Frequently Asked Questions
The library at BHS receives many questions everyday from all over the world. Here we try to address some of the questions we are asked most often. Please take a look to see if we have answered your question.

Visiting the library

Who can use the library?

I want to visit the library, what should I do? Do I have to have an appointment?

Can I take pictures in the library? Can I take pictures of the books/archives/maps/etc?

I am planning to come to the library. Can I bring my laptop? Do you have wifi?

I'm teaching a class and would like to bring my students in to learn more about doing research in the library. What should I do?

Research at the library

I want to know how much my antique or historic object/book/artwork is worth, can you tell me?

Can I check out the books in your library?

I don't live in New York and can't come visit BHS. How can I do research in the library?

I want to see an object in your museum collection. Can this be arranged?

How do I find vital records? Court records? Naturalization Records?

What is the difference between a library and an archive?

What is the difference between Emma and Bobcat?

Oral Histories

How do I suggest someone for an oral history interview?

Do you have any tips for conducting an oral history interview?

Photography

Do you have photographs online? Do you have a picture of my house? Can I get a copy of a photo in your collection?

Can I take pictures in the library? Can I take pictures of the books/archives/maps/etc?

My Collections/Artifacts

How do I take care of my old photographs/books/documents/objects?

I have something I would like to donate to Brooklyn Historical Society, what should I do?

Volunteering at the Library

I am interested in working or volunteering in the BHS library, what should I do?

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Who can use the library?
Anyone can use the library, as long as they agree to abide by the library rules and procedures.

I want to visit the library, what should I do? Do I have to have an appointment?
For details on visiting the library, please see our Visit the Library page. You do not need an appointment to use any of the library books described in our online library catalog, atlases, city directories, or the searchable databases of digitized images and oral histories from our collections. You only need an appointment if you want to use the archives and manuscript collections. If you aren't sure if you need an appointment, you can email us.

I have something I would like to donate to Brooklyn Historical Society, what should I do?

All potential donations go through a standard process which starts with you filling out a donation form to tell us a little more about what you would like to donate. After we receive the form, we will route it to the appropriate member of the collections staff, who will contact you if they need more information. After this, all collections decisions are brought before a committee of collections staff and members of our Board of Directors. This committee meets every other month, so we may not respond to your donation offer for several months. Please do not mail or bring in potential donations without prior approval from BHS collections staff, we can not accept them.

I want to know how much my antique or historic object/book/artwork is worth, can you tell me?
No, we can't. BHS staff are trained to judge the historic value of our collections, but are not professional judges of monetary value. For a professional appraiser in your area, please visit the American Society of Appraisers website, which has a listing of certified appraisers in your area. You can also try doing a completed auction search on eBay or look up a specific book title on AbeBooks for information about how similar items have been priced recently.

I want to see an object in your museum collection. Can this be arranged?
No, we are sorry, it can not. The museum object collection is stored off-site, and is not publicly accessible.

What is the difference between a library and an archive?
Though often housed in the same building and served by the same staff, libraries and archives are different from each other in many ways.

Libraries usually contain published books and periodicals, and often times other published materials such as maps, movies, and recorded music. Library collections are good for answering basic factual and statistical questions, and getting general background information about people, places, and events.

Archives usually contain unique, original, or rare materials created or compiled by an individual, family, organization, business, or government. These materials can include documents, deeds, diaries, manuscripts, scrapbooks, photographs, film, drawings, and oral history interviews and transcriptions. These materials are gathered together into collections of materials created by the same entity or documenting the same subject, and given titles like the Jane Smith Papers or the Brooklyn Real Estate Brochure Collection.

Many people find it is best to start their research with library materials to understand the basic facts and background around their research topic, and then move on to using archival materials to do more in-depth, specific research; seek out a first hand account of an event or period in time; or prove or disprove an idea they have developed during their preliminary research.

Do you have photographs online? Do you have a picture of my house? Can I get a copy of a photo in your collection?

A portion of our photography collections are searchable online here. We are constantly adding to this online catalog. The entire photography collection may be searched in our image database at the library.

We have photographs of many, but not all, properties in Brooklyn. You can search for an image of your home using any of the resources described above. The New York Municipal Archives photographed every building in the five boroughs over a three year period, from 1939-1941. You can request these images on their website.

We provide photocopying of materials in our collections for educational and personal use to the extent permitted by U.S. Copyright Law and BHS policies: if the photocopying will not damage the item, we will photocopy it.

High quality digital reproductions of collection material are available as per our fee schedule. Please search the online image catalog and submit a request for this service.  High quality image reproductions are delivered as digital files, no physical duplicates are available. For more information, please go to Photocopies & Reproductions.

Can I check out the books in your library?
No, we are sorry, books are not available for use outside the Othmer Library. Much of the material in our collections is old, fragile, rare, or one of a kind. For the protection of these valuable collections, all materials must be used in the library.

I don't live in New York and can't come visit BHS. How can I do research in the library?
If you know that we hold materials that are important to your research, but you are unable to visit the library, we suggest hiring a local researcher. For genealogical research, the The Association of Professional Genealogists website has a listing of professional researchers in the New York area. We are also happy to recommend local researchers familiar with our collections who may be available for freelance research projects. Please email us directly for this list.

If you are not sure if we hold materials relevant to your research, our staff is happy to help you. Please see Search the Collections for further information about finding out what we have.

Can I take pictures in the library? Can I take pictures of the books/archives/maps/etc?

Yes. You can take pictures of the library without restriction.

