What to Know Before
Visiting the Research Library and Archives

The Jefferson County Historical Society has been collecting documents, books, manuscripts, artifacts, and photographs and other images with the mission of preserving the history of Jefferson County, Indiana, for more than a century. As we continue to add to these collections, another part of our mission is to share them with current and future generations for decades to come.

We welcome in-person researchers to visit the Research Library and Archives in the History & Art Center, but we encourage remote researchers to explore this website to discover what we have to offer, and also how to enlist help from our professional staff to find answers to their family history and other questions about our rich local history.

Preparing for an in-person visit:

The Research Library and Archives are open to the public from 1 to 4 p.m. each Wednesday (except on national holidays that fall on a Wednesday). Wednesday appointments are not necessary, but are strongly encouraged to help our staff assist you more efficiently. Staff is also available by appointment on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.

Before you visit or arrive for a scheduled appointment, please use our Research Request form. This may save you time and money by allowing our staff to conduct preliminary research to ensure we have materials you may need for your research. While we have an impressive and varied collection, we may not have information about the person, place, or event at the heart of your research. Conversely, advance requests allow staff to prepare any materials ahead of your visit, so they are ready for you to review when you arrive.

When you arrive:

Because the potential of loss of historic documents is a concern at every archive and research facility, large or small, we require that visitors please leave purses, tote bags, briefcases or other items locked in your vehicle when you visit the archives. For a “big picture” look at this problem, check out this article by The Daily Beast.

You may bring in a laptop computer or smart phone into the library with you, along with necessary chargers and power cords. We provide free access to electrical outlets, as well as free WiFi.

We encourage researchers to bring in notebooks and pencils into the library when visiting. No pens, please. If you don’t have a pencil, one will be provided. 

Research Time and Fees:

Staff can spend up to a half hour looking into your request free of charge. If more time is needed, staff can conduct up to one hour research, free of charge, to active paid members of the Jefferson County Historical Society.  Join here!

Additional staff research is available for $20 per hour for members and $25 for nonmembers. Please determine how much research time fits into your budget, and be prepared to prepay for that additional time when you visit. 

Research conducted beyond your visit will be conducted as time allows, but will be completed as soon as possible. Arrangements can be made if additional staff time is needed beyond the research hours you have paid for. 

Other Fees:

Photocopies are 25 cents per page for letter and legal size, 50 cents per page for oversized paper. Our staff will make all copies for all of our patrons. 

Digital copies of photographs from our collection of more than 21,000 images may be obtained on a thumb drive (provided by the researcher, or available for $5 each from the library), or sent via email. 

Fees are $2.50 for each digital image of normal resolution (usually about 300 dpi) and $7.50 for each archival-quality digital image (usually about 600 dpi or higher).

All copies and digital images––whether created by staff or by patrons using cell phones and portable scanners––are to remain in the exclusive possession of the researcher and may only be used for research purposes. Permission is required to share copies or images with others or posted online. When so used, credit must be given to JCHS, especially if these are to be used commercially. 

Researching from Home:

If you cannot visit the archives in person, our staff can provide additional research, which would include sending PDF scans or photocopies (for an additional fee) for remote members and nonmembers. To make a research request, please fill out the request form on this page. Your request will be automatically sent to a dedicated address––research@historicjeffersoncounty.com. You may also send a descriptive email directly to this same address, which is monitored daily during business hours.

Staff will respond to every request and will contact you with five business days to determine whether the archives has the materials you are looking for, and, if so, to determine how many research hours may be needed for your project. 

You will be billed for research fees and all applicable fees for copies or thumb drives. Payment may be made by mail using a check or by phone using a credit card.

Online Finding Aids:

Click here or on the “Indexes” link in the menu bar to find searchable PDFs listing names and topics for which you can find information within many of our established manuscript collections. Use this as a finding aid to see what information we may have on file about a particular person, place, or event you are researching.

Our collection of local, state, and regional history books, including printed or published family genealogies and books written by local authors, can be found here on our site at Libib. These books are available for you to peruse during your scheduled visit.

During your appointment, our staff also can help you search our PastPerfect database to find objects, photographs and other items in our extensive collection that may be connected to the person, place, or event you may be researching.