Archives Collection
Development Policy
Part 4
Acquisition of Materials
A. The Archivist has the primary responsibility for Archives collection development.
B. The Archivist encourages the involvement of Radford University administration, McConnell Library faculty and staff, History Department faculty, the Radford University Foundation, the Radford University Alumni Association, and Archives patrons in collection development efforts.
C. Archives materials are normally acquired in the following manner:
legal donor form (Appendix 2) which includes a description of the materials; name, address and signature of donor; date of donation; description of any restrictions on the use of the donation; and signature of the Archives representative accepting the donation.1. Transfer of custody--Custodial transfer is the means by which the Archives acquires most university records. Custodial transfer applies only to public records in which legal custody has transferred from one office to another.
2. Donation
a. Donation of materials is both an active process of soliciting for particular materials and a passive process of accepting materials which are brought into the Archives. The Archives both encourages donation of materials to the Archives and actively solicits for particular materials. It is the Archives' policy to encourage donation of materials that are in keeping with the subject scope of the Archives collection. Gifts of materials with mixed historical value may be accepted by the Archivist if the Archivist has the right to discard or otherwise remove unwanted items.
b. All donations must be represented on a
c. Donations which carry stringent donor restrictions may not be accepted. The Archivist will determine that the donor has, in fact, the right to make the donation, and that the donation is not encumbered by ethical and legal problems such as authenticity.
3. Purchase--Purchase of manuscript and archival materials is normally discouraged. If a significant collection becomes available only through purchase, such an acquisition must be considered on its own merits. Potential donors should note that purchase of such materials tends to discourage donations by other potential donors. The Archivist has the right and obligation to have donations appraised for authenticity by an expert chosen by the Archivist.
D. Restrictions on Archival Records
Records which may violate the right to privacy of students or personnel as delineated in the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and the Virginia Records Retention and Disposition Schedule, Sections 103 ( Personnel Records) and Section 111, (College and University Records) will not be accepted by the Radford University Archives.
E. Ownership of Archival Records
mission and goals of the Archives.Radford University shall hold title to its non-current records of historical value. These records will be acquired through custodial transfer from various offices either by way of approved records retention schedules or ad hoc transfer of records to the Archives. Papers of individual faculty and alumni will be acquired through legal donation. The Archives reserves the right to dispose of materials that do not fit within the