Archives and History Center

Visitors Guidelines

We warmly welcome your visit, and look forward to seeing you! Our office hours are Monday thru Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Because of limited staff, we may occasionally be closed for an offsite meeting. If you would like to ensure that we do not miss your visit, please give us a call in advance at (423) 323-4660.

The following is a list of our Visitors Guidelines. Please note that, due to limited staff, we regret that we are currently unable to take research requests or assist with personal research at this time. We are more than happy, however, to point you to items that may be helpful to you as you conduct your research.

• All first-time visitors must sign in with staff at the front information desk. On subsequent visits, visitors will be required only to sign the Visitors Register.
• Lockers are not available, so please leave valuables in your car.
• What you may bring in: Please bring only a blank sheet of paper and a pencil. You may also bring in a laptop provided it is removed from the laptop bag before entering the search room.
• Items that are not allowed in the Research Center are pocketbooks, bags, cameras, chewing gum, ink pens, food and drink items, snacks and research notebooks/papers. If in doubt, please ask. Always remember that you will be safe if you bring in only a blank sheet of paper and pencil.
• Cell phones must be placed in "silent" of in "off" mode, and all calls must be taken outside the Research Center.
• Please use "library voices" to keep from disturbing other researchers or staff.
• Children under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult and must be quietly seated at all times.
• Restrooms are available in the front hall of the adjacent Sullivan County Courthouse.
• No research materials may be pulled from the stacks or Restricted Access areas after 4 p.m.
• Copy restrictions may be placed on fragile items and on manuscript collection items that have been noted with restrictions by the donor(s). All U.S. copyright laws apply. It is the responsibility of the individual user to ascertain copyright restrictions, obtain permissions and to prepare proper citation and credit statements. The researcher assumes all legal responsibility for observing laws of copyright and common law literary rights.
• All books, documents and any other research materials must lie flat on the table. Please do not lean books and/or documents against the edge of the table.
• Our Manuscript Collections are housed in a Restricted Access area. For viewing purposes, patrons will be permitted to view 1 folder at a time, and will be required to wear archival gloves. All folders and documents must lie flat on the table.
• Please note that our Research Center does not use the typical Dewey Decimal system or Library of Congress cataloguing. Our books are in a very concise order, and we ask that all patrons help us first and foremost by preserving this order. A book out of place is a book that is "lost". Patrons are asked to pull only 1 book at a time, using a specifically named placeholder for use in replacing the book to its proper location. Should you forget where a book is placed, please leave it on the research table and we will gladly reshelve the book for you.
• Some county governmental records "may" not be available due to limited staff and processing time. Thank you for your patience while we are still processing our county governmental records. If you would like to see a specific collection become available in the near future, please consider donating some time toward helping us process that collection.
• Because of limited staff availability, we may not be able to process lengthy requests for copies of county governmental records. Likewise, we are unable to conduct genealogical consultations, although we are more than happy to "point" you in the right direction with regard to your research. Please remember that you will accomplish the most if you have a "target" sentence stating in 10 words or less what you would like to find.
• Due to current staff limitations, we are unable to take research requests and lookups.
• Copy fees are 50 cents for black-and-white, and $1.00 for color copies and digital images from microfilm. Copies of land plats are $15 for each individual plat requested. County governmental record fees vary depending upon the record; please ask staff for copy of current fee schedules. All copies will be stamped with the repository name and address.

Thank you for visiting our Archives and History Center in the Sullivan County Department of Archives and Tourism.