Special Collections Policy

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This policy statement was approved in 1995 after review by the Core Cabinet, as per the official notice from Vice President for Academic Affairs Steve Roderick to President Joel Jones on November 28, 1995.  The Center of Southwest Studies ("the Center") is part of Fort Lewis College ("the College"), which, by action of President Joel Jones of July 1, 1993 has granted the Center the legal authority to collect, preserve, organize and make available the archival records of the College and any other materials defined by the Center's collecting policy (Section 6, following).  The Fort Lewis College Special Collections ("Special Collections") is the component of the Center of Southwest Studies that collects, preserves, organizes and makes available the historical, archaeological and ethnographic materials ("the materials"), including archives (most notably, the Fort Lewis College Archives, covered by the Fort Lewis College Archives Policy, form SW-3A, signed by the President on 11/7/94), records of all sorts and artifacts.  No such materials may be removed from the Center without approval of the Archivist or the Director.  The Colorado Revised Statutes, Articles 24-80-101 through 24-80-112 state, by inference, the authority of the College Archivist to establish procedures relative to the State's records at the College.  In the event that the College's special collections program is dissolved or disbanded, the collections will be offered--in consultation with the Reed Library Director as regards materials other than the ethnographic museum artifacts and in consultation with the Fort Lewis College Foundation as concerns materials originally donated through the Foundation--to a professionally staffed repository or professionally staffed repositories, each of whose collecting policies encompasses that of the Center; the State's records will be transferred to the most suitable State agency.  In the event of such transfer of materials, each collection will be maintained intact according to provenance wherever possible.

2. Statement of Purpose

The mission of the Fort Lewis College Special Collections is to identify, acquire, organize, preserve and make available materials pertaining to the College and pertaining to the Southwest and Native Americans of the Southwest that have sufficient historical, archaeological, ethnographic, administrative, legal, fiscal or informational significance to warrant their long term preservation. Special Collections is, in part, the corporate memory of the College and of our community; it serves as an information resource for all persons interested in the history and development of the Southwest and especially of Fort Lewis College and the Four Corners region. (See the Center's Mission Statement, form SW-36.)

3. Uses of the Special Collections

a. Research and administrative reference: Special Collections resources support (in descending order of priority) undergraduate research work, faculty research, the work of administrative departments such as the President's and Vice Presidents' offices and College Relations, and scholarly research by those beyond the College. Those who created and/or compiled the Fort Lewis College Archives have priority use of those records.

b. Exhibits: The Center exhibits items from its collections both on and off campus on a rotating basis, and seeks to include items of an exhibitory nature in its collections. The exhibit areas shall be archivally designed and secure. (See the Center's Exhibit Policy, form SW-44.) Other institutions wishing to borrow materials must complete the Center's  Loan Agreement Form  (SW-13) and must adhere to the requirements for loan stated on the reverse of that form.

c. Outreach: The Center furthers the use and development of its materials and serves the local and regional community through ongoing outreach of various forms, including but not limited to tours and presentations by the Center's staff, audiovisual presentations to the community and sponsorship of meetings, seminars and conferences related to the Center's mission.

d. Publications: The Center produces public relations brochures, descriptive guides and periodicals to publicize its existence and information about its holdings. Insofar as appropriate scholarly manuscripts and funds are available, the Center also publishes a series of Occasional Papers to spur interest in and knowledge of the history of the region.

e. Records Management: Pursuant to the Fort Lewis College Records Management Program Authorization signed by the President on January 7, 1995, the Center of Southwest Studies is the hub for effective management of records and information generated, processed or received by the faculty, staff and students.  The Center assists administrative, academic and student offices by relieving them of the cost and inefficiencies of retaining in their offices non-current, but historically valuable, records. Records management is seen as essential to fulfilling the College's mission, assuring economy and efficiency in the creation, organization, maintenance, use and retrieval of administrative records, assuring the protection of records that are vital to the College and ensuring the preservation of historically important records.

f. Preservation: The Center recognizes that research, exhibition, loans, handling and storage of its materials must be consonant with sound preservation practices.  These activities must not damage or compromise the integrity of the materials.  Further, the College realizes that the acquisition of collections brings with it an institutional commitment to responsible custody into the indefinite future, and that preservation is achieved only when the repository is able to provide appropriate environmental conditions, protective housing, fire prevention, detection and suppression systems, effective security systems and procedures, disaster preparedness, and staff and users who have been trained to handle and care for the collections appropriately.  (See the Center's Preservation Policy SW-46,  Loan Agreement Form SW-13, Special Collections Special Handling Guidelines SW-23,  Exhibit Policy SW-44, Special Collections Storage Guidelines SW-25, and Disaster Plan SW-31).

