Research Policy

Please read over our research policy and then contact our librarian/photo archivist Marie Demeroukas to get started with your research.

GETTING STARTED
Appointment policy: If you would like to view photographs, documents, research files, etc. please try to make an appointment. This is to your advantage! Items can be pulled ahead of time and you will be assured that qualified staff will be available to allow access. We have limited library space and a small staff. Limited research access is available on Saturdays and holidays. While researchers with an appointment will take precedence over those that are drop-ins, we will work to help everyone as much as possible. No more than two research groups will be allowed in the library at one time. If we are unable to fulfill a research request during the time you are here, efforts will be made to send the information to you at a later date.

Research information form: Upon arrival, you will be asked to fill out a form that will include your name, address, phone, the topics(s) that are being researched, and what the research will be used for. This information is not required, but such information helps us understand how our collections are being used. In times past, the information has also allowed the museum to supply additional, newly-discovered material to researchers.

• The quality of the users publication or display is below reasonable publishing standards.
• The request is not made in a timely manner.
• Restricted items and unprocessed collections may be consulted only with the permission of the museum director.

If the material is used in a publication, film, video, etc., one copy of that production should be sent by the user to the museum for inclusion in the museum's collection at no cost to the museum.


HOW THE SHILOH MUSEUM ACQUIRES PHOTOGRAPHS
Photographs most frequently become a part of our collection by donation or loan. With loans, the museum staff makes and retains a negative and a file print of the loaned photograph. The original photograph is then returned to the owner. If a negative is loaned, the museum staff makes and retains a print and then returns the negative to the owner. Information about each of the items will be recorded. The kinds of information include names of the people in the photograph, the place it came from, the town, the county, what activity is taking place, the date, the photographer, and any other information that would be of interest to researchers. No photograph or negative outside the collecting area of the museum will be accepted unless the item is relevant to the museum's mission. When a photograph or negative is donated or loaned to the museum, the museum then has the right to provide the item to the public and to use the item in any of its own endeavors. The donor or loaner of photographs may request one print per photograph (up to 10 photographs) free of charge. Postage and handling fees still apply.

We welcome additions to the photograph collection! If you have photos or negatives relating to the history of Northwest Arkansas that you would like to share, please contact us.