28 May 1998 A recent note to me was posted on this list earlier today re search fees for out of state patrons. The State Library of North Carolina does NOT charge an out-of-state search fee, (and never has), though you do have to pay for photocopies and we ask for a stamped, self-addressed envelope. There are details about the services available by mail from Genealogical Services at the State Library of North Carolina at: http://statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us/iss/gr/mail.htm There is no search fee (and never has been) re a query about our holdings. As a matter of fact you can search the State Library of North Carolina catalogue online for free. You may want to look at our "Using the State Library Catalog" page at: http://statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us/iss/gr/catalog.htm for details. I'm afraid there has been a misunderstanding about the State Library of North Carolina and the NC State Archives. Although the State Library of North Carolina and the NC State Archives share the same building, we are two entirely different places, run by two entirely different managements. The NC State Archives does charge an $8.00 out-of-state search fee for mail requests and that fee is set by law by the NC General Assembly. Out-of-state patrons who come to Raleigh and do their own research are not charged a search fee, though they still of course have to pay for any photocopies. The NC State Archives has a web page about their services by mail at: http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/sections/archives/arch/mail.htm Charging out-of-state or non-members for search work is not unusual. The Library of Virginia charges a $10.00 out-of-state search fee, the Georgia Historical Society charges a search fee of $15.00 for Society members and $30.00 for non-members, the Georgia Department of Archives and History charges a mail reference fee of $15.00 for Georgia residents and $25.00 for non-Georgia residents, the Library of Congress Photoduplication service assesses a non-refundable $10.00 advance search fee for each order and the Maryland State Archives charges $10.00 to search for birth/death records and $20.00 an hour to search for other records. Yours faithfully, Grace-Ellen McCrann North Carolina Librarian The State Library of North Carolina gmccrann@hal.dcr.state.nc.us ****** ---------- From: NCPOLK-L-request[SMTP:NCPOLK-L-request@rootsweb.com] Sent: Thursday, May 28, 1998 3:31 PM To: NCPOLK-L Subject: [NCPOLK-L] Closing Thanks for that posting about the closing. Is there any hope that the library will cease charging a search fee for responding to a question about library holdings.Our State Library in Florida does not charge a fee. -- Alvie L. Davidson Lakeland, Florida USA Email: tracer@concentric.net Web: http://www.concentric.net/~tracer/detective.html