I. Practice
It is the practice of the Special Libraries Association that each division shall maintain archives.
The purpose of this practice is that division archives should contain only materials of genuine historical importance to the Association. These are of two types, evidential and informational.
Each division shall maintain archives. (A division section may elect either to maintain its own archives or to contribute materials to the division archives.) Since divisions and their sections are part of the Special Libraries Association, all archives are, ultimately, the property of the Association.
Divisions should treat their archival material at the highest level of professional competence.
CONTENTS
The archives should contain only materials of genuine historical importance. These are of two types, evidential and informational. Evidential records document the life span of the organization -- its organization and development, its functions, and its activities. Informational records simply provide information; the only standard for retention of this type of record should by uniqueness.
Archives should include, therefore: non-current relevant correspondence, correspondence of division officers; items concerning policy or of a controversial nature; all publications, including every issue of bulletins and/or newsletters; all reports and all minutes; certain accounting records; all Division Awards and Citations with accompanying documentation; all compiled directories of officers and members; bylaws; photographs; procedures manuals; and other items which might apply to specific divisions.
Correspondence, for archival purposes, shall not include items of only transitory interest such as thank you notes, arrangements for meetings, etc. Routine correspondence from the Association office should not be kept unless it specifically mentions the division/section or its officers and members.
All references to documents within these guidelines include those in electronic format, which should be treated as if they were in print format and archived accordingly.
HOUSING OF ARCHIVES
Divisions must secure a permanent location for their archives. In the case of a division, this should be in the geographic area of the division in a location that provides permanence, continuity and proximity to users, such as a public, university or state library, or a library school. Under no circumstances should the permanent archives be kept in private homes or offices of division officers or archivists.
Those division archives housed at the Association office are documents which relate to the overall history of the Association. Documents from divisions are integrated into and weeded from the Association's archives at the discretion of the Association archivist. Division materials housed in the Association archives do not preclude the necessity for separate division archives.
The Archivist, with consent of the division/section officers, may wish to retain one to five years of current materials considered the working files of the division, transferring older materials to the permanent archives only after a second thorough weeding process.
Archives should be stored in Hollinger boxes or in metal or high-impact plastic filing cases/file cabinets purchased by the division clearly labeled as to ownership. Labels should give the name, address, and telephone number of a division officer to be contacted should questions arise or in case of an emergency. The name, address, and telephone number of the Association office should also be included as a contact source.
Archives housed at a given institution should be covered by a retention agreement retaining Association ownership rights to the materials, such agreement to be approved by the Association (see Attachment I). A copy of each such agreement will be filed with the Association Archivist so that locations of all Association archives are known to one office. Should the institution housing the division's archives be unwilling to sign such an agreement, the division must either:
(1) provide to the Association office a microfiche copy of all permanent records, or
(2) establish a reserve account sufficient to film all permanent records.
ARCHIVIST
Administration of the archives may be the duty of an appointed person (Archivist) or an additional function of an elected division/section officer as defined by the bylaws or procedures manual of the division/section. Since the Archivist is responsible for collecting, selecting, sorting, arranging, and filing the archival material, it is recommended that this post be given, if possible, to a member with experience in various division offices who is willing to accept the responsibility on a long-term basis.
RETENTION SCHEDULES
Division records are of two types -- permanent or temporary. All permanent records must go to the Archives. Temporary material that is to be held one or two years should normally stay with the pertinent officers or committees. Temporary material that is held five years probably should go to the Archives at the end of the second year. However, should the division prefer, the material may remain with the officers for the full period.
Attachment II shows recommended retention policy. There should be little reason for divisions to deviate from this policy. The most common mistake in handling records is to keep too much. The Archivist should do a thorough weeding before adding material to the permanent file.
TRANSFER OF MATERIALS TO ARCHIVIST
Outgoing officers and committee chairs should transfer archival materials to the Archivist at the end of their term of office.
Incoming officers and committee chairs may wish to receive files intact from their predecessors. Following timely review, they should pass the material on to the Archivist for weeding and filing.
ORGANIZATION OF ARCHIVES
General -- (materials pertaining to the division as a whole)
-- Division Bylaws, including all revisions and amendments.
-- History: materials pertaining to establishment and early growth of the division.
-- Membership lists of division members.
-- Minutes of Business Meetings.
-- Obituaries.
-- Photographs.
-- Procedures Manual, Division and Association.
-- Publicity: clippings, pictures, etc., about the division or its members.
