Appointments are required for in-house researchers. You must submit the Researcher Appointment Request Form at least three business days in advance of your planned visit. This is to allow time for scheduling, to gather requested collection materials, and to best serve your research needs.
Our Reading Room is space for researchers of all backgrounds to interact with our collections and receive assistance from our Archival staff. The below policies are outlined to benefit our community and to allow you to make the most out of your visit.
Before Your Appointment
Before you arrive at the Archie K. Davis Center, please review our policies and procedures below, as several have recently been changed or updated.
We also kindly ask that you print out this Parking Permit and display it in a visible area on your car’s dashboard before entering the building.
Upon Arrival
Upon arrival, you will be asked to use one of the lockers outside the Reading Room to store personal items. The only items permitted inside the Reading Room are:
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Cell phones (on silent)
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Laptops or tablets (without cases)
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Pencils
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Non-professional photography equipment
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Headphones and/or earbuds
We will provide pencils and paper if you would like to take notes. Please note that food, drink, gum, candy, and ink pens are strictly prohibited. All bags, including purses, backpacks, briefcases, and laptop bags, must be stored in your locker.
Additionally, you will be asked to thoroughly wash and dry your hands before handling materials.
Lunch Break
The Moravian Archives closes for lunch every day at 12:00 p.m. for one hour. During this time, researchers are asked to leave the building (except in the case of extreme weather) and return at 1 p.m. to resume research. After the break you will be required to thoroughly wash and dry your hands before resuming the handling of materials.
Care and Handling
During your first visit, Archives staff will provide you with a detailed care and handling primer, and you will receive a refresher on subsequent visits. Below are some general guidelines to ensure the preservation of our materials. Please keep in mind that nearly every item you handle during your research visit is unique—if it is damaged or lost, it cannot be replaced. These care and handling rules are essential for protecting these valuable resources.
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Clean, dry hands are required when handling documents and books.
- A restroom is available next to the Reading Room for washing your hands before your visit.
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Gloves (provided by Archives staff) must be worn when handling photographs, maps, and ephemera.
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Do not write on materials or take notes on top of them.
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Keep all items in their original folders and boxes.
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When referencing materials, please use the title, date, and the box and folder name/number for accuracy.
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Thank you for helping us preserve these irreplaceable materials for future generations!
Reprographic Services and Permissions
It is recommended that you review our policies on reprographic services and permissions in advance of your visit. Even if you do not plan on requesting copies or obtaining permission to publish, your plans may change in the course of your research.
Access
Overview
The Moravian Archives of the Southern Province provides access to our holdings according to best practices and standards in the field of library science. Our policy is based on Principles of Access to Archives published by the Committee on Best Practices and Standards Working Group on Access for the International Council on Archives.
The Moravian Archives holds records and papers with significant value for understanding social, economic, religious, community, and personal history, and providing public access helps protect rights and benefits public interests. Access helps maintain institutional transparency and credibility, improves public understanding of the Moravian Church, Southern Province’s unique history and its contributions to society, and helps the Moravian Church, Southern Province fulfill its social responsibility to share information for the public good.
The Moravian Archives provides the widest possible access to our holdings while recognizing and accepting the need for some restrictions. Restrictions on our holdings have been imposed by federal and state regulations, the Moravian Church in America, Southern Province, the Moravian Archives, and/or the donor of the material in the case of personal papers.
Materials can be restricted for a number of reasons, but primarily, the Moravian Archives restricts records due to organization representative or donor request, preservation concerns, and protection of privacy. Records are not restricted by a number of years as a matter of routine.
Organization Representative/Donor Imposed Restrictions
Representatives of congregations, boards, and institutions of the Moravian Church in America, Southern Province (“organization representative”) and donors may request that the Moravian Archives restrict portions of the materials they are transferring or donating. The details of the restrictions should be worked out between the organization representative or donor and Director prior to the physical transfer of the materials. The restrictions should be described as explicitly as possible in the records transfer form or deed of gift and should always include an expiration date. Archival staff will have access to restricted material for the purposes of accessioning and processing but should keep information about the documents strictly confidential.
Preservation
In some cases, original material may be too fragile for general access in the reading room and should be restricted. Archives staff should deny transfer or donation of such materials if they determine, during a preservation assessment, that they do not have the resources to properly treat and house the items. When possible, Archives staff will create surrogate copies of documents restricted for preservation concern to provide access to patrons. Physical media containing sound and video/film recordings or born digital files are always restricted from use by patrons. Patrons may examine the physical media but may not access content via the original items. When possible, Archives staff will create surrogate copies of the contents recorded on the physical media to provide access to patrons.
