Remote Reference Sessions
In April 2021, after a long year-plus with little to no outside access to the YIVO Archives, we launched a new pilot program. With the building closed to the public for the foreseeable future, we wanted to find a way to allow patrons to access materials remotely. Enter remote reference sessions.
Researchers can book appointments to meet with a YIVO archivist to view materials and discuss their needs. This way, no matter where you are in the world, you can have access to our collections.
The Sessions
We offer a few types of remote reference sessions. The most popular are document sessions, where researchers request materials. We use an overhead document camera to share archival materials and photograph whatever the researcher desires. These synchronous sessions allow us to discuss the patron’s needs in-depth, and allows the patron to ensure that the materials at hand are suitable for their needs. We can also explore different avenues together in real time, which is a much quicker and more productive process than doing so by email. All of these benefits are difficult to replicate by simply fulfilling digitization requests.
After each session, we share a PDF of the photographs taken, any other materials that came up during the session, and a recording of the session, if the researcher opts to have one.
Types of Materials
About half of patrons are conducting family history research, so landsmanshaftn collections and yizkor book requests are common. Some are academics and PhD candidates doing research on anything from the history of the Yiddish PEN Club to Jewish herbalism to Holocaust photography to the fabulous hats of the Jewish literati of the Bronx. Some are artists, teachers, and writers using archival research to share history through various projects.
Some Statistics
On Thursdays, we host between eight and fourteen sessions. To date, we have shared about 8,500 photographs via remote reference, many of which will be added to the online catalog to make the research process more seamless for researchers going forward. These photos have come from 50 archival collections as well as a broad array of YIVO Library material.
Remote researchers come from all over the world – so far, twelve U.S. states and fifteen countries, including Ecuador, Poland, Norway, and Lithuania.