All requests for research privileges and appointments must be made in advance so that the museum staff may make arrangements, assemble collections, and schedule curatorial time. No researcher should assume that they can have immediate access to the collections without a scheduled appointment. Researchers should complete a registration form in order to facilitate the process. Inquiries can be directed to any member of the curatorial staff.
While natural history specimens, cultural artifacts, photographs, documents, and books may all be made available to a researcher, the museum reserves the right to restrict research on any item in its collections and may, in some instances, require and check references before a researcher is given access to collections.
No food or beverages are allowed in research areas. Researchers may bring into research areas only those materials essential for research. Approved belongings may be subject to search by the staff before departure. Items not approved for use in research areas will be checked at the curatorial or archives offices.
Current museum members and students may use the museum’s research facilities without charge. All other researchers may be required to pay in advance a daily research fee that will cover both their admission to the museum and the time that the museum staff will spend assisting and supervising the researcher. Researchers may contact a curatorial staff member for the current daily research rate.
Museum staff may perform very limited research. Staff research will depend upon available staff time and scope of requested research. Contact a staff member for further information.
Researchers may request permission to photograph objects in the museum’s collections. Researchers and photographers may be required to sign a formal statement stipulating any pertinent restrictions on the use of such photographs and credit lines to be used for publication. The images from the Putnam Museum collection must be credited in any public presentation, published work, or exhibition as “Putnam Museum and Science Center, Davenport, Iowa.” Depending upon the type of use, images may require additional use fees.
