13 Reference Services and Public Relations Activities

Reference services

Sample registration log

Sample retrieval form

Public relations activities

Sample reference policy

Basic public relations activities

Public programming on a limited budget

Information files

Brochures

Guides and pamphlets

Workshops and seminars

Exhibits

Major publications

Other activities

Evaluating public relations programmes

Your archives serves not only to preserve historical materials but also to make them available for use. No matter how small the archives, you need to incorporate reference services and public relations activities into your archival plan. Remember, though, to give them the priority they deserve in relation to your other work.

Reference services

One important aspect of archival work is providing reference services: assisting people who come to your archives, guiding them in their research, helping them to answer their questions.

Consider the following guidelines:

	Provide access on an equal basis to all who abide by the rules and regulations of the archives.
	Prepare adequate finding aids for holdings in the archives and make them easily accessible in the reference area.
	Collect standard reference material whenever possible. include dictionaries, atlases, encyclopedias, publications by or about your institution or community, local histories, appropriate journals or periodicals, and any publications based on or related to your holdings. When looking for appropriate reference material, contact other archives, libraries, or museums in your community. They will be able to tell you what is useful and how to get it. They may even have old or duplicate copies that you could have. Ask researchers to deposit a copy of any work they have produced based on research in your archives.
	Refer researchers to other libraries or archives with related material or other reference tools; keep the addresses and telephone numbers of these institutions available in the archives.
	Have all visitors to the archives sign a register, including the date, their name, address, any identification, their signature, and perhaps their research interest. This register is valuable not only for keeping a record of how many visitors come to the archives but also to identify users on a particular day in the event of loss or damage.
	Keep a count of all telephone, mail, reference, or other queries received, for statistical purposes.
	Explain the contents and organization of your archives to all new visitors, by describing your various finding aids and reference materials. If you find you are explaining the same information over and over again, consider preparing a handout, a one- or two-page explanation of archival organization, of a particular accession, or of a specific historical period. Such a document may save you time and effort and will help researchers with their work. This may be combined with your reference policy, outlined below.
	When providing written answers to research questions, keep a copy of all correspondence, indicating who enquired and what information was provided. File these letters in chronological order in a correspondence file or, if numerous, alphabetically by subject. Eventually, frequently asked questions might often be answered from the correspondence file, saving you time and effort.
	Do not allow researchers to retrieve or reshelve archival materials themselves. if needed, have the researcher complete a request form for material desired. Such a form may help you maintain control over material taken from the stacks, and it provides a record of items used. File the used forms in date order in a box in the storage area.
	Do not allow access to restricted material without written permission from the person or agency imposing the restrictions.
	Replace valuable or fragile items with copies whenever possible or supervise their use closely.
	Consider whether to allow researchers to use unprocessed material. if you decide to allow access to unprocessed material, warn users of the difficulty of using unarranged material and instruct them to maintain the existing order.
	Determine your photocopying policy. If you have access to a photocopier and intend to provide copies for researchers, decide: a) if you will set limits on the quantity copied; b) if you will charge for copying, and how much; c) if you will copy restricted, fragile, or damaged materials; and d) if you will allow the public to use the photocopier (this is not advisable).
	Determine what other copying services you will provide, such as copies of photographs, maps, or microforms, and under what conditions.
	Outline any fees or conditions for any services you provide.
	Include your reference policies in a handout for visitors and researchers, explaining the rules and regulations of the archives, the researchers' rights and responsibilities, and details about access and various services.
	Maintain a staff manual or procedures book. Record all decisions, policies, and procedures you implement and keep these notes in a three-ring binder. Keep the manual up to date and organized. Such a document will save time and effort as your archives grows and expands.

Copyright is the right to copy or reproduce material for publication or distribution. In Canada, copyright legislation is currently under revision. At the best of times it is a complex and confusing subject. Copyright can be owned or held by individuals, corporations, or the public, depending on the nature, age, and disposition of the items in question. The difficulty for archives and researchers is determining who holds copyright, whether they are still alive or when they died, and if they have made special arrangements for the transfer or maintenance of copyright. Never assume that your institution holds copyright because it owns the material. Always try to find out from the donor or transferring body who holds copyright. Keep accurate records of such information. State clearly in all correspondence, policy statements, and meetings with users that it is the researcher's responsibility to determine copyright ownership and obtain clearance to publish any copyrighted materials. if necessary, mark photocopies or photographic prints with a statement indicating that they are provided for research purposes only.

