Plan a Visit to the Archives

The Archives at the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education is open for both on-site and remote research. Fore researchers who will visit us in Shepherdstown, the Reading Room is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm. It is best to contact our Archivist, Jody Brumage, and arrange an appointment to ensure that our reference staff will be on hand to assist you during your visit. 

In preparation for your research at the 


On-Site Research

Once you have contacted the archivist regarding your research project, you can arrange to visit the center during our business hours (Monday through Friday, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm). If you are planning on an extended visit, it is best to have the Office Manager (304-876-5648) arrange a temporary parking pass for you to park on campus. When you arrive at the center, you will first meet with the archivist and review the following guidelines and procedures for your visit: 

Reading Room Guidelines
  • Coats/Jackets, briefcases, book bags, handbags, and any other personal belongs must be left in one of the lockers prior to entering the Reading Room.
  • Please silence any cell phones/tablets prior to entering the Reading Room. Talking on cell phones is prohibited within the Reading Room.
  • Laptop computers, digital cameras, pencils, and notepads may be brought into the Reading Room. Each table contains several outlets for charging devices.
  • Any person found stealing, defacing, or in any way damaging materials from the collections will be immediately asked to leave and may be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The Reading Room and other public areas within the Byrd Center are under constant video surveillance.
  • No food or beverages (with the exception of water) may be taken into the Reading Room.

Retrieval of Records
  • You may request up to 10 boxes from the archive at a time. Your request will be recorded on a call slip which is kept by the archive for security purposes. The reference assistant will retrieve the boxes for you and place them on a cart.
  • You may only have one box on the table at a time and you may only remove one folder from the box at a time. The reference assistant will provide you with a place marker to be inserted in the spot where you remove the folder.
  • The Reading Room is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm. No requests for materials will be accepted after 3:30 pm. 

Use of Records
  • You may take notes in pencil, unless you are using a laptop, tablet, or other electronic device. Pens, markers, and highlighters are not allowed in the Reading Room.
  • The boxes/folders should be either on the cart or on top of the table at all times. Do not hold records in your lap or lean against or place other items on top of them.
  • When handling fragile documents or photographs, you will be provided with a pair of gloves to wear. Photographs should be handled by the edges.

Duplication of Records
  • Digital photography of records is allowed. Please ensure that your camera’s flash is deactivated prior to using it. Photocopies can be made but are subject to review based on the condition of the item being duplicated. No more than 10% of any book will be duplicated.
  • The Byrd Center reserves the right to deny duplication of any record on the grounds of potential copyright violation, donor restrictions, privacy, or potential damage to the record.
  • Photocopies are priced as follows: $0.10 per black and white copy, $0.25 per color copy. You will receive an invoice for these fees (if applicable) at the conclusion of your visit.
  • Copyright Notice: The Byrd Center does not hold the copyright to all of the records in its collections. Any duplication of records is subject to Title 17 of the U.S. Code which requires that reproduction of copyrighted materials may not be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If the Byrd Center does not hold the copyright to a record being duplicated, it is the researcher’s responsibility to obtain permission from the publishing party. By signing this Conditions of Use Agreement, the researcher accepts full responsibility and agrees to indemnify the Congressional Education Foundation, DBA Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that his or her copyright protection has been infringed upon. 

Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
  • Records in our collections often contain Personally Identifiable Information (PII) such as addresses and phone numbers. To protect the privacy of this sensitive information, no duplication of records containing PII is allowed. In some cases, the Byrd Center may provide a redacted document.
  • Researchers may use data collected from these records in statistical aggregate or as an example to illustrate a theme as long as there is no PII in the quotation drawn from the record. 

Citing Records from the Collection
  • When citing specific records from the collections, please use the following citation elements:
Folder Title; Subseries Title (If Applicable); Series Title; Collection Name. Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education, Shepherdstown, WV. Date of Access.

You can review these policies in our Conditions of Use form, available for download here. 

Remote Research

The Byrd Center also welcomes research projects via remote communication (email/phone). Begin by contacting our Archivist (jbrumage@shepherd.edu). We will conduct a cursory search through our collection finding aids to see if we have materials that may be of use to your project. Once the researcher agrees to the materials they would like to see, we will digitize them and send them to you via email or DVD disk. A digitization fee (see page 2, section "Duplication of Records" in our Conditions of Use Policy) will be charged for this service. If you wish to receive a DVD containing the digitized records, an additional $15.00 shipping/handling fee will be charge (this also includes the DVD).