Officers --
Committees -- arranged alphabetically by committee title.-- Roster of officers and committee members.
-- Executive Board - Minutes and Reports.
-- President - Annual Report and other materials of permanent importance, including
correspondence not found elsewhere.
-- Secretary - Materials of permanent importance, including correspondence not found
elsewhere. (Minutes are filed elsewhere.)
-- Treasurer or Secretary-Treasurer - A separate records retention schedule is in the Treasurers' Policy and Procedures Manual. It is also available on the SLA website under Unit Treasurer Information.
-- Other Officers.
Division Sections -- arranged the same way as the entire division's archives.
Projects -- Include joint conferences, workshops, association-wide meetings, etc.
Publications -- (Archival files should contain one copy of the actual publication.
Correspondence pertaining to a publication should be filed in the folder of the committee or position responsible for the publication.)
-- Bulletin/Newsletter
-- Membership Directory
-- Others (by name), e.g. Library Directories, Union Lists, etc.
Associated Organizations - Reports, correspondence from liaisons with other organizations,
e.g. ALA, CLA, ASIS&T, state or provincial library associations.
FILING OF ARCHIVES
Folders should be labeled with a general category, a subcategory, and chronological
divisions if necessary. For example:
GENERAL - History
GENERAL - Minutes - 1965 - 69
OFFICERS - Rosters - 1950 - 1970
PUBLICATIONS - Bulletins - 1971 - 75
etc.
Within each folder, material should be filed chronologically, with the latest material in front.
An attempt should be made to purchase acid-free archival folders for materials of special value. Pictures also require some special handling. For additional resources for archival products and sources of information, contact the Information Resources Center, resources@sla.org, at the Association office. Organization is the responsibility of the division/section archivist.
MICROFILMING/DIGITAL SCANNING
For specific information on the Association's microform conversion or digital scanning program, contact the Association Archivist.
ARCHIVIST'S QUICK REFERENCE FILE
It is recommended that the Archivist maintain a quick reference file to be used to respond to the most frequently asked questions. Alternatively the list below should be added to the division website. The following items are felt to be the most important for quick reference purposes:
1. Officers: list of elected officers and committee chairs and members for the last 10 years.
2. Programs: list of activities for the last 10 years (short-form)
date - program title - speaker(s)3. History: date of establishment, petition signatories, place of first meeting, other outstanding events, e.g. visit by Association officer.
4. Special publications: title, date of publication.
5. Web-based documents: Documents which are only available on the division's website, such as Bulletins, minutes or reports should be downloaded and archived in hard copy.
6. Program activities: The agenda of the program, and details on the presenters should be retained. It is up to the individual division whether to retain the actual presentation which may be in printed (hand-outs), electronic (e.g. Power Point ) or audio-visual format.
7. Websites: With effect from July 2001 all chapter and division websites which are hosted on SLA's server will be copied to CD-ROM annually. As CD-ROM is not an ideal archival medium and for ease of access, it is still recommended that Bulletins, minutes and reports are downloaded and archived in hard copy. For divisions which host their own websites any information which should be archived in accordance with these guidelines and is only available on the website, should be downloaded and archived in hard copy. Alternatively you may wish to copy the website at certain times of the year to CD-ROM.
8. Electronic records: It is not recommended that documents be retained on diskette because the software used to read the information often becomes obsolete. If printed documents become too bulky scanning to CD-ROM is preferable to diskette, although a copy of the executable software should be copied in case that also becomes obsolete. The IRC can assist in scanning, but any costs involved are division's responsibility.
ATTACHMENT I SAMPLE AGREEMENT FOR STORAGE OF SLA CHAPTER OR DIVISION ARCHIVES
AT A GIVEN INSTITUTION
AGREEMENT BETWEEN
_________________
(Name of Institution)and the
____________________CHAPTER or DIVISION
SPECIAL LIBRARIES ASSOCIATION
regarding
CHAPTER OR DIVISION ARCHIVES
Institution (hereinafter the INSTITUTION) agrees to provide, without charge, to the Chapter or Division of the Special Libraries Association (hereinafter the CHAPTER or DIVISION) for a period of , space to be used to house the archives of the CHAPTER or DIVISION subject to the following conditions:
(1) The CHAPTER or DIVISION will be responsible for providing securable physical housing for the archives. (Such housing is subject to the approval of the INSTITUTION.)(2) The location of the floor space will be determined by the INSTITUTION (and will be subject to change should such space be required for the INSTITUTION'S use). The CHAPTER or DIVISION retains the right to withdraw the archives from the INSTITUTION during the term of this agreement should a changed location not be approved by the CHAPTER or DIVISION.
