Reference Assistance

Reference Assistance. A. Assistance in the Reading Rooms: Reference staff will be available at the main reference desk, located in the center of the Public Reading Room. Satellite reference desks, in the Public Reading Room bibliographic area and the Media Reading Room to provide assistance in locating materials and in operating machinery are maintained as staffing allows. Reference assistance in the Archival Reading Room is available from staff at the main reference desk. B. Telephone/Email Reference Service: MDAH maintains a reference desk to respond to inquiries submitted by telephone and email. Hours of operation for this desk correspond to that of the Public Reading Room weekday hours. Inquiries that can be answered during the course of a short conversation or email will be answered. All other requests must be submitted in writing. C. Written Reference Service: All reference requests not answered by telephone must be submitted in writing. Each written request will be allotted up to one hour of staff research time, for which there is a charge. 1. Reference Fees: Research for written requests will be assessed at an hourly rate. Reference fees must be paid before research begins. The reference fee will provide for the copying and delivery of pages not to exceed a quantity set forth in the current schedule of charges. Reference fees will not be prorated or refunds given for staff research resulting in the production of fewer than the set number of copies provided for in the reference fee. (BOT 05/15/1992; Amended 10/16/2009; Amended 7/31/2015) The MDAH Board of Trustees adopts rules and regulations related to reference fees and the quantity of copies included in the reference fees. These fees and quantities are posted on the MDAH website and are subject to change without notice. If the request is answered by the division staff, and a charge for additional copies in excess of the set number of copies provided for in the reference fee is indicated, the requestor will be notified of the results of the search and the cost for the additional copies, which cost must be prepaid before the additional copies are provided. (BOT 05/15/1992; Amended 10/16/2009; Amended 7/31/2015) If research conducted by division staff yields no results upon the expiration of one hour, a written response indicating what was searched will be sent to the requestor. The requestor may resubmit the request to MDAH. (BOT 05/15/1992; Amended 10/16/2009) 2. Reference Response Time: When response time for written requests is excessive, delay notifications will be mailed upon receipt of all requests subject to said delay, advising the requestor of the approximate time in which a response can be expected. (BOT 05/15/1992; Amended 10/16/2009)