Steve Barrett and Troy Reeves help process material at the Archives.

• Try our new online form for submitting your research request.
  

Information Requests

To send a reference question through e-mail or our online form, please read the following section before submitting a request:

Staff is happy to help with questions whether by telephone, e-mail, fax, or regular mail. When sending a query, please keep in mind the following:

• Queries will be answered in the order received regardless of the format in which they arrive. Depending on the number of requests received at any given time, it may take two to four weeks to prepare an answer.
• INCLUDE YOUR NAME AND MAILING ADDRESS, so we can send photocopies, brochures, and other information. Your phone number or e-mail address is also helpful, in case there are questions about your query.
• MAKE YOUR REQUEST AS SPECIFIC AS POSSIBLE and include dates, places, and individual's full names. Don't ask for "all the information you have on John Smith." Tell us exactly what information you need.
• IF POSSIBLE, CHECK BASIC SOURCES FIRST. Go to your local public library and use an encyclopedia, dictionary, or atlas to look up general topics.
• KEEP YOUR QUESTION SHORT. Because our staff is small, we can't answer requests that require more than one hour of staff time to research. However, we can provide a list of private researchers who will undertake searches for a fee.
• DO NOT SEND THE SAME REQUEST TO MORE THAN ONE STAFF PERSON. Queries will be directed to the appropriate staff.

Requests that can be researched and answered by staff in less than 30 minutes will be charged for photocopied material at $.50 per page (letter, legal, ledger), with a $5.00 minimum fee. Additional staff research will be billed at $15.00 per hour (two hours maximum), in addition to the per page fee and postage. Upon request, staff can provide a list of local researchers experienced in either historical or genealogical research who can be hired to assist with longer research projects. Please note, all fees and charges must be received before materials are sent.


Try our new online form for submitting your research request.

Interlibrary Loan

Most materials on microfilm (exceptions include the Idaho Statesman newspaper and Sanborn maps) and transcripts and audiotapes of oral history interviews may be borrowed through Inter-library Loan services at the borrower's local public library. We do not loan archive/manuscript materials, books, periodicals, maps, or audio-visual materials.

We loan only to academic, public, and historical agency libraries. Requests must be received from a qualified library on a standard ALA-approved ILL form or as an OCLC Inter-Library Loan online request. Material is loaned for a maximum of two weeks use and must be used in the borrowing library. There is a limit of two reels of microfilm and three oral history tapes/transcripts per patron request. Materials may not be renewed.

Out-of-state libraries will be charged a $5.00 minimum shipping and handling fee for each transaction. Prepayment is required; make checks payable to the Idaho State Historical Society. Please do not send cash. There is no charge to Idaho patrons.

Material loaned through Inter-library Loan must be for personal use only. The user is responsible for copyright compliance.

Please return material promptly. Microfilm should be shipped in boxes, not padded envelopes. The borrower is responsible for cost of replacement if materials are damaged while on loan.

Upon request, staff will photocopy indexes and specific pages of non-circulating material. Requests for copies from manuscript or archives collections will be undertaken at the discretion of the library staff as some items may be too fragile for photocopying. Requests for copies of more than 50 pages will be undertaken at the discretion of library staff.

The minimum charge for photocopy requests is $5.00 (up to 10 pages). Thereafter the charge is $.50 per page from microfilm or paper originals.

Copies are provided for personal use only. The user is responsible for copyright compliance. Materials from the Public Archives and Research Libary archival collection may not be reproduced without permission.

Photocopying

Self-service photocopy and microfilm reader/printers are available for public use. Photocopies cost $.20¢ for copies onto letter (8 1/2 x 11) or legal (8 1/2 x 14) paper, both photocopies and microcopies; 40¢ for copies onto ledger (11 x 17) paper, both photocopies and microcopies; 50¢ for all staff-produced copies onto letter, legal, or ledger paper for off-site queries (received via telephone, e-mail, fax, or U.S. Postal Service).

Staff reserves the right to restrict copying of material which may be damaged by the photocopying process, would violate copyright, or carry donor-imposed restrictions. Staff may be able to provide photocopies of certain oversize materials at a cost of $2.00 per item.


Photo Reproduction

Prints or slides of materials may be purchased (unless restricted by the donor, copyright, or the condition of the item). Fee schedules and order forms are available upon request. Advance permission is required for publication or other public use and a fee is charged for all commercial uses. Click here for additional information.