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Due
to resource constraints, as well as the inherent
restrictions of the electronic medium, there is a
minimal amount of reference service that SHSI can
provide via e-mail.
All
e-mail requests must include the following information:
your first and last name, a mailing address (street,
city, state, zip code), a telephone number, and a fax
number if available.
Response
time for e-mail requests is 10 working days from the
date of receipt. E-mail inquiries for the Des Moines
Library should be directed to dm.library@iowa.gov
and inquiries for the Iowa City Library should be sent
to library-reference@uiowa.edu
With
the exception of inquiries that are very simple (such as
who was the first territorial governor of Iowa, what
type of information does the 1925 state census contain,
or what is the county seat of Warren county), SHSI
requests that you send research questions via regular
mail either to our Iowa City or Des Moines
library.
In addition, there
are various guidelines related to reference services via
regular mail that you should be aware of. See Reference and
Photocopy Services & Fees for more
information.
Types
of requests that need to utilize SHSI's professional
researchers list:
most requests from non-Iowa residents that are
genealogical in nature, and extensive (potentially over
2 hours) historical research requests from Iowa or
non-Iowa residents.
Types
of research requests that SHSI can respond to through
correspondence:
if you are an Iowa resident, or are writing from outside
of Iowa with a specific question related to Iowa history
subject matter, please send a written request, with
payment of $15.00 (this payment covers up to 30 minutes
of staff research time, and up to 10 photocopies - any
additional staff time, photocopying, and postage will be
billed to you).
Alternatively,
you may wish to place an Inter-library loan (ILL)
request through your local library to utilize SHSI's
newspaper, census, and other miscellaneous collections
on microfilm. If you are conducting genealogy research,
there are many family history sites that can offer
valuable information. For a sampling, go to our family
history links.
Finally,
you are certainly welcome to visit our Library in Iowa
City or Des Moines. The Libraries are open
Tuesday-Saturday, 9am-4:30 p.m. (but it is advisable to
call in advance to ensure that we are not closed due to
a holiday).
Please
feel free to contact us if you have any questions
about our email policy.
319-335-3916
(Iowa City) or 515-281-6200 (Des Moines)
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