Individuals and communities can reach out directly to the Archives, via phone or email, to inquire about accessing records. Including information such as community affiliations, family names, school affiliations, years of interest, and geographic area of interest can help the Archives better answer requests. Once in contact with the Archives, archivists may follow-up with more questions to help narrow down the search or ensure that the request is understood. If possible, researchers are welcome to visit the archives to view records themselves. Most of the time, research is done by archivists while copies are provided in the response.