirers; and access to its holdings to the fullest possible extent consistent with personal privacy and Institutional proprietary rights.

While the majority of institutional records and special collections in SIA custody are open to research without restrictions, in some cases sensitive materials are restricted through agreement between the Archives and transferring offices or donors. Access to restricted institutional records requires explicit permission of the transferring office or its successor office. This may be had through direct application by a researcher to the pertinent office. SIA supplies a form which researchers may use in applying for the waiver of restrictions. Contact osiaref@si.edu for a "Request for Permission to use Restricted Records form.

Privately donated materials may carry restrictions imposed by deed as a condition of donation. SIA does not accept restrictions without careful examination of their impact on the overall purposes of the Smithsonian Institution and a careful weighing of the relative values of private rights and public knowledge. Explicit permission from the donor, or his agent, is required before access to restricted materials is granted.

Any restriction, whether imposed by an originating office of the Smithsonian Institution or by a private donor, may be waived only by the originating office (or its successor) or the donor (or the donor's designated agent). SIA does not itself waive such restrictions, nor will it act as advocate for any researcher seeking such waivers. Reference staff will assist researchers with information (office contacts, donors, etc.) needed to apply for a waiver of restrictions. The application process is the responsibility of the researcher.

Oral History & Videohistory Collections

Oral history collections are an excellent supplement to official records and special collections and researchers are encouraged to use this additional documentation when appropriate to their research project. While many collections are open to research, others hold restrictions on access or use, or may be closed to examination unless explicit permission is granted by the interviewee. Researchers wishing access to restricted interview transcripts/tapes must sign a release form. The release form details any restrictions or conditions the researcher must agree to honor when using the material. Researchers who wish to receive a waiver to a restriction, such as no copying or quoting, can also submit a request to the interviewee. If an interview is closed, the researcher must submit a written request to the interviewee for written permission to use the transcript/tape. Researchers should contact SIHistory@si.edu for further information. Researchers wishing to listen to or view audiotapes or videotapes of interviews may use cassette copies in the playback machines stored in the reading room.

Freedom of Information Act Requests

SIA does not directly respond to requests received under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The Office of General Counsel (OGC) serves as the Smithsonian's FOIA office. If a FOIA request comes directly to the Archives it is forwarded to OGC for action.

Loans & Charge-Outs

The Archives exists to preserve surviving documentation. Lending or "charging-out" an original document, photograph, or file imperils its survival. Therefore, archival loans are rare and carefully managed to ensure protection of material during its absence.

• Archives may be loaned to responsible offices and institutions, often for exhibition, reproduction, or conservation.

• Institutional records may be loaned to the office that created them, or to their legal successors.

• Personal papers may be loaned to the person who created the collection and/or donated it to the Archives, or to those authorized by the donor.

• Records of professional societies may be loaned to the society, or to those authorized by the society.

In each case, however, a readable copy is preferred to the loan of original documents. Primary concern is for the survival of the original primary evidence and its continued availability in the Smithsonian Archives for all users.

Archives are not checked out to any researchers merely for their convenience. Similarly, although SIA maintains a small library of printed works for ready reference in the reading room, these items are not available for check out. They must remain available in the reading room for the use of all patrons and SIA staff members who require access to them daily.

Reference Service & Preservation

A primary objective of reference service is to ensure that materials used survive intact to be used by others in the future. Reference Team members are front line players in SIA preservation efforts since they are constantly working with the collections and in a position to discover problems and concerns. As Reference Team members become aware of preservation problems, they bring them to the attention of the preservation team. Guidelines for handling collections are given to researcher with the reading room rules and procedures.

Certain records are fragile or in a deteriorating state and cannot be delivered to researchers. This is particularly true of letterpress volumes of outgoing correspondence. Many of these volumes, as well as various other collections, have been microfilmed for reference use. As a general rule of thumb, researchers should use microfilm whenever available. If original documents must be examined, any copies requested should be made from the microfilm.

Reference Team members consult the Preservation Team before delivering fragile materials to researchers in the reading room. The advice of the Preservation Team is also sought before photocopying questionable materials. White cotton gloves are kept in the reading room. Researchers should use these gloves while handling photographs.

Researchers can also be helpful in identifying preservation problems. Reference Team members encourage researchers to point out any problems discovered during their use of the holdings.

Retrieval of Records Stored Off-Site

Records and special collections are stored in the central Archives in the Arts & Industries (A&I) Building and at three remote locations: Fullerton Industrial Park in Northern Virginia; Iron Mountain at Boyers, Pennsylvania; and the Smithsonian Institution Support Center (SISC) in Washington.

Researchers should contact the Reference Team prior to visiting to ensure that records can be made available in the central Archives Reading Room.

