You may bring your notes and research materials, paper and pencil. Please do not bring ink pens or highlighters. You will be asked to put them away. 

Laptops and cell phones are welcome. Please silence your phone. We do not have public computer access or Wi-Fi available. Charge your devices before arriving, if possible. There are no convenient outlets. 

Avoid bringing large briefcases, computer bags, purses, etc. We cannot provide lockers for your belongings and space at the tables can be limited.

You may use your camera or phone to photograph most materials without the flash. No personal scanners are allowed.

No Food or Drink is allowed in the research room

No Firearms/Weapons allowed by law, except for officers of the law in the course of their duty. 

No Smoking inside or within 50 feet of the building.

Public restrooms are available.

Patrons may freely browse the library materials on our bookshelves. Please do not return books to the shelves.

There is no public access to the stacks (original loose records, deed books, maps, vertical files, etc.). Staff will retrieve a single folder or item at a time and bring it to your research table.

Most original records and photographs may be viewed, but not handled by patrons. In most cases, we can scan these documents and/or print copies for your use. 

The staff will make copies for $.15 a page ($.25 for 11 x 17in). Many materials can be scanned and emailed to you as a .pdf or .jpg for no charge. 

A digital microfilm viewer is available, which can print or save images. Because there is only 1 machine, we strongly encourage you to make a reservation to do microfilm research. Otherwise, access is first come/first served.  Staff will retrieve microfilm and load the machine. If you wish, your saved files can be emailed to you at the end of your visit. 

Except for items in the public domain, we cannot copy entire works. The only exceptions are a very limited list of works for which we have received permission from the author.

We reserve the right to use our own judgment to limit the number of pages copied or scanned from a single copyrighted work, according to the doctrine of fair use.

For published materials, photographs in our collection, or any other item not a government record in the public domain, it is the patron’s responsibility to clear reproduction rights and adhere to copyright law.  

Please credit the archives when using reproductions of our material, especially photographs and documents. For example: Courtesy of the Lawrence County Archives, Lawrence Co., TN 

Staff are happy to help with information for academic or professional citations.