Using the Archives

Archives and Special Collections welcomes faculty, staff and students, as well as visiting researchers and the general public.

All collections are non-circulating. Most materials are located on-site and may be retrieved for users by Archives staff. Please consult our open hours and contact the archivist if you wish to view materials from a collection.

Research Assistance

For research beyond routine inquiries, Archives and Special Collections charges $10.00 per half hour. Assistance to faculty, staff and students is free.

You can schedule a one-on-one meeting with the archivist to discuss possible resources and search strategies for your project, whether that is a class assignment, journal article, criminal investigation or family history exploration.

During the meeting, the archivist will identify potential sources of information, introduce you to the various archival research tools, discuss advanced searching techniques and find collections appropriate to your specific topic.

Photocopying & Image Reproduction

Archives and Special Collections provides a range of reproduction services. Ask the archivist if you would like a copy of a document or image in our collections. Orders will be filled as soon as possible, depending on the size of the request and the availability of staff. The Archives reserves the right to charge for a reproduction or even refuse a reproduction request if fulfillment of the order goes beyond reasonable use of college resources.

Citing Our Collections

When using materials from Archives and Special Collections, please acknowledge their source by stating the name of the collection in which the materials are held or the address of the web page on which it is displayed. Citations should include full bibliographic information.

View citation examples

Copyright

It is the researcher's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions when reproducing materials from Archives and Special Collections. Permission to examine materials, or to obtain copies, does not imply the right to publish or reproduce them, in whole or in part. For more information about copyright and fair use of copyrighted material, please see Section VII of the Hope College Copyright and Intellectual Property Policy and Hope Library’s Fair Use Check-List.