The Secrets of Archival Research: Research Trips and Reading Room Procedures
So, you’re headed to an archives. Get ready, because it’s going to be a real trip! There is a lot to plan ahead of time, and you really can never be too prepared.
Grants and Travel Costs
Before you even start planning a research trip, check to see if the archives you want to visit offers a research grant. Most archives do, and although the amount may be as small as a few hundred dollars, it may be worth it to postpone your trip and apply first. Many of these grants are only open to grad students and professors, which in my opinion is a shameful practice. If you come across these kind of grants, contact the archives and ask why this exclusionary practice exists; perhaps with some pushback, these policies might change. Other sources of funding might also be available — ask the archivist if they know of any. Any funds that you spend on a research trip should be tax deductible if you are a professional writer, so deduct away! Another question to ask your archivist before your trip is if they know of any cheap housing options nearby. You never know when a nice local person well-known to the archives might have a spare bedroom; of course, pursue these options at your own risk. Personally, AirBnB has been a godsend for me; I’ve saved a ton of money by finding cheap rooms and apartments nearby the archives I visited.
Estimating Research Time
Before booking any travel, make sure the archive will be open during your visit (it may not necessarily post hours closed for school breaks and holidays that far in advance). It is nearly impossible to estimate how much time you’ll need to go through a certain collection. The more experience you have with this kind of research, the faster you’ll work. Make sure you have a priority list of exactly which collections and which box/folders you want to check, which of course might change on the fly while you’re there. You will likely wish you had more time in the archives, so book an extra night at your hotel or airbnb, just in case. Be sure you not only know the number of boxes you want to go through, but also how big they are — some are just half an inch wide, some are over a foot.
Archives and Security
Once you’ve made it to an archive, get ready for a pat-down like you’re entering a maximum-security prison. Just kidding! All joking aside, most archives will have a somewhat onerous check in process; you’ll have to fill out forms (make sure you read the fine print; ask for them beforehand if you’d like), show an ID, and lock up your bags in a locker. Usually, only pencil, laptops and phones are allowed on the tables. Some will allow you to have your own notebook or paper on the table, some won’t. Some will extensively check your laptop and bag before you leave. Some archivists will watch you like a hawk in the reading room; don’t be offended by it, their job is to make sure no collections are ever stolen or damaged.
Requesting Material
All archives have closed stacks, which means you can’t just browse the shelves like you would with library books. You’ll have to request items, either in advance through an online system, or with a paper call sheet. Once you’ve filled it out, the archivist will retrieve it while you wait, which could take some time. When the boxes arrive in the reading room, you’ll probably be allowed to only look at one box at a time. Some will let you have a whole cart of material beside your table; however, they will still allow only one box on the table at a time, and you’ll only be allowed to remove one folder at a time and be asked to place an out card in the box. This is not just weird archival fastidiousness; this system helps keeps millions of document and folders in the right box and the right order. Don’t be surprised to find a box with folders out of order — not everyone follows the rules and archivists usually don’t have time to check every box before shelving. If you notice folders out of order or anything else amiss like damaged, crumbling, or missing material, let the archivist know ASAP.
In the Reading Room
Once you get your box at your table, be prepared to get lost in another world. Remember those exciting research scenes from All the President’s Men and Spotlight? Cue the dramatic music. Digitized documents may contain the same information as the tangible paper, but touching them, smelling them, and looking at the imperfections in the paper, the ink, or the photography will give you a visceral reaction that just can’t be replicated with a computer. I myself have experienced all kinds of emotions in archives — my heart has leapt into my throat, tears have rolled down my face, and I have wanted to jump up and turn cartwheels down the hallway. It easy to get lost in each document, to spend exorbitant, precious time deciphering handwriting and trying to make sense of arcane language. The first time you visit an archive, give yourself time to peruse your material at leisure. The more you visit archives, you will transform into a well-oiled research machine. This means learning how to skim folders and boxes efficiently, looking only for what you need to copy and spend hours deciphering later at home, preferably in your pajamas.
Making Copies
There are lots of ways to make copies in archives to bring home with you for later (another option if you have the time is to simply take notes while you’re there, ideally on your laptop). Some allow you to make paper photocopies at a photocopier yourself, others allow only staff to make copies for you. Some have amazing overhead scanners that you can use to create digital photos that you can download onto a flash drive (be prepared to wait your turn). Most now allow you to take photos with own phone and camera, which has been a real boon and money-saver for researchers. The archives will have you sign a form to do this, acknowledging that you are using the copies for research purposes only, not for publication. Bring your phone or camera charger or extra battery if you plan to use yours. Be warned it is difficult to get a really good scan by pointing your phone or camera at the document from above and photos will have a lot of glare, but for saving copies to refer to later, they are good enough. Do not hold the photo or paper up to photograph it, stand on a chair, or move it around the room — just accept that these kinds of copies are subpar (but free!).
I recommend keeping very careful track of what you are taking photos of, since your phone will auto-number the files. Instead of taking jpgs of individual pages, you can create multi-page PDFs with the Scanner Pro app on your phone. It can connect to your cloud storage account (you’re using cloud storage, right?) and you can create a folder structure and file names to mirror the collection as you save your files (don’t forget the box and folder numbers as you will need to cite them later). I recommend printing a paper copy of the finding aid to jot notes on as you go through the files — note if you skipped copying a file if there was nothing of interest in it, and mark down where the most interesting stuff is that you copied. It may be tempting to post a cool document or photo on social media that you come across, but remember, you don’t have permission to do that.
Expect the Unexpected
You will undoubtedly come across unexpected information in documents that could lead you in another research direction. Embrace it and run with it, even though it may not fit your preconceived idea of what you thought you were going to write about. Follow the documents, and follow the story (and hence why it’s always a good idea to plan for one more day than you think necessary). Don’t forget to ask about uncataloged print indexes of collections or other resources — archives are full of these, often created by other researchers in the past. They might be in the reading room or gathering dust somewhere in the stacks, in fact, archivists new to the job may be completely unaware of them.
Pacing Yourself
It’s easy to get so lost in the collections or to try to pack as much into your day (one more file! Just one more box!) that people often sit for many hours in the reading room, skipping lunch and not getting up to go to the bathroom. This can lead to panicked and cranky behavior, not to mention not thinking clearly, so be sure to give yourself breaks and bring snacks. Eating is not allowed in the reading room, of course, but you can always step outside or the archives might have its own cafe. Make sure you know if there is a restaurant or cafe in or nearby the archives. I have been stranded without lunch at archives in semi-remote areas several times when I didn’t think to check this beforehand and pack a lunch (FYI the cafe at the National Archives in College Park is closed on Saturdays!).
Don’t Forget to Thank Your Archivist
Lots of researchers are grateful for the help of archivists and bring us treats like cookies. This is great, of course, but not necessary. Instead, let the archivist’s boss know what a great job he or she did, or figure out where the institution gets its funding — a state legislature? The university budget? The city council? Contact the powers-that-be and let them know that the archives is a terrific resource and deserves more funding. I can guarantee you that the vast majority of archives are seriously underfunded and understaffed, mostly because decision-makers are unaware of their value. An increased budget can lead to more collections processed, more open hours, and the digitization of collections. Most archives are barely meeting the minimum needs of their researchers as it is.
Congratulations on competing your first research trip. It’s time to go home and start making sense of it all!
Other posts in this series:
The Secrets of Archival Research (And Why They Shouldn’t Be a Secret at All)
Step One: Preliminary Online Searching
