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Museum Archives Guidelines
The Museum Archives Section of the Society of American Archivists
includes those who are responsible for the organization and care of archival
collections located in museums. These guidelines have been created by the section
to assist all types of museums—independent museums as well as museums
contained within larger institutions—in the development and administration
of archival programs. The guidelines outline the components of a successful
museum archives program and should be used in conjunction with detailed information
on the administration of archives that is available through SAA and from other
professional sources.
Introduction
A museum's organizational records document the history and
development of the museum, its collections, exhibitions, and programs as well
as the contributions
of individuals and groups associated with the museum. These records are unique
and irreplaceable assets of the organization. A museum should maintain an active,
professional archives program to systematically collect, organize, preserve,
and provide access to its organizational records of enduring value and to recommend
policies and procedures for the creation, maintenance, and ultimate retention
or disposition of current museum records in all formats. By supporting an archives
program a museum not only promotes its own history, but also ensures that its
vital records are preserved and that information resources are readily available
to support the work of its staff and meet the research needs of scholars and
the general public. However, it should be noted that if a museum exists in
a setting where a decision has been made to concentrate all institutional records
in a central archives (e.g., university archives), it is the responsibility
of the museum staff to work closely with the institutional archives staff to
determine the appropriate setting for the archives of the museum.
1. Definitions and Scope
A museum's archives identifies, preserves and administers
records of long-term and permanent administrative, legal, fiscal, and research
value not in current
use. Records may be in any form—including, but not limited to, paper,
electronic, photographic, and magnetic media. A museum's archival records
could include:
- Organizational records, in particular those which relate
to administration at all levels. For example: correspondence, memoranda,
minutes, financial records,
reports, grant records, departmental files, architectural plans, documentary
photographs and negatives, film, audio and videotapes, and publications
created by the museum.
- Collection records, such as object or specimen files and
records of exhibitions and installations. These may be housed in the
archives or, if actively used,
in the curatorial, registration, or collections management offices.
- Acquired
materials, such as papers of individuals and organizations, which promote
the museum's mission through their relation to subject areas
of particular interest to the museum (e.g., science, anthropology, natural
history, art, history) and which add value to the museum's collections
and exhibition programs.
2. Mission Statement
The archives should have a mission statement, approved
by the director of the museum or the institution and ratified by appropriate
governing bodies of the
museum or its parent institution, which defines the authority of the archivist
within the museum and the parameters of the archival program. The statement
should explicitly recognize the archivist's role in the museum and/or parent
institution's records management program. All general policy statements concerning
the archives should be in writing and approved by the appropriate authority.
3.
Status of the Archives
The archives should be an entity within the museum's
administrative structure, supervised by an individual having custodial and
related authority delegated
by the director of the museum or parent institution. When practical, the archives
should be a separate department within the museum. The museum archives may
be an administrative affiliate of a parent institution's archives.
4.
Professional Archivist
The museum should have a professionally trained archivist.
If resources do not permit this level of commitment, expert advice should be
sought in the
development of the museum's archives and archival training provided to
the staff member made responsible for them. The functions of the archivist
are to appraise, acquire, arrange, describe, preserve, and make available the
records of the museum and collections of related materials acquired from outside
the museum.
5. Museum Records and Personal Papers
The museum should have a statement of
policy which clarifies the difference between the official records of the museum
and documents which might be considered
the personal property of curators, directors, members of governing bodies,
and other relevant positions. This is to discourage such persons from taking,
as their own property, records that belong to the parent institution or museum,
and that may be an integral part of the museum's archives. Donation of
personal papers to the museum's archives is strongly encouraged in order
to promote the preservation of significant documents not created by the museum
itself.
6. Acquisition Policy for Collected Materials
The museum should define and make
public an archives acquisition policy, which delineates the collecting of
materials other than those created within the
museum itself. The collecting activities and acquisition policies of other
entities in a parent institution or outside institutions should be taken
into account to avoid unnecessary competition. The policy should describe the
conditions
and procedures for accessioning and deaccessioning documents and collections
that are not official records of the museum, and address principles regarding
the ownership, administration, and use of all acquired materials.
7. Criteria
for Retention of Museum Records
The archivist must be involved in
the determination of how long and under what conditions particular records
are to be kept. The criteria for permanent retention
include:
- Evidence of the structure, development, mission and functions of
the museum over time.
- Documentation of the actions, decisions, policies,
and fiscal and legal rights and responsibilities of the museum.
- Research and informational value.
8. Current Records
The advice of the archivist should be sought on policies
and guidelines pertaining to the creation, maintenance, disposition, and
preservation of museum records
(including electronic records and systems) with the aim of avoiding the unnecessary
creation of duplicate records and the needless retention of nonpermanent
records. The archivist should be consulted for recommendations on the protection
of
permanently active records of archival value in non-custodial situations
(such as collection or accession records under the care of the registrar, collections
manager, or curator and computer network backups under the control of the
information
technology staff). The archivist should also approve the appropriate disposition
of records that do not have permanent value, or are required to be maintained
by the archives of a parent institution.
9. Location and Conditions
- The archives should be located in a separate and
secure area with adequate protection against fire, flood, vermin,
theft, and other hazards.
- Temperature,
light, and humidity should be controlled at appropriate and stable
levels to ensure the preservation of materials. Certain records may
have special environmental requirements.
- To prevent flood damage, archives should
not be placed below ground level.
- If neither suitable accommodation nor adequate staff can be provided on-site
for the archives, the institution should consider:
- Placing its records in the
archives of its parent institution if applicable or in a nearby
archival repository willing to administer them on a continuing
basis.
- Forming or joining a consortium whereby several institutions cooperate
to ensure that their archives receive adequate care.
- Contributing to cost
in the above choices.
10. Arrangement, Description,
and Preservation of the Records
- The archivist
organizes records in keeping with the professional principles of provenance
and the sanctity of original order whenever possible.
- The archivist
produces written descriptive inventories, guides and other finding aids
in accordance with accepted archival standards and makes them
generally available.
- The archivist implements basic preservation measures such
as the use of archival-quality containers.
11. Access
Subject to reasonable restrictions on the grounds of fragility, security,
or confidentiality, records should be available to staff members, scholars,
and
other persons demonstrating a need to consult the material for research purposes.
Access policies and restrictions should be in writing and applied equally
to all researchers. Reference service should be provided to both on-site researchers
and those at a distance.
Adopted by SAA Council, August 19,
2003
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