Questions that take a long time to answer

In general, we should limit our time doing research on behalf of external patrons to no more than 60-90 minutes 

In some cases we can extend this time, e.g. if there is no other reasonable way that a patron can access the information that they need. But normally we would expect patrons who need to do extensive research in the archives to either visit the archives in person, or send someone on their behalf.

Answer the question to the best of your ability with the 60-90 minute research timeframe; Note where you checked, the limitations of what you could do and explain what would be necessary for a more complete search.

Example: "I spent about an hour looking in the files that appeared to be the most promising, including the folders labelled X, Y and Z, but I did not find any relevant information. A more complete search of boxes A, B and C might turn up more information, but this would require manually checking through several hundred pages of handwritten material. If you are able to visit the Archives, you would be very welcome to do a more thorough search through this and other possible sources."

Regarding lengthy special research requests from internal Pacific offices, e.g. MARCOM, Development, etc.

Obviously, mission-critical research requests should be prioritized, such as urgent requests from the President's Office, legal requests, etc. Before embarking on a very lengthy request (e.g. "What are all the mission statements that Pacific has approved in the last 50 years?" or "Can we get scans of all the times the Theater Department appeared in the newspaper in the 1970s?"):

• • • Provide a quick overview of known facts, if possible

    • Explain what would be required to give a comprehensive answer and the timeline needed for delivery. If a full answer is impractical with our available time/resources, note this. 

    • If the project requires many hours of student worker time, for example to read through hundreds of pages of text or to make dozens of scans, ask whether that office has a staff member /student worker who might be able to do the work in the Archives on their behalf.