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Guidelines for College and University Archives
Prepared by the College and University Archives Section of the
Society of American Archivists (SAA).
Approved by SAA Council, August 1999.
I. Executive Summary
A. Definition
The archives serves as the institutional memory of the college or
university and plays an integral role in the management of the institution's
information resources in all media and formats. To fulfill the responsibilities
of that role, the archives identifies, acquires, and maintains records of enduring
value that chronicle the development of the institution and ensure its continued
existence. The archives documents the process of institutional evolution by
retaining both the evidence which shapes decisions and the decisions themselves.
B. Mission
The archives takes its mission from the mission of the institution, to educate:
- by supporting and enabling the administration which provides and maintains
the overall structure;
- by determining what evidence is essential, ensuring that the institution
creates such evidence, and making that evidence accessible to users regardless
of location or format;
- by preserving essential evidence of the institution;
- by providing information that promotes the mission of the institution
internally and to the extended community;
- by supporting teaching and enhancing the curriculum as appropriate;
- by supporting the research of the faculty, students, and other scholars
through access to information;
- by promoting further understanding through discovery and dissemination
of knowledge.
C. Constituents
1. The archives primarily serves users throughout the institution.
a) Administrative units have ready access to the permanent
record, which includes:
- documents in whatever form and from whatever time, which provide
evidence of transactions and decisions essential to the functions of
the institution, preserved on a stable environment for those offices
which may require them (e.g., president's office, board of trustees,
dean of students office, registrar, financial offices, facilities management,
provost);
- materials which define and enhance the image of the institution,
essential to the activities of offices responsible for fundraising and
outreach (e.g., advancement office, public relations, admissions);
- materials and memorabilia which support significant interaction
with past graduates (e.g., by the alumni/ae office, which is principally
responsible for retaining those ties) by making available archival materials,
which evoke as well as document the undergraduate and postgraduate experiences.
b) Students connect with the institution by learning about
its history and placing themselves within that context. Access to archival
materials that support curriculum and introduce them to the excitement
and rigors of original research enhances their educational experience.
c) Faculty use the archives for research in collections that
provide unique materials, which document the wide range of intellectual
history; chronicle the contributions of individuals; and record processes
as reflected in the records of the institution.
2. The Archives serves an extended community.
a) Alumni/ae maintain old ties and build new ones with their
institution from ready access to the materials which document their connections.
The archives refreshes their knowledge about the history and mission of
the institution which are perceived by many alumni/ae as a significant
factor in their development. The archives is, in addition, important as
a place, relatively unchanging in the midst of constant change, to which
they are able to return physically, to confirm their memories.
b) Researchers—those who are writing their first source
paper in graduate school as well as established scholars with extensive
publications—benefit from the richness and reliability of archival
collections. By supporting an archival component within its educational
mission, an institution can reach and serve a more broadly based research
community.
D. Organizational Structure
An effective archival program requires a mandate from the president or governing
board that authorizes the archivist to identify records of enduring value,
document their physical location, preserve them, and establish methods of
control that provide ready and consistent access to archival holdings.
To meet these criteria, the institution must provide resources that support
the ongoing function of the program:
- professional and support staff to manage and implement the program;
- facilities to house staff and collections in a stable and secure environment;
- financial resources to fund personnel, equipment, and supplies;
- a technologically current environment.
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