Historic Takoma
History Lives Here
History Lives Here
Access and Use
Collections are available for research at Historic Takoma during established public hours or by special arrangement. Use and access to materials is subject to care and handling guidelines, Historic Takoma resource limitations, condition of materials, legal or privacy restrictions, or restrictions contained in a deed of gift or donation agreement.
The public has direct access to the Reference Collection through the Reading Room. Materials from the Archives will be provided to researchers by Historic Takoma staff volunteers. The PastPerfect database is available for use researching the collections. Additional indexes and finding aids are also provided to assist researchers. Some of these may be available online.
Historic Takoma staff volunteers will assist researchers with use of PastPerfect and other tools and may assist with conducting limited research, subject to available time and resources.
Researchers are encouraged to make appointments in advance and to identify topics of interest. Arrangements for access may be made by writing to archives@historictakoma.org.
Historic Takoma archives and reference library materials do not circulate. Researchers are not permitted to remove original materials from the premises.
Use of archives materials occurs only at designated workspaces. The public may not directly access materials from the storage areas.
Historic Takoma will keep a record of use of the archives (including name of researcher, contact information, and subjects researched). Historic Takoma may request identification for researchers using the collections. Researchers will be asked to sign a one-time Archives Use Agreement prior to using the archives.
Researchers may take pictures or scans of materials in a manner that is not harmful to the materials. No flash photography is allowed. Historic Takoma will scan limited amounts of documents or images using the Historic Takoma scanner. Scanning is subject to available Historic Takoma resources. Special arrangements must be made for scanning large quantities. Permission policies and fees for use of materials are set forth in the Permissions and Fees Policy. Historic Takoma does not have the capability to make photocopies.
All materials will be handled in accordance with the Guidelines for Collection Care and Handling. Historic Takoma may deny users access to the collections when careless handling or other negligence is observed.