Regulations and Price List for Services Provided by the State Archives in Suwałki

Attachment to Order No. 7 Director
of the State Archives in Suwałki

dated September 1, 2016 replaced by Order No. 5
of the Director of the State Archives in Suwałki dated April 29, 2020

I. Scope of Services

§1

1. The State Archives in Suwałki, hereinafter referred to as the Archives, provide paid archival services in the following areas:
   • Conducting searches for archival materials/documents from their own collection upon request, when the requester provides insufficient information to locate the appropriate documents and is unable to specify additional details (e.g., author, year of creation, other information) necessary for identification and retrieval, which would require significant effort on the part of the Archives.
   • Making reproductions from archival materials from their own collection, microfilms from their own collection, and their own library holdings in the following forms:
     • Monochromatic photocopies (black and white)
     • Monochromatic prints (black and white) from digital copies
     • Digital copies (scans and photographs) on media or transmitted through teleinformatics systems
     • Providing extracts (copies) from documents with possible translation of foreign language texts.
2. The Archives conduct service activities, including the storage of personal payroll records and other documents with a specific retention period, as well as the issuance of certificates, copies, and extracts from them. The costs of storing such documentation are determined individually. Fees for issuing certificates, copies, and extracts from this documentation are specified in § 8.

§2

1. The following activities are not considered part of the service provision by the Archives:
   • Actions related to the free provision of archival materials and non-archival documentation in a research laboratory, in accordance with the Act of July 14, 1983, on the National Archival Resources and Archives (hereinafter referred to as the “Act” – Journal of Laws of 2015, item 1446).
   • Conducting searches in the Archives’ collection and issuing authenticated copies, certified copies, or extracts for administrative and legal proceedings.
2. For matters specified in §1 lit. b, the Archives may classify document searches as a service and charge fees if the requester cannot provide additional details (e.g., author, year of creation, other information) necessary for identification and retrieval, requiring significant effort, and after being informed of the possibility of conducting independent and unpaid searches in the research laboratory, they request the Archives to conduct the searches.

II. Service Execution Procedure

§3

1. Services are provided within the current technical and organizational capabilities of the Archives.
2. The Archives reserves the right to determine the method/technique of making copies (photocopies, photographs, or scans) in cases where there is a risk of damaging archival materials or for technical reasons. Specifically, the Archives may refuse to make photocopies or other copies if the required technical capabilities are not available.
3. The Archives may refrain from providing reprographic services due to the possibility of damaging the object during copying. Factors that may exclude services include the physical condition, format, weight, type and thickness of paper, the condition of the object’s binding, and wax seals on the document.
4. If the Archives possess digital copies of archival materials, reproductions are made from these copies.
5. If the Archives possess microfilms of archival materials, reproductions (scans) are made from microfilms if technically feasible, unless there are justified reasons such as the quality of the microfilm and/or the purpose of copying from the original.

§4

1. The basis for providing services is an order that:
   • Clearly states the requester’s intent regarding the subject and scope of the service.
   • Allows for the identification of the person/entity placing the order.
   • Is submitted in a format that allows for review of the order’s content.
   • Optionally includes information about ordering reproductions for publication in various print publications, dissemination through mass media, or extensive computer networks.
   • Can be submitted on a reprographic services order form, which is an attachment to this regulation.
   • May include technical requirements for executing the order if necessary.
2. Orders for reprographic services are processed in the order in which they are received and registered by the Archives.
3. Before conducting archival service activities, the relevant department of the Archives:
   • Clearly informs the requester of the paid nature of the service.
   • As far as possible, determines the final, precise or approximate cost of the service.
   • Obtains confirmation of payment for the service.
   • Depending on the type of service and the necessary time for its execution, provides, to the extent possible, an exact or approximate completion date for the service.
4. The Archives releases or sends the requester the completed copies after receiving full payment for the requested services or only the appropriate portion of the copies for which payment has been made, along with the fee for searches if applicable.

