COLLECTION ACQUSITION

Acquisitions
The Institute acquires most of its collections as gifts from donors, but its purpose is not to act as just a storage facility. Rather, it is an important information resource center at NDSU, created for the benefit of its students, faculty and staff, and the region. The person primarily responsible for the identification and solicitation of archival collections is the Institute archivis.

The Institute also acquires North Dakota related publications and reference materials. The archivist is responsible for identifying those publications to be acquired for the book collection. Consult the 'Publications' section for policies followed within this specific collecting area.

Conditions of Acceptance
The Institute accepts only materials that are donated to the archives. All materials become the property of the Institute upon receipt of the material and the signing of a deed of gift by the donor. At that time the Institute retains the right to determine the disposition of the materials. Materials deemed not suitable for inclusion in the Institute may be considered for inclusion in the NDSU Libraries collections. Those items that are duplicates or which are in poor condition, or out of the scope of the collections, may be sold and the money used to purchase materials the Institute needs.

Deed of Gift
A deed of gift is a signed, written instrument containing a voluntary transfer of title to real or personal property without a monetary consideration. This contract establishes conditions governing the transfer of title to documents and specifies any restrictions on access or use. A deed of gift is prepared for all archival donations to the Institute and is signed by the Institute archivist, director of libraries and the donor(s). Two copies of the deed are made, one for the donor to retain and the other is kept on file at the Institute.

Copyright
The Institute attempts at the time of donation to obtain the copyright ownership of the donor for the materials being donated.

Restrictions
The Institute is an information resource, therefore every effort will be made to provide access to the materials in its care. Collections which have restrictions placed upon them limiting such access may be accepted, but only when the restrictions are reasonable and deemed necessary to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the donor. Any such restrictions will be stated clearly in the deed of gift signed by the donor, and will be adhered to by the archives staff.

Tax Deductions
Often patrons will request that their gifts be evaluated for the fair market value so they may qualify for a deduction for income tax purposes. The responsibility for establishing the fair market value of the donated item lies entirely with the donor. The Institute staff cannot perform such an appraisal. Donors should consult the IRS Department of Treasury publication "Determining the Value of Donated Property," Publication 561.

Geographical Areas Collected
The Institute's overall collecting focus is the state of North Dakota. It is recognized that due to its location on the extreme eastern edge of the state, the collecting of manuscripts and archival records in the western portion of the state is not as extensive as in the Red River Valley. For publications, photographs and genealogy collecting is done across the state. The publications collection reflects the limited purchase of books related to the Northern Great Plains.

Language
North Dakota has a great diversity in the ethnic groups that settled the state. Some kept their records in a language other than English. No collection or publication will be refused based on language, if the primarily focus relates to North Dakota.

Materials Excluded
The Institute reserves the right to refuse an offered collection that exceeds its financial, staff and material resources to properly care for it, or that, in its view, has too high a maintenance cost in proportion to the probable research benefits

Artifacts Some artifacts and three dimensional materials find their way into the collection, usually as part of a larger donation. The Institute does not seek these materials out, and generally will not retain those that are donated, unless they have significant value as part of a collection. In most cases, three-dimensional objects will be separated from the collection and returned to the donor or given to a more appropriate repository. For those who wish to donate such items, suggestions will be made as to the most appropriate museum.

Electronic records The Institute does not normally accept computer-dependent electronic records. To give consideration to any such records, complete written data must be provided detailing the contents and the software and version used. The data must be useable on a current computer and software.

Physical condition A collection, or portion of a collection, that is in poor physical condition may be refused. Material showing signs of mold infestation will not be accepted. Consideration will be given to a donor who is willing to fund professional conservation treatment of the affected material.

Loans
The Institute does not normally accept materials on loan or temporary deposit. For materials to be placed at the Institute, the material must be donated and a deed of gift be completed.

Purchase
Most material found in the Institute's archival collections is usually the gift of individuals or organizations. Resources are extremely limited to allow for the purchase of archival and photographic materials for the collections and normally will not be done.

Financial Contributions
The Institute welcomes and appreciates financial contributions. Such donations are used primarily for the purchase of printed material, unless otherwise directed by the donor. A Special Collections Endowment for the benefit of the archives program has been established with the NDSU Development Foundation. Contributions to this endowment should be directed to the foundation.