Westfield Athenaeum Library

Access and Handling Policy

The Westfield Athenaeum welcomes the use of its special collection materials. In order to facilitate use of our holdings, the following policies have been formulated ensure the preservation of the collection for all users. If you have any questions, please refer them to the Reference Librarians.

Researchers need to fill out a Registration Form to access materials.
Please do not bring bags to the research area; bags brought to the area will be searched.
Children under 16 years of age must be accompanied by an adult.
All materials must be used in the Reference Room under staff supervision.
All materials are to be handled with sensitivity. Marking, tracing, tearing, smudging, erasing, or writing on items is strictly prohibited. Post-its are not permitted. Gloves may be required.
Only pencils and laptops that have been removed from their cases may be used for note taking.
Do not lean on the spine of books or on the materials themselves.
Care must be taken to preserve the original order and arrangement of archival and manuscript material. Should any item be missing, damaged, or out of order, please inform the librarian.
The use of ink pens for note taking is prohibited; pencils & laptops may be used.
Food and beverages are not allowed in the Reference Room.
Materials are neither allowed out of the Reference area nor available for Interlibrary Loan.
Access to collections may depend upon the condition of the material, legal restrictions, considerations of confidentiality and privacy, and donor requirements. See the specific collection for permissions or restrictions.
Unprocessed collections generally are not available to the public.
Duplication of material will be handled by the staff on an individual basis, dependent on the physical condition of the item. If photo-duplication would in any way damage an item, such duplication will not be undertaken. There is a charge of 20¢ per page; however, copying photographs onto photographic paper is $5 per copy. Copying may take up to ten days to complete.
Citations allow others to find the original and validate facts, examples, or ideas. Please use the following citation format for our materials: Westfield Athenaeum Archives; Accession #; File, folder, or item name.
Publication rights must be worked out in advance with the Westfield Athenaeum Director or Assistant Director. See our Image Use and Handling Policy.
The patron agrees to assume full and complete responsibility for any infringement of copyright or literary rights arising from the publication of material from the Westfield Athenaeum.
The Reference Staff will provide personal assistance to facilitate, but cannot do research. A list of local fee-paid researchers may be available.

Westfield Room Materials are stored in closed stacks with retrieval by Reference Staff during regular business hours. Patrons are limited to three items at a time. Patrons may copy pages for personal use with the permission of the librarian.
Archives- Patron requests must be made in advance, by mail, email, or phone, being as specific as possible as to the nature of the material needed, recognizing a week may be necessary to gather the requested materials. These items are stored in closed stacks with retrieval by Reference staff only. Patrons are limited to one box of materials at a time in the reference area.

Westfield Athenaeum Archives

User REGISTRATION Form

Name:                                                                            Date:
Permanent Address:                                                               _______
Local Address:
Permanent Phone:                                                                  Local Phone:

Researcher Affiliation & Status (Choose One):

University/ College Name: Position:
General (Employer): Title:
Personal- Genealogy: Other:
Westfield Athenaeum: Position:

Research Topic:

Intended Use: (Check all that apply)
       Book  _   Presentation       __     Dissertation         Thesis      _ Article
      Film_ _    Gov. Research             Genealogy            Radio/RSS
     _ Personal Interest          ______ TV Report/Blog_               Videotape____Speech _______Professional Research_________Exhibit/Power Point

Use of Information:
May we tell others of the subject of your research?
May we tell others which materials you used?
May we contact you by mail or phone as part of future use studies?

How did you learn of this archive? (Check most important)
Archivist or librarian elsewhere Presentation by archives staff
Teachers, professor, or colleague Brochure

References
NUCMUC OCLC RLIN Website
Museum visit General knowledge, assumptions Other

I have read the Westfield Access and Handling Policy and agree to abide by the rules and regulations.

Signature:

Photo ID (Type & Expiration Date):

Librarian: