Special Collections: How-To Research & Access

1. Take pictures

Using your own phone, tablet or digital camera while visiting is the fastest way to get a copy of items from Special Collections

• There is no fee (beyond your time) for taking your own photos while visiting

2. Ask if item has already been digitized

Special Collections items may be digitized, but not yet linked and online.

• Ask us if we have a digital copy -- if we do, we can email it to you (usually at not cost)!
• Or items may be online in a different system; staff can send you log-on information

Not able to visit and want a copy from Special Collections?

Keep in mind:

• Most requests take several weeks to obtain scans
• Most paper items are scanned and sent as PDFs.
• If more than 100 pages are requested, we may need to break your order into batches.
• Photographs, negatives or slides are usually sent as jpg images.
• If you need higher resolution files for publishing, please indicate this with your request 
  • additional licensing fees and/or paperwork may be required