Community + Research Services

Transfers/Requesting Collections

The Area Research Center (ARC) network allows the archival collections of the Wisconsin Historical Society to be distributed over the entire state, bringing local history and genealogical collections of regional interest to each of the 14 different areas. The ARCs are located on the four year University of Wisconsin campuses, except for the ARC at the Northern Great Lakes Center in Ashland.

For more information, please see our Materials Transfer FAQ.

Research

One of the primary functions of the archives is to serve patrons and assist with research requests. If you are not able to visit us in person, you are welcome to reach out by Submitting a Research Request or via email. For our contact information, please visit our Staff/Contact Us page.

Researchers are encouraged to explain their project or interests to staff. This can take five minutes or an hour depending on the complexity of the project. Consulting staff will discuss your project and research strategy and suggest sources available to support the project. Once sources have been identified they will be retrieved for your use.

Reproduction Fees

The Special Collections and Archives Department does not charge for research services, but there are fees for reproduction. Please review the information below for more information about our reproduction services and fees.

Remote reproduction services

We can reproduce, in full-color, PDF copies of all* collection materials up to 11” x 17”. Reproductions are scanned at 300 dpi. PDF files are submitted to requestors via e-mail.
Single reproduction requests of 25 pages or less are free. ^†

Reproduction requests exceeding 25 pages are charged a service fee of $5.00 plus an additional charge of $.10/page. We can print and mail hard copies of reproduced materials for an additional charge of $5.00 to cover shipping and handling costs.

For all orders incurring charges an invoice along with payment instructions will be sent to the requestor. Pre-payment is required for all invoiced orders. We can accept payment by check or credit card. ^‡

_{* The Special Collections and Archives Department reserves the right to decline reproduction of fragile items.
† Special Collections and Archives Department staff may use their discretion to waive reproduction fees for requests that exceed 25 pages and/or requests from students, faculty, or staff associated with the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
‡ All credit card orders will have an additional 2.75% service charge applied to the total payment amount.}

In-person reproduction services

Self-serve scanning and photocopying is available for all UW-Eau Claire faculty, staff, and students. There is no charge for self-serve scanning and photocopying.

The Special Collections and Archives Department provides a self-serve scanning option for non-UWEC affiliated researchers. This self-serve scanning option is limited to microformat materials and physical items up to 8.5” x 11”.

In-person reproduction requests that require staff assistance will be charged the same fees as remote reproduction requests. For all orders incurring charges an invoice along with payment instructions will be sent to the requestor. We can accept payment by cash, check, or credit card. ^‡

_{‡ All credit card orders will have an additional 2.75% service charge applied to the total payment amount.}

Oversized materials

We can reproduce, in full color, PDF or JPEG image copies of oversize materials exceeding 11” x 17”.   Oversize materials are reproduced using an overhead camera apparatus; staff will do our best to reproduce images at desired quality but, depending on size and other factors, may not be able to produce sufficiently high-quality images.

Requests for oversize materials reproduction will incur a service fee of $5.00 plus an additional charge of $1.00/image. ^† All oversize material reproductions will be submitted to requestors via e-mail as JPEG of PDF files. For all orders incurring charges an invoice along with payment instructions will be sent to the requestor. Pre-payment is required for all invoiced orders. We can accept payment by cash, check or credit card. ^‡

_{† Special Collections and Archives Department staff may use their discretion to waive reproduction fees for students, faculty, or staff associated with the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
‡ All credit card orders will have an additional 2.75% service charge applied to the total payment amount.}

High-resolution image reproduction requests

We can reproduce high-resolution images up to 600 dpi, in either grayscale or full color, for most materials up to up to 11” x 17”. Image files can be either JPEG or TIFF formats.

