COLLECTION PRESERVATION

Donor Records
The Institute is committed to maintaining complete records documenting all donations of archival records. For each donation and donor a donor file is maintained that contains copies of all correspondence, memoranda, deeds and other documents. All donations are also recorded in an accession register. A general inventory of the contents of each donation is made part of the deed of gift.

Conservation and Care
In accepting donations, the Institute makes a commitment for the preservation of the materials within its care. This commitment is made within the limitations of financial resources provided by the university. At a minimum, collections are maintained in appropriate acid-free folders, enclosures and containers. Restoration and conservation work that must be provided by outside professionals is rarely done, due to expense. Donors will be encouraged to fund such work if needed.

Deaccessioning
Deaccession refers to the process by which a collection is formally removed from the custody of an archives. The Institute may deaccession material that has been reappraised and found to be unsuitable for its holdings. Such reappraisal will be done by the Institute archivist after consulting, as appropriate, with other staff and the director of libraries. Criteria may include:
Does not fall within collection guidelines
Competing with the resources of other collections, and may be more appropriately housed at another archives.
Costs too much to process, describe, provide finding aids and store.
Future research value determined to be so little that does not merit permanent preservation

These criteria do not make deaccessioning mandatory but possible. Reasonable attempts will be made to contact the original donors or their descendants regarding the return of such material. All documentation regarding such actions will be permanently retained in the donor file.