4. Position and Authority of the Archivist

The Archivist reports to the Director of the Center of Southwest Studies and carries faculty rank.  This is a tenure track position.  The Director reports to the College President.

The Archivist is authorized, on behalf of the College and of the Center of Southwest Studies, to solicit, acquire, accession, appraise, arrange, describe, deaccession and make available the materials (non-artifacts, primarily) of the Center.  Any record-creating or record-compiling office or department of the College is directed to release to the College Archives for preservation, administration and access such records legally in that office's custody that no longer are needed for the transaction of the current business of that office, whenever the Archivist is willing and able to receive and take possession of them.

The records of any College office or department shall, prior to or upon the termination of the existence and functions of that office or department, be transferred to the custody of the College Archives for appraisal and disposal, unless otherwise directed by the Archivist.  Since all records--including machine readable records--created by an employee of the College in the performance of his or her duties legally are the property of the College, upon termination of employment all individuals shall transfer to the College Archives those records no longer needed for the current operations of their respective offices or departments.  In no case shall anyone remove such records from the College, or destroy same, without the prior permission of the Archivist.  The Archivist shall have the right of reasonable access to and examination of all current College records.

The general qualifications for the Archivist include an M.A. degree in history with archival training and/or a library science M.L.S. with emphasis on archives, and familiarity with the MARC format and regional and national catalog databases and at least five years of archival experience.  Personnel for Special Collections shall be selected by the Director of the Center with the advice and consultation of the Archivist and appropriate Southwest Studies faculty.

5. Outline of Responsibilities

The minimum of staffing for Special Collections is one full-time professional archivist.  One full-time professional curator is desired, when more museum space becomes available.  The Archivist is responsible for accessioning, appraising, arranging, describing, deaccessioning and making available the non-artifact materials of the Center and for assisting with College records management functions through the creation and implementation of records schedules and transfer of historically significant College records to the College Archives.  The Archivist is the person primarily responsible for the Center's interactions with users of the Center's non-artifact collections, including the provision of reference services by telephone, mail and in person. (See the Archivist Job Description, form SW-32.) The Director of the Center is primarily responsible for donor relations, including the solicitation and acquisition of special collections and gifts, with the assistance of the Archivist.  As with any gift to the College, donations should be channeled through the Fort Lewis College Foundation for acceptance.  The Director must pre-approve any conditions, clauses, restrictions, and/or commitments that might be attached to collection acquisitions.  Subject to veto by the Southwest Studies Advisory Board, the Director makes the final decision on staff's deaccessioning recommendations.  [Note: since the adoption of this policy, the Center established an Southwest Accessions/Deaccessions Committee, which reviews most proposed accessions and deaccessions.  A brief history and scope of mission of this Committee are posted on the College website.]  The Director is responsible for providing the Archivist with the resources, such as Machine Readable Cataloging (MARC) computer catalog network access, archival storage space and equipment and personnel necessary for the successful performance of the Archivist's duties.  The Director--with the assistance of the Archivist as resources permit--is responsible for the administration of the artifact materials until the position of curator is filled.  The Southwest Studies Advisory Committee serves the President and the Director in a consultative role in policy and personnel decisions relating to the Center.  Recognizing aspects of common interest with the College Library, the Center works with Library staff to share resources.  Although the published special collections research materials (i.e., books) specified in the Collecting Policy (Section 6, following) are in the custody of the Center, they are cataloged and made accessible at the Southwest Center library through the technical assistance of the College's general library staff, and the Library refers users to the Center and vice versa, where appropriate.

6. Collecting Policy

One aspect of responsible custody is adherence to a collecting policy which is feasible and appropriate for the institution in consideration of the institution's resources, the institution's place within the total universe of documentation for the subject areas in which it collects, and the collecting policies of related repositories and the strengths and weaknesses of their collections.  In its acquisition of collections the Center of Southwest Studies conforms with applicable laws, professional ethics, and Center policy.

Fort Lewis College specializes in teaching and learning in an undergraduate liberal arts setting.  The Center of Southwest Studies documents the history of this basic function.  Thus, the College Archives' records shall include all historically significant and permanently valuable records received or created by college officials, staff, faculty and students in the course of their Fort Lewis College duties, regardless of the physical form of the records, whether on paper, film, magnetic tape or other material, including machine readable records as well as other types.

