Special collections reading room hours announced

The Special Collections Reading Room of the Kentucky Historical Society is providing researchers appointment-only hours on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

The new hours began March 3.

The Special Collections Reading Room will also be open to walk-in researchers from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays. The Reading Room is closed Saturday through Monday. Hours in the Martin F. Schmidt Library at the Kentucky Historical Society remain the same, open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.

"These appointment-only days allow researchers access to archivists matched to specific topics or formats and more concentrated time for their research," says Gretchen Haney, KHS director of special collections and reference services.

"This process ensures a better research experience and benefits the researcher."

KHS Special Collections staff is also significantly increasing its efforts to make more resources available online in its Digital Collections Catalog. The processing and digitization of collections has been accelerated with the objective of increasing online access to collections for the public on the KHS Web site at www.history.ky.gov.

KHS Special Collections staff manages five collection programs: manuscripts, maps, oral history, photographs and rare books. These collections document most major issues in Kentucky history, as well as the day-to-day lives of Kentuckians. Researchers can access the Kentucky Historical Society's special collections by three methods-visiting the Center, submitting a reference request form or searching online catalogs and databases.

Admission to the KHS Special Collections Reading Room is free and open to the public. To make appointments, or for more information about the Kentucky Historical Society's Special Collections Reading Room, call (502) 564-1792 Ext. 4470.