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Requesting Materials from Schlesinger Library

A Few Things to Know

  • We will contact you 1-2 business days in advance of the scheduled date associated with your requests to confirm the availability of material requested through HOLLIS Special Request. If there are restrictions on access or other issues, we will be in touch as soon as possible.
  • If requesting from a finding aid, requests archival materials must be placed at the item/folder level. If you request a full series or subseries, we will contact you to let you know that the request has been cancelled because a series or subseries spans multiple containers. Requesting at the item/folder level guarantees that one request per box will be added to your account. For detailed instructions, please see the Requesting with HOLLIS for Archival Discovery guide.
  • If there are restrictions or conditions on access, we will be in touch as soon as possible to confirm the next steps and potentially reschedule your visit.
  • Any collections stored offsite will require additional time for delivery. Requests for material stored offsite must be placed by 2:00pm on the business day before your chosen visit date. If we will not be able to receive the material from offsite storage in time for your visit, we will be in touch to reschedule.
  • Due to limited on-site storage capacity, there is a 10 box limit for manuscript material stored offsite per researcher per day. If your requests exceed this limit, we will be in touch to help coordinate a schedule of material for the course of your visit. The limit is more flexible for smaller books and published materials. Researchers are encouraged to place requests for 10 boxes in advance of your visit so we can confirm access to items with restrictions or arrange for delivery if stored offsite.
  • If you are unable to visit the library on your scheduled visit date, please contact us to reschedule.
  • Manuscript materials left on hold will be returned to storage one week after the expiration of the date on the hold slip and published materials will be returned to storage two weeks after the expiration of the date on the hold slip. Researchers are welcome to resubmit requests at a later date.
  • Please share your questions with us using the Ask a Schlesinger Librarian web form.