Week 5: Collection Management Policies

Acquisition in archives is the process of legally acquiring records by transfer, donation, or purchase. Institutions acquire their collections with criteria and specific procedures.

The purpose and role of a collection management policy are to provide guidelines for why the institution collects, what it collects, and how it handles its collections. Therefore, a collection management policy is the foundation for good collections stewardship. A collections management policy is developed to fit the needs of each institution. It may include: an institutional mission statement, collections committee, the scope of collections, types of collections, acquisitions, accessioning, deaccessioning and disposal, loans, collections care and preservation, conservation, exhibits, collections access and use, policy review and revision, and glossary. I researched and attempted to locate a gift of deed form and collection management policy for each institution: Arizona State University, Black Hills State University, South Dakota State Historical Society State Archives, and Arizona Historical Society. 


Arizona State University

Collection Development Policy: https://lib.asu.edu/collections/university-archives/collection-policy


Black Hills State University

Collection Development Policy: https://library.bhsu.edu/documents/Collection%20Development%20Policy.pdf

Donation Policy: https://library.bhsu.edu/documents/Book%20Donation%20Policy.pdf

Gift Agreement: file:///Users/bayleelacompte/Downloads/GIFT%20AGREEMENT.pdf

University Libraries Archives & Special Collections: https://library.bhsu.edu/case/collections/case.cfm

University Archives: https://library.bhsu.edu/case/collections/archives.cfm


South Dakota State Historical Society State Archives 

Collection Policy: https://history.sd.gov/archives/aboutarchives.aspx

Donation Form: https://history.sd.gov/archives/docs/DonorForm.pdf


Arizona Historical Society 

Collection Management Policy: https://arizonahistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/CAE20-002-Collections-Management-Policy_final.pdf

Collecting Plan: https://arizonahistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/LAC20-001-AHS-Collecting-Plan_final.pdf


I searched ASU because I wanted to see the difference between their policy and ours here at Labriola. I chose Black Hills State University because I am an alumnus and do not know much about our archives. I knew we had a Case Library in the E.Y Berry Library-Learning Center because my speech professors mentioned it. By searching, I learned that the Case Library is a special collection named for Leland D. Case. This collection is about western historical studies and specializes in the history and culture of the Black Hills region, South Dakota, the northern Great Plains, and the West more generally. The collection includes the following topics: Native American studies, frontier military history, pioneer history, the Black Hills National Forest, local area clubs & organizations, and late 19th-century and early 20th-century area photography. As an American Indian Studies student and Lakota citizen, I would like to go back and study the collection as it pertains to my area of interest. The E.Y Berry Library-Learning Center was recently remodeled and is relocating archives from the Jacket Legacy room to the library's basement. Lastly, I searched South Dakota State Historical Society State Archives, considering I am from South Dakota and I visited the institution before.


The Gift of Deed/The Deed is important to Archives because it involves property transfer. A gift means that the title to the property passes from the giver to the recipient, from the donor to the archives. Notably, the Gift of Deed/The Deed is a contract in which both parties promise certain things: the donor to give and the archives to respect the conditions stipulated by the donor in the deed. The elements include clear answers to the following questions: who is the donor? Who is the recipient? What is the date of the transfer of title? What is the material conveyed by the deed? Who holds the copyright? What are the restrictions on use? who can impose restrictions, to whom do the restrictions apply? who can lift restrictions? Who has disposal authority? Who provisions cover subsequent gift?