Archives and Special Collections | Library Policies
Archives
The Archives seeks to maintain a collection of materials in accordance with its mission and attempts to further the purpose and mission of the institution as a whole:
Items collected or accepted as gifts include: official papers of the university, public or private works of staff, professors, and offices of the university that relate to the university, publications of the university and its students, items descriptive of student life and other information that provides historical information on the university.
Special Collections
The Special Collections at Carroll document the history of the college and its connection to the local Presbyterian community.
The acquisition of Special Collections items follows closely with the library collection management policy.
Means of Collection
Materials are not purchased for the Archives or Special Collections. Outside collections are only acquired through donations or gifts. The Archives encourages gifts of useful materials, provided they meet the collection management criteria and are offered without restrictions.
The following conditions apply to gifts:
- Gift materials should contribute to the history of the university.
- The Archives will not accept gifts with conditions as to their disposition or location except by expressed permission of the library director.
- The Archives does not accept duplicate copies of materials.
- Items requiring preservation attention beyond the capabilities of this university will not be accepted.
- The Archivist cannot legally appraise gifts for tax or inheritance purposes.
- Material to be deaccessioned may be returned to the donor, gifted to a more appropriate repository, or discarded.
Scope
The Archives collects materials documenting the history of the current and former holdings; student activities, culture, and life; and the faculty, staff, and administration of Carroll University. One of the primary functions of an archive is to decide what survives to become history; recently created items (posters, meeting minutes, etc.) that will in the future hold archival value will also be added to the collection.
Donations
Materials are not purchased for the Archives; collections are expanded only through donations or gifts. The Archives encourages gifts of materials, assuming they meet the criteria outlined below:
- Items that are not relevant to the history of Carroll University will not beaccepted.
- Items requiring preservation or restoration beyond the capabilities of the Archives will not be accepted.
- The Archives will not accept gifts with conditions as to their disposition or location except by express permission of the Library Director.
- The Archives may reject duplicates of already-owned materials.
- The archivist cannot legally appraise gifts for tax or inheritance purposes.
Any item gifted to the Archives without a signed Donor Agreement is considered property of the Archives, and the previous owner is considered to have surrendered all rights to the item(s).
Digitization Policy
The library will digitize collections it owns, obtains the rights to, or are in the public domain. These collections will be of historical importance to the university and its community. The Archives reserves the right to decide what will and will not be digitized.
Digitization Mission
The mission of the Carroll University Digital Archives is to preserve and provide greater access to collections of historical value to the university.
De-accessioning Policy
The library reserves the right to de-accession or withdraw items from the Archives and Special Collections that no longer meet the needs of the university community. In the event of de-accessioning, the archivist will make an attempt to relocate the items to a repository where they will be of better use.
Lending Policy
Certain digital materials that the Archives does not have the ability to play can be loaned out. Please email the Archives if you wish to loan an item or have any questions about loaning an item.
Questions?
Contact the Archives at archives@carrollu.edu.
Return to the main Archives website: archives.carrollu.edu.
