Here are some frequently asked questions about research in Manuscripts and Archives.

IDENTIFYING MATERIAL 1. What is the best way to search the finding aids? 2. What if the finding aid is too general or I cannot determine if what I want is in the collection? 3. What if I want to visit but cannot wait for three to four weeks for someone to help me find what I need? 4. Are there any restrictions on materials in the collections? MICROFILM AND ONLINE COLLECTIONS 5. How do I know if the collection has microfilm available? 6. Can I order copies from the microfilm, if, for example, I only want a few letters or pages? 7. Are any of the papers available online? BORROWING MATERIALS 8. Can any materials be borrowed? 9. How do I borrow microfilm through interlibrary loan? VISITING 10. What do I need to do to visit MSSA to consult the collections? 11. Do I have to tell you ahead of time when I am coming? 12. How many items may I call for? 13. How can I get additional materials if I am only allowed to order 10? 14. Can I bring a laptop or camera to use in the reading room? 15. What hours are you open? 16. Where are you located? 17. How do I know when the materials I have requested are available? 18. What happens to my materials if I have not finished working with them by the end of the day? COPIES 19. What kind of copies can I get and how much do they cost? 20. How do I order copies? 21. Can audio-visual materials be copied? 22. What is the turnaround time for copy orders? 23. Can I make copies myself, or can I bring a portable scanner? 24. What if I have additional questions? IDENTIFYING MATERIAL 1. What is the best way to search the finding aids? The finding aid database (which includes almost all of Manuscripts and Archives' collections) may be found online at http://findingaids.library.yale.edu/. It can be searched by typing your search terms into the search box, located in the upper left corrner of the main page. The results of your search will be displayed on the main search results page, with a brief description of each collection. Follow the link from the name of the collection to see the entire finding aid. When you have opened the finding aid from the main search results page, look in the upper right hand corner for the link to the Printable PDF and click it. The pdf version of the whole finding aid will open and you can search it using the search box at the top right of the title page. If you would rather not use a PDF, you can click on the link to the Full HTML and search it in your browswer, using the browser's internal search function. 2. What if the finding aid is too general or I cannot determine if what I want is in the collection? Some finding aids have limited descriptions of the contents of the collection. Ascertaining additional details about the contents of a box or folder requires an archivist to actually look at the material. You can email us at mssa.assist@yale.edu and we will try to answer your questions, but bear in mind that we have a queue of questions and it may be three to four weeks before someone can get back to you. Due to the volume of requests the department receives, the staff is only able to spend an hour researching each question. 3. What if I want to visit but cannot wait for three to four weeks for someone to help me find what I need? If you choose to visit before we are able to respond to your request for assistance, please be aware that there is a reference archivist available for consultation in our reference center from 8:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.; and from 1:00 p.m.-4:45 p.m., Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and from 10:30-4:45 p.m. on Wednesdays and you may ask for help with your research there. No appointment is necessary, but any materials that you want to see may not be available until the next day. 4. Are there any restrictions on materials in the collections? Yes. Restrictions are noted on the Overview page of the finding aid under Administrative Information. If there is an indication that all or part of a collection is restricted, there is, unfortunately, no provision for non-Yale persons to request special permission to access the records. Yale –affiliated persons may request permission to access restricted records, but permission is granted only by the University Secretary's Office and may take several weeks. To initiate a request, please follow the directions given on our website: http://www.library.yale.edu/mssa/ua_requesting_access.html. MICROFILM AND ONLINE COLLECTIONS 5. How do I know if the collection has microfilm available? Look at the Alternative Formats heading on the Overview page of the finding aid. Some collections have been filmed in their entirety, and some have portions that have been filmed. In all cases, if microfilm is available, you must use it instead of the original documents. If there is not a microfilm guide included in the finding aid, please contact us for help at: mssa.assist@yale.edu. 6. Can I order copies from the microfilm, if, for example, I only want a few letters or pages? No. You must either visit to see the film (and make copies here) or borrow it through interlibrary loan. We do not make copies from either the microfilm or from original documents that have been microfilmed. 7. Are any of the papers available online? No, but many pictures from the collections have been digitized and are available in our Manuscripts and Archives Digital Images Database: http://images.library.yale.edu/madid/default.aspx. Follow the Ordering link that appears at the top of every page in the database to place an order. BORROWING MATERIALS 8. Can any materials be borrowed? You may borrow microfilm and some Yale dissertations through interlibrary loan. Nothing else from our collections circulates. 9. How do I borrow microfilm through interlibrary loan? Please contact the interlibrary loan office of your institution’s library or your local public library to initiate a request for a loan. The interlibrary loan office of the Yale Library does not correspond with individuals, and this department does not handle loan requests. When you contact your library’s interlibrary loan office, please convey the following information to them: 1) Yale’s OCLC symbol must be entered at least twice (YUS,YUS) 2) The MaxCost field must be set to at least $20, our standard fee for an ILL loan to a US or Canadian institution; or $30, the fee for a loan to an international institution. 3) Payment can be by IFM (preferred) or by check in USD; if paid by check, an invoice will accompany the microfilm. 4) The reel number(s) wanted must be noted after the title of the item. For example, Walter Lippmann Papers, reel 44. 