Reference Services
Reference assistance is available to all researchers whether they visit in person or contact the Archives via email, telephone, or mail. For researchers who cannot visit the Archives in person, Archives staff can provide 15 minutes of ready reference assistance. Ready reference questions are those that the staff can answer quickly using secondary sources easily at hand. Staff can also identify collections and other materials that may be pertinent to a research topic. Ready reference inquiries are free of charge but limited in scope. Reproductions resulting from a ready reference inquiry will be charged at the current rate. Inquiries will be answered in the order in which they are received. To submit a ready reference request, please fill the REFERENCE REQUEST FORM.
Archives staff cannot provide in-depth research services. A list of local researchers and genealogists for hire is available here.
Reproduction Services
The Stewart Bell Jr. Archives provides reproductions of materials from its photograph, published, and unpublished collections as a service to researchers. Requests are fulfilled to the extent allowed by the format and physical condition of the material, as well as any applicable restrictions, including copyright regulations, privacy rights, donor-imposed regulations, or other constraints. Service fees are charged for all reproduction requests and pre-payment is required on all orders. These fees defray the cost of processing, cataloging, and preserving items in our collections. Fees are subject to change without notice. Please click on the links below to find out more about requesting reproductions.
REPRODUCTIONS OF PHOTOGRAPHS AND IMAGES
REPRODUCTIONS OF PUBLISHED AND UNPUBLISHED WRITTEN MATERIALS (INCLUDING OBITUARIES)
Permission to Publish
Researchers must secure written permission from the Chair of the Joint Archives Committee to publish, reprint, or reproduce material from the Stewart Bell Jr. Archives for use in publications, theses, dissertations, websites, blogs, social media, school papers, presentations, exhibits and displays, film, decoration in public spaces, and other uses. There is no charge for permission to publish requests. In lieu of payment, the Stewart Bell Jr. Archives requests one complimentary copy of any written work using materials from its collections.
While the Stewart Bell Jr. Archives owns most of the materials in its collections, it does not always hold the copyright to these materials, except where it has been explicitly transferred to the Archives. The researcher is responsible for obtaining all required permissions from copyright holders, and other rights holders, before publishing, distributing, or in any other way using a protected item beyond that allowed by fair use. The Stewart Bell Jr. Archives will try to assist researchers with information about holders of copyright, but it cannot conduct copyright research. The researcher is also responsible for ensuring compliance with state laws concerning privacy and publicity rights.
Permission to use material in a publication is granted by the Stewart Bell Jr. Archives in accordance with copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code). The Stewart Bell Jr. Archives reserves the right to refuse to accept a request to use material in publication if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the request would involve violation of copyright law, or donor agreements or licensing restrictions. The user assumes full responsibility for use of the material and agrees to hold harmless the Stewart Bell Jr. Archives against all claims, demands, costs, and expense incurred by copyright infringement or any other legal or regulatory cause of action arising from the use of Archives materials.
Requests to copy and publish materials from the Stewart Bell Jr. Archives, where the Archives is the clear copyright owner, constitute an agreement that permission is granted for one-time use only as specified, in writing, at the time of the request. The Stewart Bell Jr. Archives in no way waives its right to future use of any images or the right to grant others permission to use them. Permission to use material in print media or presentations is granted for one-time use only. Permission to use material in a film/documentary or television production is granted for all media, worldwide, for the life of the production.
PERMISSION TO PUBLISH REQUEST FORM
Credit line: In general, citations should follow the following format: [Identification of item, date], [Collection name], Stewart Bell Jr. Archives, Handley Regional Library, Winchester, Va.