Schedule a Visit

The Milwaukee County Historical Society Research Library is open by appointment only.

Starting Monday, May 18, 2026 – The Research Library will only be open on Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays due to moving collections to a new off-site storage facility.

Two-hour in-person research appointments will be available at three times each of those days:

  • 10 am – 12 pm
  • 1 – 3 pm
  • 3 – 5 pm

You can make multiple appointments on the same day if you would like. There will not be any research appointments available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays for the foreseeable future.

During your research visit, we can provide photocopy-quality digital scans of any materials of interest that you find for $0.50 per page or provide physical photocopies for $1 per page.

You may alternatively use your smartphone to take photographs of documents in our collections during your research visit, but we will charge you $0.25 per photo, half the rate as for photocopy-quality digital scans. However, we do not allow smartphone photography of photographs in our collections.

We recommend making an appointment at least one week in advance. If you are making an appointment less than 48 hours in advance, please call us at (414) 273-7487 instead of filling out this form.

Note: We encourage patrons interested in searching naturalization records or coroner’s inquests to submit an online request for remote research instead of researching in-person in the Research Library.

Remote Research Requests

Simple remote research, defined as requests that only require on-site retrieval of materials (such as county records or exact folders from manuscript collections), costs $15. Complex remote research, defined as requests that either require an archivist to create and implement a research plan on your behalf or require retrieval of materials from off-site storage, costs $25. We reserve the right to charge extra for exceptionally large research requests.

The $25 complex research fee includes up to ten photocopy-quality digital scans or up to five physical photocopies included at no additional cost. Starting with the 11th scan of a complex remote research request, or the first scan of a simple remote research request, digital scans cost $0.50 each and print photocopies cost $1 each. For print photocopies, there is an additional $10.50 mailing fee to mail them to you. Some types of records, such as naturalization records, have specific fees separate from this by-page fee structure.

Research & Use Fees

The cost for general admission is $8. Admission is $6 for seniors (age 62 and over), military personnel and veterans, and students (age 13-18 with ID). MCHS members and children 12 and under are free. All research library admissions include admission to the MCHS museum.

Terms of use include:

The Society reserves the right to decline any order, or to limit the number of prints made. Use fees are paid on each print, even when ordering multiple copies of the same image. Captions are not provided.

All copy work is done by the Society’s photographer. Outside photographers (except for TV news) are not permitted to copy items from the collection. Filming for TV requires special permission and advance arrangements.

Normal delivery time is two weeks from the time the order is placed. Large orders may require additional time, which will be discussed at time of order. Rush orders can be completed for additional fees. Please ask for rates.

Payment in full is required on any order. All sales are final. Orders may be shipped for a standard postage and handling fee of $10.50 per order. Large orders may increase mailing prices. Checks should be made payable to “Milwaukee County Historical Society.” Rates not listed below will be quoted before the order is placed.

Photographs and images purchased for reference, home framing, and/or research use are restricted only to such uses. No reproduction, scanning, or sharing of these images is permitted. The fees are figured on a one-time use charge. Use for any other purpose without consent from MCHS is considered copyright infringement.

Photographs and images purchased for publication, media, display, and/or reproduction use are calculated on an agreed upon fee. Usage of images for any other purpose requires MCHS permission as well as additional fees. These fees are always figured on a one-time use charge.

A written customer order is considered a contract between the Society and the customer in which both parties agree to certain conditions. The Society will deliver the images in an agreed upon format and price. The customer agrees to use the images for the purpose for which they were purchased. Any violation of the agreed upon use will result in prosecution for contract and copyright infringement. Monetary damages will be sought for unauthorized use.

Digital Scans and Retrieval: $20 (retrieval of already scanned items); $30 (new scan)

Standard Size Prints

  • 5 x 7, $10
  • 8 x 10, $20
  • 11 x 14, $30
  • 16 x 20, $40

All prices are per print. Special instructions should be made at the time the order is placed. Sepia tone is available for all size prints at no extra charge. All prints – luster finish.

All fees are per print.

Non-reproduction use such as home framing, reference, and/or research: $7.50

Publication Use for Print Run (Single Country Rights):

  • < 2,000 copies: $20
  • 2001 to 7500 copies: $30
  • 7501 to 30,000 copies: $40
  • 30,001 to 50,000 copies: $50
  • 50,001 to 100,000 copies: $75
  • 100,001 to 250,000 copies: $100
  • 250,001 to 500,000 copies: $150
  • More than 500,000 copies: Fees to be determined

Contact research library for fees involving bundled publications (print, electronic and 5-year promotional rights) and world rights.

  • Public Presentation: $25
  • Cover/Jacket: $50
  • Calendar: $25

Prints for public display/exhibition such as in an office, lobby, restaurant, etc.

All fees are per print:

  • 5 x 7, $10
  • 8 x 10, $20
  • 11 x 14, $30
  • 16 x 20, $40

Prices for sizes over 16 x 20 will be determined before the order is placed.

  • Television-Local: $50
  • Television-Network/Cable: $100
  • Web use, $100
  • CD/DVD, $35
  • Non-profit organizations: A reduction in rates may be granted after a review of the proposed use of MCHS images for your project.

The standard postage and handling charge is $10.50 per order. Large orders may increase mailing prices.

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