Helen F. M. Leary and Maurice R. Stirewalt have expressed their concern
with the demands on the time, funds, and patience of directors of
depositories in which genealogical research is conducted. They point out
that
. . . the responsibility for an individual researcher's work
rests with that individual researcher, not with the staff of the repository
in which the records are kept. The responsibility for keeping those
repositories open and their records available also rests with the
individual researcher; foolish questions, arrogant behavior, and
unreasonable demands by one researcher place additional obstacles in
the path of the researcher who follows.7
Research etiquette makes good sense. The basic premise is common
courtesy-treating others respectfully and complying with the rules
and expectations of the repository in which you find yourself.
Compliance may mean a consideration of the clothing you wear (bare feet,
even in tropical climates such as summertime Florida, is simply not
acceptable) or the type of writing instrument you use (in many institutions
a pencil, not a pen, is the required tool).
Standards of conduct dictate that conversations among researchers in a
library or other research facility be limited to necessary exchanges, as
the constant talking of people working together can be distracting to
others. It is also to your advantage not to waste the time of the librarian
or archivist who is attempting to answer a question by telling him or her
more than is necessary. Family history enthusiasts who preface each
question with a detailed description of their family or research not
only irritate the person who is attempting to help, they absorb more
than their share of valuable time, thus angering those who may be
waiting for assistance.
For suggestions on correct etiquette in public or private record
repositories and libraries, consult Ann Ross Baltheizen, Searching
on Location: Planning a Research Trip (Salt Lake City: Ancestry,
1992). This book is a guide to planning and carrying out a successful
research trip and offers basic suggestions for being a courteous and
thus successful researcher.
