Archiving Toolkit | Donating Boxed Records
Donating Paper Records to an Archives
- Understand the process.
- Secure consensus of stakeholders for donating your records
- Explain that donating to an archives means the collected records are organized, safe, and available to users and researchers;
- Specific records can be found easily using the online finding aid and the archives may scan and deliver documents to you upon request;
- Storage space will be freed up;
- Donating records does not require payment;
- Privacy concerns can be managed in the Gift Agreement.
- Consider a timeline and budget
- The time frame for preparing records for donation depends on the size of the collection the ease of access to the physical location in which they are stored.
- The fastest process is to send records to an archives without any review. Box and transport them; they can be reviewed after the archives processes the collection.
- The most common approach is to review each box. This can be done expediently by scanning the folder titles or thoroughly by a dive into folder contents.
- Review boxes and create an inventory of box content. Review video above.
- You will make a rough inventory of box contents to aid discussions with the archives.
- Check for gaps in publication series or official minutes.
- Review and flag files with sensitive personal information.
- Discard duplicates and outdated printed materials such as handouts, appeals, and newsletters.
- Example of inventory list:
- Box 1: By-laws and minutes, 1978-1989
- Box 2: Convention materials, 1975-present
- Box 3: Brochures, 2003, newsletters from other organizations
- Annotate documents where key information is missing
- Pencil in missing dates on the backs or edges of flyers, photographs, etc.
- Provide full names of events, individuals, other organizations, etc. to folder titles or by putting flags with this information into the folder
- Locate additional historical records
- Ask if anyone, over the years, kept the organization's records in their personal possession
- Contact members who may be able to identify individuals with additional historic records
- If some individuals have their own personal records relating to the organization, encourage them to donate these to you or to the same archives in which you will place your records
- If records of important events or eras are incomplete consider interviewing key persons to leave an oral history to fill in significant gaps in the written record
Watch AnnaBeth Roeschly, executive director and Xaris Martinez, board chair of the Brethren Mennonite Council for LGBTQ Interests describe their process preparing the BMC records for donation to an archives.
Donating Your Records to an Archives