As you develop a public relations programme, ask yourself the following questions:

	Does it enhance and support your archives policy? Small archives with limited time and money need to fit public relations activities in with other archival work. Exhibits usually centre on material in your archives, not on items you have to borrow or purchase. Publications need only be as extensive as your time and budget will allow.
	What are the needs of your users, and how best can you serve them? if ten visitors use your photograph collection each week, perhaps you will prepare a pamphlet explaining its development, organization, and subject areas. Such a document will not only help users access popular archival material but it will also ease your reference work, leaving you time for other tasks. If your archives serves a large rural population, you might produce a regular radio programme about archives or write a newspaper column about local history. This may interest people and encourage them to visit the archives.
	What resources are available for public relations work? Perhaps there are people in the archives or community who are expert in graphics, or writing, or management, and may assist with some of your projects. Other people might be willing to donate professional services or supplies. Perhaps your sponsoring institution will offer support with equipment, time, or money.

Before beginning any specific activity, contact other archivists in your area and determine who has tried what type of programmes and how successful they have been. You may have a great idea for a history of your community, but if the neighbouring community tried the same project two years ago and lost considerable money, you may want to reconsider attempting it yourself.

There are many public relations activities that your archives can undertake at little cost, while others involve more effort and resources. What are the most basic public relations activities you can begin in your archives, and what programmes can you develop as you find more time and money?

You can attract attention to your archives in the following ways. Remember, some activities require a great deal of time, which you may not be able to afford.

Consider the following:

	Make sure the archives is clean and neat, with a distinct research area (even if it is only one table), a well-lit work area, understandable and organized finding aids, and easily accessible reference tools. Post signs leading to the archives. Provide samples explaining how to fill out forms, how the index or catalogue is organized, or what your business hours are. Prepare a handout detailing the rules and regulations of your archives.
	Act as your archives' ambassador whenever possible. invite people to your archives, including local government officials, the administrators of your corporation, or founding members of your community. These people will leave your archives and tell others about your work, publicizing your archives and encouraging more visitors, more donations, more funding. if researchers visit your archives and you have no relevant information, don't just turn them away but try to refer them to an archives which may be able to help.
	Visit people in your area and encourage them to donate their papers, tape their reminiscences, or lend their photographs. Keep in touch with people you have met. Keep them informed about your work in the archives. Your interest in the public can only benefit your archives, as people see your institution as an active part of your community or organization.
	As time permits, attend community or institutional events and festivities. introduce yourself to the organizer and invite donations of pamphlets, brochures, or documents created for the event. Give speeches or talks to local groups, high schools, or seniors' homes, explaining the work of your archives and encouraging visits and donations. Offer to help the coordinators of anniversary celebrations or other community events. Find historical material for displays or publications, sell tickets for a fundraising film night, or organize workshops or conferences.

Other activities you might undertake to promote the work of your archives may require more substantial financial commitment. When determining how much you can spend on outreach programmes, consider again the priorities and goals of your archives and how the programmes will fit in with your plans.

Many researchers come to the archives looking for specific subject information, and they may not wish to spend a long time analyzing large bodies of historical documents. Some archives maintain information files, adding pamphlets, newspaper clippings, ephemera, articles, or other information about a specific subject. if the local library or museum is not doing so, and you have the time and resources, consider creating information files. Copy newspaper articles, clip magazine stories, and acquire extra copies of brochures, pamphlets, or booklets. File these in folders (not necessarily acid-free, since the files are not intended to be permanent) and store them alphabetically by subject in the research area. Remember, though, that your first priority is to preserve archival materials. Do not put ephemera in the information file if it is your only copy; instead, accession and store it properly and let the researcher find it through the catalogue. if possible, get two copies of any suitable material or make photocopies of originals. Add one to the information file and preserve the other. You need not accession miscellaneous items added to information files.