III. Payment Procedure

§5

1. Requesters must make payments for completed services solely by bank transfer to the Archives’ bank account and bear the costs of banking operations.
2. In settlements with requesters residing abroad, payments to the Archives’ bank account in EURO or US dollars are permissible, calculated at the average exchange rate of the National Bank of Poland applicable on the date of the order.
3. In special cases, payments in advance may be accepted, especially when the exact amount can be determined in advance.
4. In cases not specified in §3, a deposit is collected before commencing service activities according to the following rules:
   • For reprographic orders with an estimated value higher than the equivalent of producing 100 photocopies at the base price, a deposit of 20% of the costs is collected.
   • For research queries (searches), the deposit equals the cost of one hour of work for document retrieval.
   • If the search yields no results, the deposit covers the entire fee and is non-refundable.
   • If during the search it is not possible to locate the requested data but their presence in the collection is not ruled out, the Archives may negotiate with the requester regarding the continuation of the query and the payment of an additional deposit, providing information on the scope of previous searches.
   • The deposit amount is settled as part of the final payment for completed searches and/or the production of copies.
5. To settle the payment, the Archives informs the requester of the following:
   • The total fee for completed services, including the scope and size of the services.
   • The total amount paid by the requester to the Archives’ account.
   • The postage fee, if applicable.
   • If necessary, overpayment or underpayment for completed or potentially completed services, along with the method for settling the amount.
6. All overpayments are settled after completing the entire service.

IV. Pricing Principles

§6

1. Prices have been determined based on calculations covering all costs incurred by the Archives in connection with their execution.
2. Price calculations are available upon request by the requester.
3. The amounts listed in §7 represent basic rates.
4. In cases of specific difficulties arising from the nature of the orders, service fees may be increased by up to 300%. Such difficulties include:
   • Producing copies from large-format documents, e.g., maps and plans.
   • Producing copies that require multiple adjustments to the settings of copying equipment (e.g., varying image scale, darkening/lightening, contrast, increasing resolution).
   • Conducting queries in difficult-to-read handwritten or foreign language materials or producing copies thereof.
   • Handling documents with preservation issues requiring special precautions, protection, or conservation measures.
   • Fulfilling orders outside the regular order and on the day of submission.
5. If copies need to be made as part of reproducing a large-format document, the overall cost of copying includes the cost of producing each photograph, scan, or photocopy.
6. Fees are charged for searches/queries for each commenced hour of work if the work lasts for a minimum of 30 minutes.
7. In addition to the search/query fee, a flat postage fee of 7 Polish złotys applies for domestic shipments and 10 Polish złotys for international shipments.

VI. Basic Rates

§7

The basic fee rates for provided services are determined according to the following table of service fees:

§8

1. In accordance with the Minister of Culture’s Regulation of February 10, 2005, on Determining the Maximum Amount of Fees for Preparing Copies or Duplicates of Documentation with a Temporary Storage Period (Journal of Laws No. 28, item 240), the following fees are established for the following services:
   • Copying a certificate of employment – 17.00 Polish złotys.
   • Copying any document related to employment other than a certificate of employment, including documents confirming the amount of compensation, except as specified in item 3 – 4.00 Polish złotys.
   • Copying each card of a wage or benefit file or each page of a payroll list – 4.00 Polish złotys.
   • Preparing a copy of an employment certificate, per each commenced page – 35.00 Polish złotys.
   • Preparing a copy of any document related to employment, including documents confirming the amount of compensation, per each commenced page – 8.00 Polish złotys.
   • Preparing a copy of summarized earnings based on payroll lists, per each entry in the statement (annual earnings or earnings for a shorter period actually worked during the year) – 4.00 Polish złotys.
   • Preparing a copy of summarized earnings based on payroll lists, per each entry in the statement (annual earnings or earnings for a shorter period actually worked during the year) – 4.00 Polish złotys.
2. The total fee for a single order must not exceed 200.00 Polish złotys.

VII. Final Provisions

§9

1. he Archives do not reproduce materials from copies they already possess if the originals are not part of the Archives’ collection, for the purpose of publication without written consent from the owner/custodian of the originals.
2. The execution of orders for archival services received before the entry into force of these regulations and the service price list will be carried out according to the rules in effect up to that date.

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