An Archives Charter for Lycoming College

Prepared, March 28, 1994

Introduction

The intention of the President and the Board of Trustees in endorsing this charter is to provide for the orderly transfer of College records from active to inactive status when they lose legal, fiscal or operational value; the physical preservation under appropriate security of records of historical value for use by authorized researchers; and the orderly disposal with appropriate authorization of records that have no significant historical value. This archival portion of a college records management program will insure the corporate memory of the institution.

Mission of the College Archives

The mission of the Lycoming College archives is to appraise for usefulness, collect, organize, describe, make available, and preserve records of historical, legal, fiscal, and/or administrative value to this institution. This includes providing adequate facilities for the retention and preservation of such records; promoting the use of the archives by the college community as staffing and resources allow; and serving as a resource and laboratory to stimulate and nourish creative teaching and learning.

Definition of an Archival Record

Any paper, correspondence, completed form, bound record book, photograph, film, sound recording, map, drawing, machine-readable record, magnetic tape, or any other document, regardless of physical form or characteristic, which has been generated by or received by Lycoming College, and is used as evidence of the school's historical, legal, fiscal, and/or administrative activities. This definition will be amplified further in the archival collection development policy.

Policy

  1. The Library Director of Lycoming College should be designated as the custodian of the Lycoming College Archives. A librarian appointed as the College Archivist who reports to the Director of the Library shall have the following responsibilities which will be carried out in the time allocated to the archives function:
    1. to systematize the storage and disposal of inactive records;
    2. to select and prepare for permanent housing records of historical value;
    3. to answer questions and, following officially approved guidelines, make archival material available to authorized users;
    4. to publicize the value of the College Archives as an educational resource for the academic program at Lycoming College
  2. The librarian designated as College Archivist is advised by The Archives Advisory Committee composed of a representative from the Faculty Library Advisory Committee, the Dean of the College, a representative of the Lycoming College History Department, a representative from the College's Office of the President.
  3. All documentary materials created, received, and maintained by College officials and employees in conducting the official business of the College are College records and are the property of Lycoming College (refer to the definition of an archival record). The personal papers of faculty and administrators are not subject to these regulations or the archival collection development policy and remain the private property of the individual. They will, however, be accepted as valuable donations to the archival collection.
  4. A collection development policy will be developed by the Archivist in coordination with the Archival Advisory Committee. Records published on a routine basis (e.g. catalogs, bulletins, announcements, reports, alumni publications, etc.) will be sent automatically in duplicate to the Snowden Library. Similar arrangements shall be made for the transmittal of student publications. Each college office should have a designated employee who will collect current publications for archival purposes.
  5. The Archivist will develop implementing guidelines for the successful organization and operation of the College Archives and these will be subject to review by the Archives Advisory Committee.