Much of the work of explaining the nature and organization of your archives can be contained in a brochure. While such publications, no matter how small, cost some money, they are invaluable public relations tools and are well worth the investment.

Your archives' brochure needs to be clear, well-organized, informative, and creative. It may explain your mandate and acquisitions policy: what you collect and what you don't, and what a user will or will not find in your archives. it will probably also include the archivist's name, the archives' address, telephone number, location, hours, available services (photocopying, reproduction of photographs, and so forth), and any charges. it may outline the rules and regulations of your archives, including the existence of restricted material, the availability of finding aids, registration procedures, and research rules. You might also explain that you accept donations, and you might include a paragraph about the archives' history and current activities.

When designing a brochure, gather samples from other archives in your area, comparing and analyzing them to determine the best features to include in your own. Speak with other archivists who have designed brochures and ask them what problems they encountered and what feedback they have received from the public. Try to match the text of your brochure with appropriate photographs from your collection or with drawings or designs. Whatever money or resources you have available, try to make the brochure as appealing and eye-catching as possible.

Other publications that can promote your archives and assist users include guides to your holdings and pamphlets which explain various aspects of your archives. Guides, described in Chapter5, are valuable tools for detailing the holdings of your archives and promoting research use. When considering whether or not to publish a guide, ask yourself if you have enough accessions to warrant a publication or if you are acquiring new material too quickly to keep the guide current. Consider your audience when choosing your format and contents. Older people might prefer a large type face, the local historical society may appreciate a subject guide, and the library will prefer a bound publication.

You might also wish to produce pamphlets, leaflets, or one-page handouts relating to specific aspects of your archives. For example, if twenty genealogists use your archives each week, you might prepare a pamphlet describing genealogical material in your archives. If you have one collection of papers that is often used, you may wish to distribute extra copies of the inventory for users to examine before they come to the archives.

Workshops, seminars, meetings, and speeches can help bring people to your archives, increase community awareness and interest in your work, and broaden your base of support for the archives. You might invite researchers to hear a weekly talk on an aspect of research, or you could hold a workshop on genealogy once a month for the local historical society. You might invite new company employees to see your corporate archives, showing them how the records they create end up as historical materials. Or you might invite high school students to visit your institution to learn about historical research. Let people in the community know that you are available to offer such programmes and encourage them to visit the archives to discuss workshop themes. Don't wait for someone else to suggest a seminar; plan one yourself. Remember, though, to co-ordinate such activities with your other work. Do not schedule four seminars in one week and have no time left for other archival work. As well, always plan programmes well in advance so you can simplify organization and avoid last-minute problems.

Exhibits of historical materials can range from one window display in your archives' entrance to a travelling exhibit with hundreds of items. Before preparing an exhibit, consider the following:

Consult with other archivists and examine the literature on preparing displays before beginning an exhibit yourself.

Larger archival publications may include local histories, popular biographies, editions of historical documents, newsletters, journals, and magazines. Publishing is a diverse and interesting field but it can be an expensive and complicated enterprise. Before beginning any publication, consider the following:

Before starting any publications project, contact other archives who have published books or magazines and ask them about their problems and successes.

Other public relations programmes that your archives can undertake, depending on your budget, time, and priorities, include:

Once you have completed any specific public relations programme, you need to evaluate its success. Prepare a report on each outreach activity, including:

When preparing a report, ask for written or verbal comments from participants or visitors, either informally or by sending out a questionnaire or survey. Perhaps have visitors complete a brief questionnaire before leaving, or solicit comments at the back of your pamphlet or publication. Incorporate these comments in your report whenever possible, to gauge the reception of your programme. Keep a copy of the report on file. Also maintain a file of copies of publications or brochures, advertisements or announcements, photographs of the event, the names and addresses of people involved, or any correspondence generated. include copies of bills and receipts. This information will prove vital the next time you decide to plan a similar programme. it will also help you evaluate the success and suitability of your outreach programmes.