Etiquette

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.

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, are 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.