Researchers may also take photographs of materials in the BHS collection. To do this, you must fill out a photography request form, for which an unlimited number of photos may be taken. All cameras must be hand-held. The photographer’s feet must remain on the floor at all times; the use of tripods, chairs, stools, ladders or other devices to adjust the angle of photography is not permitted. Only still photography cameras may be used. All photographs must be taken using available light within the reading room. The flash option on the camera must be turned off, and no additional, separate lighting may be used. Manuscripts, maps, broadsides and other single sheets must be kept flat on the table during photography. Books, bound manuscripts, and other bound materials must be photographed while in a cradle.

I am planning to come to the library. Can I bring my laptop? Do you have wifi?
Yes, you can bring your laptop and use it in the library. Please note that there are a limited number of electrical outlets available to visitors; we advise charging your battery before your visit. There is currently no wireless internet access in the library.

How do I take care of my old photographs/books/documents/objects?
To learn more about caring for your own old and rare materials, we recommend visiting the following websites, which offer useful information on products and techniques for caring for a variety of objects.

The Northeast Document Conservation Center. The Center is a national and international resource for preservation education.

The Library of Congress Preservation Department. This website provides simple instructions, as well as links to more comprehensive information for “Preparing, Protecting, Preserving” many types of family treasures. Using this information, you will have the means to prepare ahead of time, to protect everyday, and if need be to preserve your family treasures after a disaster. Proper care, handling and storage of your treasures will help to ensure that they are available for generations to come.

The Henry Ford Museum's Benson Ford Research Center. The Research Center's in-house conservation staff have developed these Preservation Fact Sheets to assist in caring for your historical materials. These fact sheets provide basic information on the care, cleaning, and handling of a particular type of artifact, referral information to other conservation organizations, and a bibliography of authoritative works.

The National Archives & Records Administration. Learn more about the professions' tools and tips, about current issues of concern, and how to join the mission of preserving and serving records.

Your Old Books by the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section Publications Committee. This guide addresses some frequently asked questions about rare and older books and their values. The answers are meant only as general responses to these questions, and many possible exceptions are not described. No attempt has been made to identify or to evaluate individual books, nor does RBMS have the resources to respond to such requests. The appendix lists online and print resources for more information on the questions covered.

I am interested in working or volunteering in the BHS library, what should I do?
Please see the intern and volunteer opportunities, and instructions on how to apply for them on the job opportunities section of our website.

How do I suggest someone for an oral history interview?
To suggest someone for BHS to interview for the Oral History Collection please fill out our online Oral History Suggestion Form.

BHS also offers a workshop for community oral historians embarking on their own projects called Collecting Community Oral Histories – please contact the Oral History Program for details.

How do I find vital records, court records, or naturalization records related to Brooklyn?
We do not hold court or naturalization records in the library. We have a selection of transcriptions of various vital records in the library. You can find these in our library catalog by doing a keyword search using the term "vital records". In addition, we suggest consulting the following resources:

Vital Records
The main repository for vital records in New York City is the NYC Municipal Archives, they have birth, marriage and death records. The Italian Genealogical Group has an ever-growing list of databases, their databases for vital records are particularly helpful with regard to trying to find marriage (there is a separate database for grooms and brides) and death certificate numbers.

Court records

• Brooklyn Supreme Court Law Library has briefs and reports for Supreme Court, Appelate Court, and Court of Appeals cases from varying time periods. A thorough explanation of their holdings is available on their website.
• NYC Municipal Archives has a collection of court records that covers New York and Kings County court records.
• National Archives and Record Administration in New York also has a collection of Federal court records.

Wills
If the will you are looking for was probated in Kings County (Brooklyn) it would be in the Surrogate Court's Record Room, Rm 109. The Surrogate's Court is located at 2 Johnson St. in Brooklyn (if you live in Brooklyn, it is the same building as jury duty).

Naturalization Records
The King's County Clerk's Office has naturalization records from 1907 to 1924. For naturalization records after 1924, you would need to contact the New York facility of the National Archives and Records Administration. Please note that through the Italian Genealogical Group, you can search a variety of indexes to naturalization records (and no they are not just indexes for Italians!).

I'm teaching a class and would like to bring my students in to learn more about doing research in the library. What should I do?
We are happy to offer tutorials in how to use our library to groups of high school, college, and graduate students or to community groups. These can be general bibliographic instruction that teach about the difference between archives and libraries, primary and secondary sources, and using archival collections; or can be tailored to highlight our resources most pertinent to your class assignment. Please contact us for more information.

Do you have any tips for conducting an oral history interview?
The key to a good interview is to listen with your full attention and ask open-ended questions that encourage your narrator to keep sharing.  This can be a powerful experience for both you, the interviewer, and your narrator.   The recorded document is a great gift for generations to come.  Be sure to state the date, location, and names of people involved at the beginning of your recording (this will help inform future listeners) and to take steps to preserve the recording by keeping backup copies and transferring it to the current media form as technology changes.  For suggestions of questions to ask check out the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, StoryCorps' question list, or Paul Thompson's Life-Story Interview Guide in the book The Voice of The Past (Oxford, 2000).  Donald Ritchie's Doing Oral History is another helpful book.

For suggestions on what kind of recording equipment to use, the Vermont Folklife Center has a very helpful guide to digital recording here.

BHS also offers a workshop for community oral historians embarking on their own projects called Collecting Community Oral Histories - please contact the Oral History Program for details.

What is the difference between Emma and Bobcat?
Emma is the Catablog of Archives, Manuscripts and Special Collections at the Brooklyn Historical Society. It contains brief overviews and links to fuller information about our archival collections.

Bobcat is our online library catalog, offered in partnership with NYU, of our published books and periodicals.

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