Public Services in Special Collections, SPEC Kit 296 (November 2006)

Turcotte, Florence; Nemmers, John

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100 · SPEC Kit 296
University of Washington
GUIDELINES FOR DISCUSSING RESTRICTED PAPERS WITH RESEARCHERS
One of Special Collections main goals is to make its collections accessible to our users and to
help them locate the information they need. A part of this responsibility is to make our users as
knowledgeable as possible about how to use archives in general, and more specifically what
collections we have here. When introducing users to our collections, it may be necessary to tell
them about restricted collections.
When reviewing researchers for access to papers where serious research is a consideration, it is
important to keep the following guidelines in mind:
When papers are requested for use, a clear, polite alert to the user will prepare a
researcher for the fact some papers may be restricted. Such phrases as “some of our
donors have restricted the use of their papers” or “some of the papers in this collection
may still be closed for public use by the donor” or “you may have to apply for use of these
papers” will prepare the researcher for a negative response to their request to see a set
of papers.
In determining a researcher’s status, some questions to ask might be: What is your
interest in these papers? How did you find out about these papers? Are doing a
research paper?
If access to the papers must be turned down, do so as politely as possible. Blunt
phrases like “You can’t use these papers—they are only open to serious researchers”
(which I have heard at the desk) only serve to put the researcher on the defensive (why
don’t I qualify as a serious researcher) and to give us an unhelpful image. Not just saying
no, but offering another, open set of papers that may provide similar information generally
helps ease the situation.
If you must deny access to papers, be certain you can clearly articulate why you are
denying access. Just telling the user “these papers are restricted” is not an adequate
response. The user deserves to know why the access is denied.
If a user does not qualify as a serious researcher, and needs to see a particular set of
papers, suggest to the user some of the sources they might consult to become able to
use the papers. These sources might include specific background readings, articles or
pamphlets from the Regional Newspaper and Periodicals Index (and how to use it), and
other sets of papers that are open to all. We need to keep in mind that one of our most
important responsibilities is to help our users become serious researchers.
The conditions of the “contract” that we are using to define serious researcher and who
qualifies as such are so subjective, that unless we handle these situations carefully, we
may be subject to a discrimination suit. A helpful, understanding, manner when
explaining the guidelines to access to a set of papers may save us a lot of grief and
hassle. Also, we all need to remember that today’s undergraduates are tomorrow’s PhD
candidates, and a positive experience using our materials is more likely to stimulate
future interest and research in a topic supported by the materials in our collections.
One of the most important functions is to make certain the person leaves feeling they
have been helped. It seems like too much of the time students don’t understand that
there are several types of primary source materials, not just papers. Given the
opportunity, discussing with the user the other possible sources for research benefits
both them and the Libraries.
Special Collections 4/2004

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SPEC Kit 296: Public Services in Special Collections (November 2006) resources

102 · SPEC Kit 296
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SPEC Kit 296: Public Services in Special Collections (November 2006) resources

SPEC Kit 296: Public Services in Special Collections (November 2006) resources