The Historical Society of Pennsylvania

This place is amazing. I held a letter that was written by George Washington in my hands. Seriously, need I say more?

As a hardcore researcher and genealogist, I borderline dread having to go to HSP to do any research. I say borderline because it’s not 100% bad, but some staff members have a tendency to treat the public like children. They expect you to know things, even if you haven’t been told what to do ahead of time (where to read books from the stacks, how to handle certain items, etc.). Yes, some things are common sense, but giving the public a little friendly guidance goes a long way.
But the major turn-​off for me is the exorbitant fees they charge for just about everything — from admission for non-​members to copies to membership fees. And goodness forbid if you want to use a photo for a book from one of their collections — that’s hundreds of dollars and a slew of conditions attached to it.
It’s $ 75 to become what they call a «Researcher» member. That only entitles you to 20 visits to the library per year (that’s not even 2 visits a month!). You’d have to fork over $ 130 for a «Patron» membership to get 50 visits a year to their library (you want unlimited visits? Be prepared to part with anywhere from $ 500-​$ 999, according to their membership brochure).
Why I’m steamed about the amount of money they charge for services is only because they have materials donated to them, so they pay nothing for this stuff. They have the collections of the late Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies (that I never see displayed or talked about) as well as the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania (which handed over their collections to HSP in 2006), both of which were donated, and then they want the public to pay a mint to get copies?
And as prices have risen, their hours have been reduced. They’re no longer open on Saturdays and they have only one late night per week (Wednesday). If you’re going to raise prices, put in some extra hours somewhere. (And be forewarned that if the person at the reception/​cashier desk doesn’t like you for whatever reason, they can actually deny you admission.)
On the other side: Many staff members are knowledgable in helping researchers locate the information they’re seeking and, sometimes, may offer them other directions to go in case they came to a dead end. They also have a wide variety of collections, *some* of which can’t be found anywhere else (mainly because of the aforementioned acquisitions). They have cemetery records and the records of some funeral directors (such as Battersby) and churches (e.g. Christ Church) as well as an entire room dedicated to published family genealogies.
I can take the bad with the good, but at the rates HSP charges, this historical goodie is a once-​in-​a-​while treat, not to be used regularly (and it shouldn’t be that way).