Research

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HSOY welcomes the use of our Library and Archives by scholars, researchers, and genealogists. Our staff, however, is quite limited and we rely mostly on volunteers to assist researchers. Whether you intend to visit in person, or contact us by mail, please read the following guidelines carefully to ensure success.

Planning a Visit to the HSOY Library & Archives

The HSOY Library & Archives are now located at the Gorham Cobbler Shop located behind the Post Office on 6A and are open to the public on Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:30 am – 3:00 pm. A phone call to 508.362.3021 is absolutely essential to plan your research visit. With advance notification, we can be certain we have materials that you might be looking for, and we can also ensure the presence of a volunteer to assist you. In certain circumstances an appointment must be made if extensive research is involved.

	Bring as much relevant information with you as possible. If you are researching a house or family, then bring all of the names, dates, and addresses that you have available.
	Researchers must sign in and out of the Cobbler Shop and be willing to provide name, address, and identification.
	Coats, bags, and other belongings are to be left in a designated area.
	Food, beverages, and smoking are prohibited in the Cobbler Shop.
	Staff will retrieve all materials. Researchers are not allowed in the Archival Storage area.
	Researchers may have only one box of materials at a time. Care must be taken to ensure that materials within boxes and folders are kept in order.
	White cotton gloves must be worn when handling photographs and fragile archival items.
	Pencils only are to be used for note taking.
	Materials do not circulate. Items are not to be removed from the Cobbler Shop. Manuscripts that are reproduced, quoted, or cited, will be credited as “[name of the collection]”, Historical Society of Old Yarmouth.”

Mailing a Query

We are happy to accept your query by mail and, in fact, with a small space and a small staff, this is sometimes the preferred method.

	Be specific about what information you are trying to obtain.
	Please provide us with as much information as possible. For instance, if you are researching your genealogy and you need information on William Crowell, then you need to tell us what you know about William Crowell, his wife, children, occupation, and any dates associated with him. As in most New England towns, names are used repeatedly generation after generation and there may literally be dozens of William Crowells.
	Expect around 4 weeks for a response.
	At this time, we do not charge for researching a query. We will bill you for any associated photocopying at 25 cents per page and will include the bill in your response. Donations, however, are gratefully accepted and help us to continue to expand our holdings.
	You may contact us by e-mail at hsoy@comcast.net or by snail mail at HSOY, P.O. Box 11, Yarmouth Port, MA 02675.

Sharing information

If you have done genealogy on a Yarmouth family or researched a business, ship, or any subject relating to this town, then we would love to know about it. We will be happy -- and grateful -- to place a copy of your research in our Library & Archives and add it to our expanding body of information about Yarmouth. Please contact us!

Photograph Use Policy

The Historical Society of Old Yarmouth provides photographic copies of images and artifacts in its collection at the discretion of the staff. Copies may be purchased for research purposes alone or for publication. Photographs may not be removed from the premises.

Personal or Research Use

Photographs for personal or research use are $5.00 plus the cost of the duplication. The following options are offered:

Color laser print, $2.00
Computer reproduction, $2.00 and
Photographic reproduction which, depending on size, runs from $7 to $12.

Publication Use

Photographic copies of items from the Historical Society of Old Yarmouth collections may be reproduced only with the written permission of the Administrator. All publications must include a credit line reading (Historical Society of Old Yarmouth, Yarmouth Port, MA) and a copy of the publication must be given to HSOY.

Scholarly or non-profit use of single image is $25.
Commercial use of a single image, such as in a book, calendar, motion picture, advertisement or magazine is $50.

HSOY has some items in its research collection for which it does not own the copyright. These items are not to be reproduced. The customer assumes responsibility for all copyright issues that may arise from the creation of reproductions.