It is the policy of the University Archives to provide all patrons with professional, equitable, and courteous reference service. Reference assistance is available to faculty, staff, students, and the general public. Reference service will be provided to patrons in need of research assistance, but it is not in the mandate of the University Archives to perform detailed research work for patrons.
2-1. Reference assistance will help patrons determine the appropriate materials necessary to fulfill their information needs.
2-2. Reference service forms will help document the use of the various holdings of the Archives and reference services provided.
This policy applies to all University of Missouri - Columbia Archives staff members.
4-1. The University Archivist with the assistance of the Reference Archivist develops the procedures and forms used in the Archives reference service.
4-2. The University Archives Staff is responsible for providing the reference service in accordance with procedures contained herein.
4-3. The Reference Archivist is responsible for calculating and maintaining the monthly reference figures as well as reporting the statistics to the appropriate Univeristy Library staff and/or committee.
5-1. Form UMC/ARCH 001 - Reference Request form.
5-2. Form UMC/ARCH 002 - Rules of Use form.
5-3. Patron - any faculty member, staff, student, or member of the public with an information need.
5-4. Reference Service - professional and courteous assistance given by the Archives Staff and student workers to members of the community with the result of providing access to records and print documents held by the University Archives that will satisfy the patrons' information needs.
6-1. Patrons sign the Registration Book and read and sign Form UMC/ARCH 002, Rules of Use. The staff member providing the reference service also signs and dates the form.
6-2. All belongings of the patron are placed in the location set aside for personal belongings in the Reading Room. Only notebooks, pencils, and personal computers or other electronic devices such as personal phones used for notetaking or photography are allowed on the research tables.
6-3. Patrons or the staff member providing reference services will fill out Form UMC/ARCH 001, Reference Request.
6-4. The staff member providing reference services lists all materials referred to in the course of the research on the bottom portion of the Reference Request form. He or she also notes the collection number, collection name, and containers used.
6-5. Materials must be reviewed in the reading room. Only one box is to be used for research at a time. Outcards will mark the place of any file removed from a box and any material removed from a file.
6-6. The patron is supplied with and must wear white cotton gloves when handling photographs, negatives, or slides.
6-7. A staff member must be in the Archives Reading Room or the Reference Archivist's office whenever a patron is doing research.
6-8. Reference service is also available via e-mail, web, postal, and telephone requests. The same prompt, complete, and courteous service will be given to these requests as is given to those patrons who come to the Archives Reading Room. Each type and instance of these requests requires the completion of Form UMC/ARCH 001, Reference Request.
6-9. A copy of any and all correspondence with patrons, including email correspondence, is maintained in the Correspondence file in the Archives administrative offices.
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7. APPENDICES:
7-1. MU Archives Reference Request, Form UMC/ARCH 001, completed.
7-2. MU Archives Rules of Use, Form UMC/ARCH 002.
Revised: 18 April 2024
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Published by: University Archives muarchives.missouri.edu/
URL: https://muarchives.missouri.edu/man-p2.html
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