General questions

Press inquiries

Requests for Research Access

The Coney Island Museum Archives is available for research by advance appointment only. To arrange an appointment, please include your request on the contact form.

Every researcher will receive, and must complete, the Coney Island Museum Archives Reader Registration Form, describing the research project and indicating the collections to be consulted. The researcher is required to fill out a separate registration form for each research project.

The CIM Archives reserves the right to restrict access to materials in the archives for any reason. Among the factors that the CIM Archives will consider when deciding whether to permit access to collections are: the condition of the archival materials requested; the number of materials requested; the purpose of the access; and the sensitivity of the archival material’s contents. Further, researchers may view only those materials that have been processed by Archives staff and for which there are finding-aids available. The Archivist may limit the quantities of material examined at one time. Unprocessed materials are not available to outside researchers, but may be consulted by staff members in the course of their research for the Museum.

Permission to examine material does not automatically include the right to photocopy. The Archives may decline a request for photocopies because the materials are oversize, too fragile, or fall outside the “fair use” standard. All photocopy requests must be approved by the Archivist and the copyright disclosure statement must be signed. Researchers are not permitted to use digital scanners for items in archival collections. Digital cameras can be used upon approval.