Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Monroe Historical Society photo collection available to the public?

Yes. The Society has invested a great deal of time and money in preserving historical photos of local interest and is now working to make them easily accessible to the public by making digital copies as .jpg files, which may be viewed and printed by computer.

Where can I view images in the historical society's collection?

The digital copies may be viewed on computer at the Monroe Public Library and at the Northwest Room of the Everett Public Library. At the Monroe Historical Society Museum, printed copies of almost all of the images in the collection are available to the public in three-ring binders, although these copies vary considerably in quality. Unfortunately the museum does not have a computer for public use.

Can I look at the original photos?

No. The originals are not available because of their fragile nature.

How big is the collection?

Currently the main collection contains approximately 1600 images of which more than half have been digitized (scanned) with more being scanned all the time.

How can I find photos on a specific topic?

There is a detailed subject index for the photos that have been digitized. A printed copy is at the museum and a computer copy is on the CD-ROMs used at the libraries. The CD-ROM also contains the accession file information for the entire collection, which can be searched using the key word search function on the computer.

Will the historical society research the photo collection for me?

The society is an all-volunteer organization, and unfortunately does not have enough trained volunteers to offer this service. Therefore, the focus of the society has been to create the tools so that the public can do the research for themselves.

How can I get a copy of an image?

If the image has been digitized, the simplest and fastest way is to print or download a copy at the Monroe or Everett Public Libraries at little or no cost. A copy of any photo in the collection may also be ordered from the historical society for a small fee using an order form, which is available at the museum, may be printed from the CD-ROMs at the libraries, or requested by e-mail. Copies of the CD-ROM are not available to the public.

Can I publish, copy or display the copies of these images?

These images have all been donated to the Monroe Historical Society; therefore, the Monroe Historical Society can make no warrant as to their copyright and should the user choose to publish, copy or display these images in excess of "fair use" as defined by the Copyright Law of the United States, the user may be liable for copyright infringement. In addition, any public display or publication of these photos must give attribution to the Monroe Historical Society under/in/or next to each image published or displayed, and must include the photo accession number.

What do I do if I want to make a donation in support of the photo collection?

It costs up to $2.50 in materials alone to accession one photo, so any donations would be much appreciated. Please send your tax-deductible donation to the society at P.O. Box 1044, Monroe, WA 98272, and specify it is for the support of the photo collection project.

What do I do if I want to donate images to the collection?

Please contact the photo collection manager. Photos of local historical interest are always welcome, and may be donated outright or they can be scanned and returned to the donor.

I have more questions. Who do I contact for answers?

Please contact the photo collection manager by e-mail.