Manuscript policies in international archives/collections

[Gregory Moberg]

Hello all,

I am new here. I recently became interested in pursuing scholarly study of guitar music. I don't have any experience searching through archives and historical documents, aside from what little is available to me on the internet. I live in a remote part of the American south. My access to national archives is limited due to my geographic location and limited transportation resources. For those of you experienced in this area, what are general policies do archives have with sharing documents and manuscripts from a long distance? I'm sure policies differ depending on the institution, but generally speaking, will archives send photocopies of documents through the mail? Will they post documents on the internet if you request it? I'll appreciate any general advice in working with these institutions. Thanks.

[Beth Alexander]

As you point out, policies differ and you should contact individual institutions for their specific information. If you have an affiliation with a university, librarians can be a big help in trying to track things down. Also universities often have access to collections that you, as a private individual, do not. If you went to college, check with your alumni association and see if you have access to the library, or if there is a way you can arrange access.

Best of luck.