Center staff will provide reference service only and cannot do research for patrons. All materials must be used in the center’s reading room: the collections do not circulate. All researchers are required to sign in with the Center staff and new researchers are required to fill out a Researcher Registration Form. Researchers will need to adhere to the established research policies set forth by Center staff.
Policies and fees for copying materials held by the Regional History Center have been established to assure the preservation of the historical records, allow reasonable copying by researchers, and provide as much service as is possible given a small Center staff with very limited resources. In every case the Center reserves the right to refuse to copy any particular item: reproduction of manuscript materials is a privilege and not a service that must be automatically rendered on demand.
Center staff will make photocopies of materials in the collections for researchers working in the reading room for twenty cents ($0.20) per page. Mail requests must be specific and are limited to one hour research time. Staff will not select the materials to be copied for researchers. Researchers are limited to two hundred copies per collection per year.
Photographic reproductions from photographs, transparencies, or negatives in the Center’s collections will be made by the university’s photographic services department according to a schedule of prices it sets. Please allow 7-10 working days for reproductions. There is no charge for non-profit use in publications or exhibits by non-profit agencies. The Center charges $40 per photograph reproduced for commercial use in books, serials, exhibits, calendars, posters, and the like. All images used from the Center should bear the credit line, “Northern Illinois University Archives.”
• No paging or photocoping after 4:15 p.m.
• All researchers must sign in at research help desk.
• Briefcases, portfolios, bookbags, and coats must be placed on coat rack.
• Smoking, food, and beverages are not allowed in the reading room. No cell phones. Only pencils are used in the reading room.
• Laptops are permitted.
• Cellphones, scanners, and cameras are not allowed.
• Do not write on, trace, or handle materials in any way likely to damage the documents.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to secure permission to publish material from the Regional History Center. The researcher also assumes responsibility for possible infringement of copyright and/or literary property rights in the act of copying or in the subsequent use of materials.