• Records located at Fullerton Industrial Park are delivered to A&I each Thursday by mid-day.
• Records located at Iron Mountain are delivered to A&I within 24 hours. Requests for retrievals must be received in the Archives by 2 p.m. on the day prior to delivery.
• Records located at SISC are delivered to A&I each Monday by mid-day.

Copyright & Citation of SIA Records & Special Collections in Publications

Unless there is a specific Smithsonian Institution copyright involved, the burden of determining copyright status and permissions falls on the researcher. Archives staff do not routinely research the copyright status of materials for clientele.

It is also expected that researchers will give full and proper credit to the Smithsonian Institution Archives as their source of quotations and citations, and to cite those sources completely so that others may refer to them easily.

Researchers may obtain a "Permission to Quote from SIA Materials" form from the Reference Team by contacting osiaref@si.edu.

Copying & Reproduction Services

Each researcher may receive ten (10) free photocopies, or copy-flow copies from microfilm/microfiche per fiscal year. Subsequent copies (both letter and legal size) cost $0.20 per page. Payment for all copying orders over $5.00 must be received in full before the materials requested will be delivered to or mailed to the researcher.

Waiver of Fees

Copying fees are waived for any employee, research associate, research collaborator, fellow, volunteer, or intern duly registered and in possession of a Smithsonian identification badge and in current employment or affiliation with the Smithsonian Institution. Fees are also waived for donors of special collections and organizational records in the Smithsonian Institution Archives.

Limitations on Photocopying

• SIA will not provide copies from restricted record units/accessions without permission of the originating office or donor.
• SIA will not copy an original item that is deemed too fragile to survive the handling required for copying; or any item in which copying will likely produce further deterioration. The Preservation Team will always be consulted whenever the condition of material to be copied is in question. In some cases, a copy master (filed with the original material) will already have been prepared and copies can be made from it. In other cases, a Preservation Team member will offer to copy delicate materials for researchers. As a general rule, original tissue, letterpress books should not be copied. Researchers will be asked to take notes when studying these volumes. Whenever a collection is available on microfilm, it is preferable to make copies from the film. All copyable books, journals, diaries, etc. should be copied on the book-edge copier.
• SIA reserves the right to refuse extremely large copying orders that will place undue pressures on the staff. When receiving such requests reference staff will suggest that the requester visit the Archives, or hire someone to examine materials in the reading room. Large on-site copying requests should be handled by the researcher, under supervision of the Reference and Preservation Teams.
• SIA reserves the right to refuse any copying request that requires excessive searching or judgment and choices among alternatives by a team member instead of the researcher.

Copying of Photographs

Photographic copying for researchers is performed by Smithsonian Photographic Services at standard fees. Ordering forms and fee schedules are available for use of staff members and researchers.

SIA allows on-site photography as long as the material is open for research and the process itself does not interfere with other researcher or staff activities. Depending on the nature of the project, a fee may be charged for on-site photography.

Copying of Audiovisual Materials

Copies of videotapes, audiotapes, motion picture film, microfilm, and other forms of audiovisual records may be arranged when necessary. However, in most cases this service must be contracted through a commercial vendor, and the researcher must bear the cost of service, including the creation of any copy masters required to complete the copying process. Again, a commercial user fee may be levied depending on the nature of the research project.

SIA Fee for Commercial Users

In cases where SIA photographs/audiovisual materials are used in commercial, money-making projects (e.g., publications, television/video productions, websites, etc.), the requester may be charged a user's fee. This fee is separate from any production fees charged by Smithsonian Photographic Services or commercial vendors.

Reproduction Policies

Smithsonian Directive 805 (formerly Office Memorandum 707) dated April 22, 1992, permits Smithsonian bureaus to charge fees for the right to reproduce images in their collections. This document establishes the policy and fees in effect at the Smithsonian Institution Archives (SIA). It is a supplement to, and not a replacement of SD 805.

Photographic reproduction of items in SIA is permitted in most cases. Options include prints, transparencies, and digital scans made by Smithsonian Photographic Services (SPS), photographs taken by researchers at SIA with personal cameras, and xerographic copies made by SIA staff, or by researchers using SIA machines on the premises.

Photocopy Fee

SIA allows electrostatic (xerographic) photocopying of unbound documents or images in good condition. Some items may not be photocopied due to fragility, deterioration, binding, or other conditions. In most cases, SIA staff will photocopy requested items for researchers. In certain instances, researchers may do the photocopying themselves. Photocopying rules and regulations are posted in the reading room and at the copier. The first ten copies per fiscal year are free and each copy thereafter costs twenty cents.

