The East Falls Archives & Special Collections department's primary mission is to serve Thomas Jefferson University students, faculty, staff and affiliates. However, the public, regardless of institution affiliation, is welcome to visit the East Falls Archives & Special Collections. Our staff is available to assist you by appointment, Monday through Friday (closed weekends and holidays). Before your visit, please become familiar with our access and use policies below.

Access to Materials

The East Falls Archives and Special Collections are closed-stack collections. All materials must be brought to patrons by Archives staff, and must be used in the designated research areas only. Access to certain materials may be restricted by statute, by office of origin, or by the donors. The researcher must assume full responsibility for fulfilling the terms connected with any restricted materials. The East Falls Archives & Special Collections department also reserves the right to restrict the use of materials which are not arranged and/or which are fragile. A number of our collections have been digitized and can be found in our Artstor collections and the Jefferson Digital Commons.

Requesting Materials

• For East Falls Archives, Textile Industry Historical Collection, & Materials Library, contact Sarah Slate, Assistant Director for Reference and Special Collections, at sarah.slate@jefferson.edu.
• For the Textile and Costume Collection, contact Jade Papa, Curator, at jade.papa@jefferson.edu.
• For the Senator Arlen Specter Archives, contact the Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh, www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist.

Handling Materials

Because they are irreplaceable and often very fragile, archival and special collection materials must be handled with great care. Items must lie flat on the surface of the reading table; nothing should ever be placed on them, or written on them. Notes may be taken with pencil (no pens), typewriter, laptop computer, or tape recorder. Eating, drinking, and smoking are prohibited.

Photocopying

In general, the East Falls Archives & Special Collections team will consider requests for limited reproduction of material when such duplication can be done without injury to the materials and when duplication does not violate confidentiality, donor agreements or copyright restrictions. Please note that permission to reproduce does not constitute permission to publish.

Permission to Publish and/or to Cite from TJU Archival Materials

Permission to publish from unpublished manuscripts or published works under copyright must first be obtained from the holder of the copyright. It is the researcher's responsibility to secure that permission. In many instances, the East Falls Archives & Special Collections department does not hold copyright. For more information, please see the Rights and Reproduction Policy.