Haverford CollegeLibraries
Searching Quaker & Special Collections Materials
Quaker & Special Collections welcomes everyone, and strives to be accessible to a wide range of users, whatever their interest or project. There are several ways to access Quaker & Special Collections materials: Through requesting copies of materials; making a virtual appointment with a librarian; and making an appointment to view materials in person.
Copies of materials
We offer copies of up to 500 pages per researcher per year; this increase from our previous policy is due to limited researcher access due to COVID-19 concerns. There is no charge for this service. Reproductions are made as PDFs, and delivered via email. We will accommodate specific, smaller requests for high quality tiff images made at 600dpi resolution. Please contact hc-special [at] haverford.edu with any questions. Requests must be made via our request form. Although we strive to complete requests within two weeks, due to COVID-19, variable staffing, request queues, and request sizes, some requests can take longer. Requests are processed in order of receipt. Please review our full reproduction, copyright, and publication procedures.
Virtual Appointments
We offer virtual research assistance and access to the collections. These virtual appointments offer the opportunity to view materials virtually through a camera and ask questions of the librarian assisting you. The librarian will turn pages, etc. at your request. We will be happy to talk with you via email, phone, or video conference about materials or assist you in searching the library catalog or archives & manuscripts database. If you are making an appointment in which you want to see materials, you will need a list of the materials you want to view, to allow time for staff to obtain materials. Virtual appointments must be made by noon on the day prior to your appointment. If you have any questions about Quaker & Special Collections or the appointment process, please contact us at hc-special [at] haverford.edu.
In Person Appointments
Because of COVID-19 and to protect the health of all, Quaker & Special Collections is open by appointment Monday 1-5 and Tuesday through Friday 9-5, to members of the Haverford community, Bryn Mawr students taking Haverford courses which require access, Gest and Scattergood Fellows, and researchers with a pressing need to access the physical collections. All visitors except students must participate in a virtual consultation with a librarian prior to approval for an on-campus visit, and should be prepared to discuss why the research options detailed above are not possible for them. Only three spaces are available in the Reading Room at a time. The Quaker & Special Collections Reading Room is the supervised area in which researchers may use collections held by the department.
Researchers must follow the Collegeās guidelines, including those for guest visits; any outside researchers will need to go through a College-level approval process after consultation with a librarian and confirming the availability of an on-site visit. Guidelines governing the use of materials are designed to protect and preserve collection materials for future research use. Additional guidelines are offered to protect the health and safety of all. Researchers are asked to agree to the following:
- Everyone, including researchers, must wear masks at all times in the Libraries and Quaker & Special Collections, following College requirements.
- Physical distancing requirements mandate we keep 6 feet apart from each other, including staff and other researchers.
- Please sit only in the location designated by staff.
- Materials are to be used in the Reading Room.
- Researchers may bring pencil and paper, laptops, tablets, cameras, phones, and reference materials to the tables, and will store all other personal belongings, including coats, purses, briefcases, and water bottles, in the provided lockers.
- Use of the Reading Room is reserved for those using Quaker & Special Collections materials.
- Access to unprocessed collections will be at the discretion of curatorial staff.
- Education on handling of materials will be provided upon arrival in the Reading Room, as will any new updates to health and safety policies.
We offer appointments in two-hour blocks; in order to accommodate a range of researchers, we request that you limit your time to two blocks per day. When making an appointment, you will need the list of materials you want to consult in the reading room. We will be happy to talk with you during your consultation about materials or assist you in searching the library catalog or archives & manuscripts database. Appointments must be made by noon on the day prior to your appointment, to allow time for staff to obtain materials. If you have any questions about Quaker & Special Collections or the appointment process, please contact us at hc-special [at] haverford.edu.
Searching for materials from Quaker & Special Collections can require using different systems depending on the type of material you are looking for. This list provides information on what you can find in each system.
- Tripod
- Tripod, the Libraries' online catalog, contains the records for books, ephemera, and some manuscripts held by Quaker & Special Collections. Tripod also includes circulating Quaker materials, such as scholarly monographs.
- Archives & Manuscripts
- Archives and Manuscripts includes collection guides for manuscript collections held in Quaker & Special Collections. This includes Quaker meeting records; personal, family, and organizational papers; and records documenting the history of Haverford College.
- TriCollege Libraries Digital Collections
- Collections in TriCo Libraries Digital Collections include a variety of materials digitized from manuscript and archival collections. These include Friendly Association for Regaining and Preserving Peace with the Indians by Pacific Measures materials, the Cope-Evans family papers, historic photographs of Haverford College, Quaker broadsides, Quaker journals and diaries, images of Quaker meeting houses, and materials related to Quakers and slavery. Born-digital materials in this collection include Bi-Co News photographs, alumni oral histories, and Haverford student group materials. Some material can also be found in digital exhibits.
- TriArte Database
- The TriArte database includes records for the art held in Quaker & Special Collections. In almost all cases, records in Triarte include an image of the art as well as descriptive information.
- Institutional Repository
- Materials in the Institutional Repository include recordings of speeches, oral histories, and digital versions of Quaker serials, Haverford student newspapers, senior theses, and yearbooks, Haverford student newspapers, senior theses, and yearbooks. Also included are minutes of various faculty, administration, and student committees. Some materialsĀ may be accessible only to those on campus.
- Quaker Meeting Guides
- Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections are the co-depository for Quaker Meeting records from Philadelphia and Baltimore Yearly Meetings, and the repository for the Intermountain Yearly Meeting records.
- Accessing Ancestry.com
- Over 8.5 Quaker meeting records are digitized and available on Ancesry.com, which is available to Haverford researchers on-site, and often available through your local public or academic library. See our guide to using Ancestry.com for more information.
- Web Archives
- Quaker & Special Collections also captures various parts of the Haverford College website as well as websites of Quaker organizations for historical purposes.