Going Into Battle: A Guide to Archival Research
According to this guide, doing archival research can be similar to going into battle. See Barbara Heck, Elizabeth Preston, and Bill Svee’s guide to know what arsenal of supplies to bring with you to the archives!
Bring quarters, the preferred currency of most machines, for making copies from the self-serve copier, copies from the microfiche reader, or even parking meters; cash for other copying needs.
Bring pencils and erasers. Archives do not allow pens due to the possibility of ink leakage. Leave your ballpoint pen at home and bring the old #2 pencil.
Bring snacks, particularly if there are no vending machines or convenient stores nearby. Snack bars, raisins, and fruit provide much-needed energy and keep growling stomachs from annoying others. Snacks must be eaten outside of the research room, though. No chocolate messes on the manuscripts.
You may encounter documents with rusty staples and fasteners. Bring Neosporin and Band-Aids. Some nasty files will make you wish you had that tetanus booster.
Plan on eyestrain and headaches. Reading microfiche can induce a form of snow-blindness. Bring your favorite headache medicine.
Bring a magnifying glass: hand-held or eyeglass type. Indispensable for those of us who are middle-aged and need longer arms to read, and helpful even to younger eyes if the copy is faint.
Archives can be dusty, and may induce allergy attacks. Bring a decongestant. (Non-drowsy is recommended,; like hunger in point #5, snoring may annoy other patrons.) Depending on the archive material, a dust mask may be warranted. A fashion faux pas but effective.
Documents can be dirty and drying. After a few hours working with them, your skin begins to feel like some of the older documents, dry and cracking. Pack some waterless cleaning packets and/or hand lotion. After a few hours, your skin begins to feel like some of the older documents, dry and cracking.
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