5) In the Borrower’s Notes field, … : FILM call number: HM XX - find this number under the Alternative Formats heading on the Overview page of the finding aid. Four reels at a time may be loaned. The loan period is 6 weeks. Microfilm is restricted for use within the borrowing institution’s library. Please see the Yale Library’s ILL website for contact and additional information: http://www.library.yale.edu/ill/. VISITING 10. What do I need to do to visit MSSA to consult the collections? We are happy to have you visit us. You do not need an appointment, and there is no fee, but you will have to register as a reader in Manuscripts and Archives. To register, you must complete an online registration form, which can be done ahead of time at https://aeon-mssa.library.yale.edu, or in person when you arrive. In addition, you will need to present two forms of identification when you arrive, one of which must be a picture ID. A driver’s license, passport, or university identification card is suggested. The registration process takes only a few minutes. 11. Do I have to tell you ahead of time when I am coming? Yes. Because we must retrieve materials from the Yale University Library’s off-site shelving facility, we require 2 business days notice of your visit and the materials you would like to see so that we may have them available in our reading room when you arrive. You must pre-register or log in to your existing account before you can request materials. Please place your request through our online registration/request form here: https://aeon-mssa.library.yale.edu. 12. How many items may I call for? Because we have limited space in the reading room, we limit the number of boxes that you may order at one time to 10. You may order additional boxes as you finish with the ones you already have. 13. How can I get additional materials if I am only allowed to order 10? You may order additional boxes as you finish with the first 10. Boxes ordered from our reading room before 10 a.m. will arrive late in the afternoon of the same day. Those ordered after 10 a.m. will arrive late in the morning of the next day. 14. Can I bring a laptop or camera to use in the reading room? Yes. You may bring laptops and cameras into the reading room. When photographing collection materials, no flash is allowed. There is a $2 per day charge for use of a camera for non-Yale patrons. 15. What hours are you open? Please see the library’s website for specific information about hours: http://resourcestest.library.yale.edu/libraryhours/Calendar.aspx?&library=SML&service=MAN. Please note that you can scroll through the weeks by using the 'Prev' and 'Next' links on the left of the page. 16. Where are you located? We are located in Sterling Memorial Library, 128 Wall Street in New Haven, on the first floor. Directions can be found here: http://www.library.yale.edu/mssa/ifr_visiting_directions.html. 17. How do I know when the materials I have requested are available? Materials are delivered to the reading room twice daily, once in late morning and once in late afternoon. To see if your material has been delivered, please log in to your user account and check the status column on the Main Menu page. You can log in to your account here: https://aeon-mssa.library.yale.edu. 18. What happens to my materials if I have not finished working with them by the end of the day? We will hold materials in the reading room as long as they are in active use. If you have not finished with the materials when you leave at the end of the day, circle HOLD and enter the date at the bottom of the control (white) copy of the call slip attached to the needed item/s. Material will be left on the cart for your use the next day. If you do not return within five days of the last use or make some further arrangement with the staff, we will return your boxes to their permanent location. For subsequent use, you would need to resubmit call slips. COPIES 19. What kind of copies can I get and how much do they cost? If you order copies by mail, we do not have staff available to identify individual items from folders, but rather charge $35 (plus shipping) to photocopy the entire contents of any folder. If you are visiting and select specific pages for copying, the fee is $ .35 per page. We can deliver the copies to you as traditional paper photocopies, or as a pdf file(s), which looks like a traditional black and white photocopy when viewed on a computer screen or when printed. If you request a PDF (file), it will be delivered through an electronic file transfer process in which you download the file(s) directly to your computer from a Yale server. You will receive notification of the URL and directions via email. We do not send files through email or FTP sites. Shipping charges (or an electronic transfer fee) are additional. We can make high resolution 600dpi digital copies (tiffs) of regular size individual items (e.g., photographs, drawings, etc.) for a fee of $25 each (plus shipping/transfer fee), delivered either on a CD or electronically through the same process described above for pdfs. 20. How do I order copies? Photocopying, scanning and other reprographic services are available. If you are in the reading room, please consult reading room staff for information on placing or receiving an order for reproductions. We will make all reproductions, subject to department regulations and condition of material. No orders may be placed after 4:30 PM. If you would like to order copies or scans online, please complete either the Photocopy (use for either paper or pdf delivery) or New Scan (use for high resolution scans) order form found on our website at: http://www.library.yale.edu/mssa/ifr_copy_order.html. After you have submitted your order, we will send you forms and an invoice that you must complete, sign, and return before your order will be processed. There are payment instructions on the invoice; we accept credit cards and checks/money orders. 21. Can audio-visual materials be copied? Yes. Please contact us at mssa.assist@yale.edu for details. 22. What is the turnaround time for copy orders? We place orders in a queue in the order in which completed paper-work and payment are received. Turnaround time depends on the number (and size) of orders that we receive, and the number depends on the time of the academic year. The turnaround time can be as long as four to six weeks in late October through May, but only a week or two at other times. We offer a rush service at our discretion that will bump an order to the head of the queue. The fee is $35. Please note that you would like the rush service in the Comments section at the bottom of the order form. Orders for high resolution digital scans may have a shorter turnaround time. 23. Can I make copies myself, or can I bring a portable scanner? No. We do not offer self-service copying or scanning, although you may take pictures of materials with a camera. There is a $2 per day charge for use of a camera for non-Yale patrons. 24. What if I have additional questions? Please contact us, preferably by email, at mssa.assist@yale.edu. We reply to inquiries in the order in which they are received, so it may be three to four weeks before we are able to respond your questions.