Manuscript and Photograph Use Policy

View Board-Approved Policy (PDF)

This webpage has been formatted for easier online reading. The PDF is the official policy document approved by the Board of Trustees.

Manuscript and Photograph Use

• The Hudson Library and Historical Society’s collection of manuscripts and historic photographs is available for public use on a closed-stack basis. Researchers are asked to give lists of subjects to the historical society staff. The staff will then retrieve relevant manuscripts and photographs in the subject areas. Researchers are encouraged to make subject requests in advance of the actual visit if possible to allow the historical society staff time for retrieval.
• At no time will researchers be permitted into the storage vault where manuscripts and photographs are kept. Only the historical society staff is permitted in restricted areas.
• Researchers must fill out a user form whenever they use the collection.
• Photocopying is permitted in most cases. Since the physical condition of manuscript material and historic photographs is often delicate, researchers are asked to consult with the historical society staff before making copies.
• Manuscript material never circulates and as a general rule, the historical society’s photograph collection does not circulate. Under special circumstances, especially in assisting the publication of materials about Hudson history, the staff may permit a short-term loan of a photograph. Such loans are usually between institutions rather than individuals and the condition of the material in question must be the deciding factor.
• Anyone publishing a photograph borrowed from the historical society’s collection must identify it as “Photo Courtesy of the Hudson Library and Historical Society”. Individuals quoting from our manuscript collection are expected to identify the Hudson Library and Historical Society as the repository of the manuscript in question.
• The historical society maintains a collection of reproduced photographs designed for circulation. Whenever possible, we ask that these be used for exhibits, classroom use, and other occasions.
• Researchers are asked to make no mark on the manuscripts and photographs or alter them in any way.

Adopted: 10/11/99