Research Room

The Geneva History Museum is currently closed for renovations.  For research questions, please email our Archivist Becky Chapin at archivist@historicgeneva.org.

 

Archival Collection

Search our available Finding Aids and list of collections through the Empire Archival Discovery Cooperative.

Research Room Hours and Fees

The Research Room is open Tuesday through Thursday from 1:00 to 4:30 p.m. and Fridays from 9:30 to 4:30 p.m. by appointment only. These hours are hours are subject to change.  Click here to make an appointment or call 315-789-5151.

Fees

  • Supporters of Historic Geneva: Free
  • General Public: $5 per day.
  • Students (Geneva public and parochial schools, Hobart & William Smith Colleges, and Finger Lakes Community College): Free.

Fees can be paid in cash, check, or by credit card (over the phone, online, or in person).

All photocopies are 25¢ per page for 8.5×11 and 50¢ per page for 11×17. Students are allowed their first 5 copies free.

Research Requests

Research requests can be made over the phone, via email, by mail or through social media.

Historic Geneva staff can pursue research for you for a fee of $20 per hour. Please provide as much detail as possible on your subject, family name/person, time period, what type of materials you’re interested in (photos, articles), etc.

If contacting by mail, please include a check payable to Historic Geneva for $20 to cover the cost of the initial research. This fee is non-refundable. All requests will be answered even if we cannot find documentation about your subject. Any time spent further than the initial 2 hours of research must be confirmed by the researcher and archivist; an invoice will be furnished for any additional costs.

Please direct inquiries to
Attn: Archivist, Historic Geneva, 543 South Main Street, Geneva, New York 14456.
Telephone: 315-789-5151
Email: archivist@historicgeneva.org

Donations

See How to Add to our Collection to find out what material we are interested in adding to our collection. Please do not send unsolicited donations to the Archives.

Image Use

Historic Geneva supports and encourages access to our collections. Digital files on our website are available for use by educational institutions as long as Historic Geneva is credited (Courtesy of Historic Geneva). Historic Geneva requires permission and may charge a fee for any digital files to be published or exhibited in any print, photographic, electronic, or other media format. For more information on use of our images, please contact Becky Chapin at archivist@historicgeneva.org.

Adopt An Artifact

Entrusted in our care are 1,300 cubic feet of archival materials, 50,000 photographs and 7,000 objects. However, we only have enough space to display roughly 3% of our collections at any given time. The rest of our artifacts are kept in storage, but even there they need protection and care to preserve them for the future. To help us care for our collections, consider participating in our adopt an artifact program. The adoption fee will contribute to the purchase of archival supplies and materials like folders, document boxes, and protector sleeves.