Requests for high-resolution image files will incur a service fee of $5.00 plus an additional charge of $1.00/image. ^† All oversize material reproductions will be submitted to requestors via e-mail as JPEG of TIFF files. For all orders incurring charges an invoice along with payment instructions will be sent to the requestor. Pre-payment is required for all invoiced orders. We can accept payment by cash, check or credit card. ^‡

_{† Special Collections and Archives Department staff may use their discretion to waive reproduction fees for students, faculty, or staff associated with the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
‡ All credit card orders will have an additional 2.75% service charge applied to the total payment amount.}

Notice concerning copyright

United States copyright law (Title 17, United States Code) governs the creation of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Libraries and archives, within certain conditions defined by the law, can produce photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials. These materials can be reproduced within these provisions for fair use for “private study, scholarship, or research.” Beyond these uses the requestor of materials may be liable for copyright infringement and would need to seek permission from copyright holders.

The Special Collections and Archives Department reserves the right to refuse a reproduction request if, in the judgement of the department staff, fulfilling the request would lead to violation of copyright law.

We encourage patrons to bring their own USB Flash Drives or External Disk Drives to save digital copies on.

Online Catalogs, Indexes, and Databases 

Catalog

The archival materials available at the Special Collections and Archives, as well as at other universities across the state of Wisconsin, can be located with the Special Collections and Archives Catalog. Finding aids may be available in the collection’s catalog record, which will describe the collection and its contents more thoroughly than the catalog record.

WHS Vital Records Index

The Wisconsin Historical Society has millions of vital records recorded in Wisconsin before October 1, 1907, at the state level. The collection includes approximately 1 million birth records, 1 million marriage records, and 400,000 death records.

The vital records are indexed in the Pre-1907 Vital Records Index. This online resource can be searched by ancestor name and year of event. Record the microfilm location information to find and view the record on microfilm. You can find the index for this resource here: Wisconsin Vital Records Index.

Ancestry

Ancestry.com: Access is available for onsite access; offsite access to Blugold card holders only.

Newspapers 

Newspapers.com (Library Edition): Access is available for onsite access; offsite access to Blugold card holders only.

Access Newspaper Archive (Wisconsin Collection): Access is available for onsite access; offsite access to Blugold card holders only.

Digital Collections

To see our digital collections, please visit Digital Collections or Our Collections.

While a very small percentage of our collections have been fully digitized and are available online, everything that has been processed in our repository is available to search for in our online catalog.

Appointments

It is not required to make an appointment to visit the archives. You are welcome to drop by and view records anytime during our business hours.

While it is not required to make an appointment to visit the archives, though it is sometimes preferred based on the size of your request. If you are expecting to have a large request, sending an email prior to your visit to allow us time to prepare the materials for you is appreciated.

Parking

For directions on how to get to McIntyre Library, please visit this page.

Parking on campus requires a permit. To obtain a free visitor parking permit, please contact the Flesch Family Welcome Center prior to your visit. Their phone number is 715-836-2544. The closest lot to McIntyre Library is the Phillips lot.

Registering

When you arrive at the Special Collections and Archives, you will be asked to register as a patron. This is required to utilize our services. To register, you will be asked to fill out a form with general contact information, provide identification, and agree to the rules of the reading room. This process generally takes less than five minutes.

Using Materials

Because of the unique and delicate nature of our materials, researchers are asked to adhere to the following rules when visiting the archives:

• Researchers must register annually. A Researcher Card will be issued at registration and must be shown at all subsequent visits.
• Please leave all coats and bags outside of the reading room.
• Food, beverages, and tobacco products are strictly prohibited within the reading room.
• Use of pens, markers, and highlighters of any kind is prohibited within the reading room.
• Researchers may bring laptop computers, tablets, cameras, cell phones, pencils, and/or note-taking materials into the reading room.
• Researchers are authorized to use cameras (no flash) to capture images of collection materials for research purposes. For other material duplication options please consult with department staff.
• Please preserve the existing order of the collections. Return all records and documents to their original folders and/or boxes before leaving the reading room.
• Archival materials are often fragile and must be handled with care. They must not be marked on, folded, traced over, cut out, or otherwise handled in ways which cause damage. Please remember that these materials are only available for your use because those before you have used them with great care. Those that follow you should have the same opportunity.