(3) The CHAPTER or DIVISION retains ownership of the archives and agrees to provide any additional insurance agreed by both parties as necessary to cover damage or loss of the archives.
(4) The INSTITUTION shall not be liable for any loss or damage to the archives during the time that they are housed by the INSTITUTION, its employees or agents.
(5) The CHAPTER or DIVISION will be responsible for the organization and maintenance of the archives and for preparation and maintenance of any access tools or finding aids necessary to service the archives.(6) The INSTITUTION agrees to allow in-building use of the archives to persons authorized by the CHAPTER or DIVISION to have access to the files.
(7) The CHAPTER or DIVISION agrees to provide identification for persons authorized to have access to the archives and to provide the INSTITUTION prior notification of persons so authorized. (In addition, the CHAPTER or DIVISION agrees to provide the INSTITUTION with forms for submission to the CHAPTER or DIVISION for use by students or others seeking use of the archives.)
Both parties agree to the terms of this agreement for the ______ year/period commencing __________, 20__ and ending ________, 20__. Prior to the termination date, the agreement will be reviewed by both parties and may, by mutual consent, be continued, amended or terminated. Should no notice of intent to continue, amend or terminate be given by either party by ___________ (the termination date), the agreement will automatically continue under the terms of this agreement on a month-to-month basis. In the event this agreement is terminated, the CHAPTER or DIVISION agrees to remove the archives and housing from the INSTITUTION'S space within sixty (60) days after official notification of the termination to the CHAPTER or DIVISION and the Special Libraries Association in Washington, DC. Should the archives and housing not be removed by the CHAPTER or DIVISION or the Special Libraries Association within the stipulated time period, ownership of the archives and housing will automatically transfer to the INSTITUTION.
___________, _________________________, _________________________________
(Date) (Name) (Title)
___________________________________
(Institution)
____________, ______________________, __________________________________
(Date) (Name) (Title)
___________________________________
CHAPTER or DIVISION
Chapter and Division Records
Retention Policy
| RECORD | RETENTION POLICY |
| General -- | |
|
Permanent |
|
Permanent |
-- Membership lists of chapter or division members |
2 yr & cur* |
-- Memorials and Awards: Special recognition to chapter or division or to members |
Permanent |
-- Minutes of Business Meetings |
Permanent |
-- Obituaries |
Permanent |
-- Photographs |
Permanent |
-- Procedures Manual, chapter or division and Association |
Current Edition |
-- Publicity: Clippings, pictures, etc., about chapter or division or its members |
Permanent |
| Officers -- | |
-- Directory of officers and committee members |
Permanent |
-- Executive Board - Minutes and Reports |
Permanent |
-- President |
|
|
Permanent |
Correspondence |
|
|
1 yr. & cur.** |
|
1 yr. & cur.** |
|
1 yr. & cur.** |
Reports from chapter or division Committees |
1 yr. & cur. |
-- Treasurer |
|
| Permanent*** | |
-- Other Officers |
|
|
5 yrs. & cur. |
|
1 yr. & cur.** |
| Committees -- | |
-- Reports |
5 yrs. & cur. |
-- Correspondence |
1 yr. & cur.** |
| Chapter groups or division sections -- | |
-- Reports |
5 yrs. & cur. |
-- Correspondence |
1 yr. & cur.** |
| Projects - Includes joint conferences, workshops, association-wide meetings, etc. | |
-- Reports |
5 yrs. & cur. |
-- Correspondence |
Project duration & 1 yr.** |
| Publications -- | |
-- one copy of each |
Permanent |
-- extra copies |
|
|
Until superseded |
|
5 yrs. & cur. |
|
To be determined individually |
* Keep current + 2 years for marketing purposes. You may consider contacting recently lapsed members.
** Unless contains policy statements or other matters of lasting importance. If so, keep pertinent item permanently.
*** The Retention Period in the Unit Treasurers Procedures Manual is a general guide for records retention and not archiving. Where the retention period is permanent, these documents should be passed to the archivist for archiving. It is up to the individual unit treasurer to meet the retention requirements for financial documents. If the unit archivist is passed these documents for safe keeping, it must be made clear the period after which they should be destroyed.
Revised July 2001
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