Photography

A.   SPS Photographic Production Fee

• Prints from numbered SIA file negatives can be purchased directly from SPS according to established production fees. Researchers should consult with a Reference Archivist to obtain negative numbers and current fee schedules.
• If no numbered copy negative is on file for an image, researchers may order a photographic copy made from a copy negative produced by SPS. This work should be arranged through SIA, and additional SPS production fees may apply. Be sure to allow sufficient time for the order to be processed.

B.   Personal Photography Fee

In some cases researchers can make their own photographs of collection items by appointment. SIA can provide a copy stand and two quartz-halogen photographic lamps, but does not have a camera, film, or developing facilities. Requests are reviewed individually, and decisions are based on the condition of the item to be photographed, intended use of the photographs, and potential disruption to SIA operations. A reference archivist must be present during the photography, but cannot provide photographic expertise. A personal photography fee may be charged to compensate for the use of SIA materials and staff time.

Reproduction Permissions & Fees

All researchers wishing to reproduce SIA photographs for use in electronic or broadcast media, books, periodicals, theses, dissertations, or for any other purpose must apply to the Reference Archivist for written permission (contact osiaref@si.edu for further information). This process ensures that three elements are considered: copyright, citation and credit, and reproduction usage fees. As a condition of the permission, SIA may request a copy of the finished product for its files.

A.   Copyright

SIA photographs are obtained from many sources and are intended primarily for research and educational purposes. Certain works may be protected by copyright, trademark, or related interests not owned by the Smithsonian Institution. Permission will be granted only to the extent of the Smithsonian Institution's ownership of the rights relating to your particular interest. The responsibility for ascertaining whether any such rights exist, and for obtaining all necessary permissions, remains with the researcher.

B.   Citation & Credit

SIA requires proper credit, and reproduction permissions are contingent upon an agreement to supply appropriate credit lines. Of special concern for SIA is facilitating the identification or retrieval of the SIA items that are reproduced, since publication may create further demand for reproduction. Therefore, we ask that the SIA record unit or accession number always be used in credit lines. "Smithsonian Institution" as a credit line is inadequate for this purpose and can cause delay in locating a photograph or the office responsible for the original item. For SIA items, we ask that the following credit line be used.

Smithsonian Institution Archives
Record Unit/Accession # and/or Collection Title
Negative #

C.   Fees

• Reproduction Usage Fee: SIA requires payment of reproduction fees for commercial usage, including profit-making projects by non-profit organizations. Contact SIA to receive "Reproduction Usage Fee Guidelines," which describes the process for reaching a reproduction agreement for commercial usage.
• Waivers: In general, SIA will consider a waiver of reproduction fees for non-profit or scholarly projects. The question of commercial or non-commercial usage will be determined by the nature of the project rather than the status of the user. SIA may require non-profit organizations to provide their 501 (c) (3) numbers. In general, a non-commercial publication or project reproduces an image for an educational or cultural purpose and is directed to a limited academic or professional audience with, for books, a press run of less than 8,000 copies.
• Royalties: The Smithsonian Office of Product Development and Licensing (PD & L) arranges with publishers and manufacturers to produce replicas and facsimiles of collection items with royalties paid to the Smithsonian. Reproductions for calendars, greeting cards, games, toys, and similar products are arranged through that office rather than through book and periodical reproduction procedures. Waivers of licensing arrangements for non-profit projects are possible, but must be approved by PD & L. SIA staff will advise requesters to contact PD & L when appropriate.

Fees are for one-time, non-exclusive, one-language, world-wide use of an image. Re-use of the material in a later edition or in another publication or format will be considered a new request.

Reproduction of Audio-visual Materials

Many of the audio-visual resources in the Smithsonian Institution Archives (SIA) are available for reproduction. Availability for reproduction is determined by the following considerations and guidelines:

A. Permission

• Contact osiaref@si.edu to obtain an application to reproduce audio-visual materials and submit the form to the SIA for review.
• If the SIA does not hold duplication rights to the requested materials, the user must obtain written permission from the owner of the rights. A copy of this written authorization must be submitted to the SIA prior to reproduction.

B. Film, Video, & Audio Reproduction

• Copying is done of whole film, video, and audio rolls from intermediate masters only.
• The SIA will specify the laboratory to be used.
• If the SIA has no intermediate master material, the user will be required to pay the costs of producing these materials. The intermediate master produced becomes the property of the SIA.

C. Fees

• The SIA will charge a reproduction fee to be applied to each title duplicated according to the following schedule:
• Laboratory costs will be paid separately and directly to the laboratory. The laboratory will specify payment requirements. Audio-visual materials will not be sent to the laboratory until they confirm that arrangements for payment have been made.

D. Acknowledgments

• Please use the following credit line when SIA audio-visual materials are reproduced:

Smithsonian Institution Archives (Record Unit # and title) (film or program title)

• The user will also acknowledge the donor when appropriate, as instructed by the Archives Center and/or the donor.