Protection of Privacy
Archival collections record the operations of organizations or record an individual’s life. They can include documentation of very public accomplishments, as well as personal relationships, life events, and historically motivated decisions. While restricted information or document types should be identified at the time of acquisition and outlined in the deed of gift or record transfer form, there are cases when Archives staff may identify confidential material in the course of working with a collection. There are important legal and ethical distinctions between information that is considered confidential and that which may be private or sensitive.
Confidential records: Any records that must be restricted from public access for a period of time to ensure compliance with legal or statutory regulations. Examples include third party student records (FERPA), personnel records, some medical records (HIPAA), social security numbers, and privileged attorney-client, doctor-patient, or clergy communications.
Private information: May include categories of information that a donor or organizational representative wishes to restrict for a period of time, such as correspondence with a particular individual, financial information, or records of or about a third party.
To the best of our ability and the extent that is reasonable based on the level of processing, Archives staff reviews collection material for records containing confidential information and redacts, removes, or otherwise restricts these documents. In addition to confidential records, we also make every reasonable attempt to locate and redact or restrict any material stipulated in the donor agreement or record transfer form. While Archives staff make every good faith effort to identify this information in the records, the nature of archival processing is to deal with records in the aggregate, and Archives staff are not in a position to examine or inspect every document. Archivists are trained in document analysis and can generally identify series or portions of a collection that are the most likely to contain confidential information and will concentrate efforts on those groups.
The legal right to privacy ends with an individual’s death. Restrictions on social security numbers, grade sheets, or other potentially confidential records can be lifted at the end of a person’s life, and we will not redact this information about deceased individuals.
Generally, staff does not evaluate collection contents for subjectively sensitive information. Staff will not restrict material without a request from the organizational representative, donor, or an affected third party, or outside of accordance with Provincial policy or state and federal statute.
Treatment of Restricted Material
When materials have been designated as restricted, Archives staff will:
- Physically isolate restricted documents from the rest of the collection and clearly label the boxes as restricted;
- Create access copies and surrogates for fragile material when possible;
- Describe the restricted items as fully as possible in the finding aid, including container lists and appropriate narrative description. In cases where the donor may not want information about restrictions to be made public, describe the material as normal in the internal copy of the finding aid and redact it in the published finding aid;
- Include the types of records that are restricted, the reason for the restriction, and the date of expiration in Restrictions on Access notes;
- Fully document restrictions via deeds of gift, correspondence, memos, etc., in the permanent collection file.
The Moravian Archives provides all users with just, fair, and timely access to archives without discrimination. When restrictions have been imposed, those restrictions apply to everyone on the same terms. When restrictions have been lifted, the restrictions are lifted for everyone.
Audiovisual and Born Digital Material
Use copies have not been made for audiovisual and born digital material in our holdings. Researchers must contact the Moravian Archives Southern Province at least two weeks in advance for access to these items. Collection restrictions, copyright limitations, or technical complications may hinder the Archives’ ability to provide access to audiovisual material. You may request this access on our reprographic services page.
Cancellation Policy
We understand that unforeseen circumstances may arise, but due to the significant time and effort our staff dedicates to preparing research appointments, we ask that any cancellations or changes be made at least three business days prior to your scheduled appointment.
Failure to provide notice at least three business days in advance will result in your appointment being marked as a no-show. After three no-shows, your appointment privileges will be revoked. Your case may be reviewed for reinstatement after six months.
Furthermore, failure to arrive within 2 hours of your scheduled appointment start time will also result in a no-show and the cancellation of your appointment.
We recognize that emergencies, such as sudden illness or a death in the family, may prevent you from attending. If this occurs within 72 hours of your scheduled appointment, please notify us as soon as possible so we can discuss alternative arrangements without marking your record with a no-show.
While research appointments are a free service, they require extensive preparation. Our staff carefully curates materials tailored to each research request—time that could otherwise be spent on vital archival work such as digitization, preservation, and rehousing historical documents. For this reason, appointments should only be canceled if absolutely necessary.
Thank you for your cooperation and for respecting the time and effort that goes into making your research experience as valuable as possible.
For cancellations or changes, please contact stullis@mcsp.org or call us at (336) 722-1742.