Invisible hands: Recognizing archivists' work to make records accessible

Seasoned researchers know that it's a good idea to contact an archive before visiting to do research. This ensures that needed collections will be available onsite during the actual visit to the archives and allows the researcher to begin a conversation with the archivist about any additional relevant resources available. Starting such a conversation (the "reference interview") with the archivist in advance helps make a visit to the archives more efficient and fruitful. This reference role of archivists is generally understood, if not fully exploited, by most archival researchers.