Hamblen County Archives

For a complete list of Patron Use and Access Policies, please see Archive Staff.

All walk-in patrons must sign-in each time they visit the Archives.
The only items allowed into the Archives are: pencils, loose leaf paper, spiral notebooks, legal pad/tablets, and computers (not computer bag/case). All other personal belongings must either be placed in one of the available lockers or left in the patron's vehicle.
Upon leaving, patrons must make research items available to staff for inspection prior to removing personal items from lockers.
Food, drinks, and tobacco products are prohibited.
Children must be supervised at all times.

PROPER HANDLING OF DOCUMENTS/RESOURCES/COLLECTIONS:

All materials, resources, and records must be handled with care. According to Tennessee State Law (T.C.A. 39-16-504) it is a Class A misdemeanor to intentionally destroy, conceal, remove, or impair the verity, legibility, or availability of a governmental record. Violators will be prosecuted.
Do not write on any Archive document/resource/collection.
Please be considerate of other researchers and staff. Use one or two books/periodicals at a time.
Do not re-shelve books and other materials. When finished, carefully place items on the front counter.
Original Documents:
-Available for use under staff supervision until fifteen (15) minutes before closing.
-Gloves may be required (if so, they will be provided).
-No leaning, pressing or tracing on documents/folders.
-Access to one folder at a time will be provided.
-Do not rearrange items in folders - keep the existing order.

ACCESS TO COLLECTIONS:
Equal access to collections is provided to all patrons. Immediate access is available only to collections within our office. Full access to collections is provided to all patrons, except with the following possible exceptions:

The condition or fragility of some records/items may prevent them from being handled. In such cases and in lieu of the originals, every effort will be made to transcribe or otherwise copy the information contained therein into a useable copy.
Some records/files may contain confidential items which prevent their use and access. According to Tennessee law [TCA 10-7-503 & 10-7-504], staff members are prohibited from providing access to confidential items. This includes, but is not limited to: adoptions, medical records, mental health records, and juvenile records.
Depending upon restrictions placed by donors or sellers, some donated or purchased items may be closed to public access for a defined period.
Access to unprocessed collections/records is limited.
Some materials may, on occasion, be sent out for repair or transcribing (i.e. ledgers, books, etc.). These items will be temporarily unavailable for use.
Under special circumstances, part or all of a collection may be on loan with another repository.
At the discretion of staff, access may be refused to anyone who violates Archive policies and to anyone who carelessly or deliberately causes damage to Archive resources/materials.

Hamblen County Archives: E-mail Us! archives@co.hamblen.tn.us
Last revised: December 15, 2018
http://hamblencountyarchives.blogspot.com/p/patron-use-access.html