I would err on the side of caution.   My first thought was why not?  But two things, first he

might be tempted not to copy if he finds two copies in the box.   Second, you have no control

over what is being copied, what if it is items you might generally restrict because they have

social security numbers, etc.   And finally, I sometimes get caught in precedent setting

situations…e.g. you let Tom Smith copy, why can’t I?   I generally try to err on the side of the

rule fits all.    Despite the workload question, it might be better to simply ask the researcher

to identify what he wants copies of.   You can always point out that later if he got home and

found his data was wrong, he wouldn’t know what was being copied.   You could temporarily

mark the items to be copied….using color plastiklips or some such (no post it notes!!).

 

Dean

 

 

 

 

I am in need of the wisdom of my colleagues regarding access.

We have a researcher who has been working for several weeks on a large collection. It was processed only on a box level and is about 200 record sized boxes. This researcher will be leaving town soon and wants to be able to photocopy documents in it on his own. He is willing to bring in his own copier, do it himself and still pay for the copies. We are actually considering his request because the collection is not in good order and the copying, if done by our part time worker, would take quite a while to get done because of the volume and disarray of the collection. Basically it would be easier on some of the staff.

We have some reservations of course. The only open space for him to set up and work would be where he would be unsupervised. Call me pessimistic and skeptical but I don't tend to trust anyone with historic records that I have been employed to care for.

Also, this researcher has a history of continuously asking for more leeway on the rules and we always give an inch, give another inch and then another inch all in the pursuit of open access for our users.

Has anyone been in this or a similar situation before? Advice? I am afraid of setting a precedent for such open access to our collections and building.

Thank you all.

Christine A. Schmid
Associate Archivist
The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of American Jewish Archives
3101 Clifton Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45220
513-221-7444 x3319
513-221-7812 (fax)
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http://www.americanjewisharchives.org