In addition, the Center supports the College's Southwest Studies curriculum.  The Center is a locus of primary research relating to the Southwest of the United States, especially the Four Corners region and Native Americans of the greater Southwest, and it collects historical, archaeological and ethnographic documentation and other materials that could further this research and that could support the mission of the Center of Southwest Studies.  Reed Library (the College's general library), on the other hand, provides maximum access to all interested constituencies, including both the specialized researcher and the general reader.  Thus, the Southwest Center library shall only include Southwest-related volumes that are either

• of archival quality (e.g., old, rare or fragile) or
• limited issue (e.g., limited-run government monographs) or
• comprised of primary source materials (even if reprinted) or
• part of an integrally cohesive collection or
• absolutely indispensable for research at the Center of Southwest Studies or
• guides to Center holdings or
• describing professional tasks of the Center.

The collecting policy is circumscribed by five parameters: geography, chronology, subject, language, and cultural/religious sensibilities. 
(1.)  "Southwest" is geographically defined as that area including the states of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Texas west of US Highway 83 (except for 1519-1848, when all of Texas is included), all of Spanish California plus (for the years after 1848) the area south of and including San Francisco but including northern areas of California as regards the agriculture, water and labor issues of the Central Valley, and the borderland regions of Mexico.  

(2.)   Chronologically, the materials cover all periods of history--to the present. 

(3.)   By subject, the materials primarily cover the disciplines of anthropology, archaeology, archival/ museum management, the arts, history, literature, sociology and Southwest studies; we expect there to be little overlap with Reed Library holdings in this area--materials in these subjects that meet the first and second levels described in the previous paragraphs would be at the Center.  The collecting scope also includes, secondarily, materials related to the sciences of biology, geology and physics, as well as to the fields of business, cultural studies, current affairs, economics, education, intercultural studies/ethnic studies and current affairs; we expect there to be considerable overlap with Reed Library holdings in this area. 

(4.)   Linguistically, the collecting policy emphasizes materials in English, with selected texts in Spanish and in Native American languages of the Southwest (Navajo, Ute, Tewa, etc.). 

(5.)   A fifth parameter of the Center's collecting is that although the Center has a goal of preserving the material record of the cultural heritage of the various people groups of the region, it recognizes that religious convictions regarding certain objects may take precedence over their collection and preservation.  In particular, the Center will decline to acquire for its collections objects known to have sacred significance to a Native American group from which the object(s) originated, if the group considers its possession or disposition of the object(s) to be essential.  In addition, the Center will not knowingly acquire any object whose ownership or legality in this state or country is questionable or whose circumstances of collection are unethical or contrary to the goals and/or practices of the Center or the museum/archives professions in general.

Responsible custody: The Center solicits historical materials from College administrators, faculty, students, alumni, and any person or institution with materials that meet the Center's collecting policy, resources permitting. Materials offered to the Center that do not fall within its collecting policy will be referred to an appropriate repository.  Duplicate materials may be offered to appropriate repositories if the donor agreement permits.  Holdings that do not reflect the Center's collecting policy may be deaccessioned and offered to other more appropriate institutions or to the donor or to the donor's family, depending upon the specifications in the donor agreement.  In addition, the Center will systematically analyze its collections to weed the holdings of fragmentary, irrelevant, irretrievably deteriorated or duplicative materials.  Deaccessions and referrals shall be made in consultation with the Reed Library staff as regards materials other than the ethnographic museum artifacts and in consultation with the Fort Lewis College Foundation as concerns materials donated through the Foundation.  The Southwest Studies Advisory Committee shall be given opportunity to review all proposed deaccessions; the Committee may veto the deaccessioning recommendations/decisions of the Archivist/ Director.

7. Access and Reference Policies

The Center of Southwest Studies serves as an information resource for persons researching the history and development of the Southwest and of Fort Lewis College.  Its primary users are College administrators, faculty, students, alumni, and other immediate members of the College community.  Its secondary users are members of the general public.  The Center will be open to users at regular and convenient hours while the College is in session and--as resources permit--at regular and convenient hours when the College is not in session.

The goal of the Center is to provide access to all interested users on equal terms, taking into account the need to restrict access to some materials on grounds of privacy and of the confidentiality of the information they contain.  This access will include, at the least, information about the Center's holdings, minimal reference service and help in using the materials, copying services, and a quiet, clean, well-lighted research area.

The Center will provide directly supervised access to all archivally processed collections, subject to any restrictions stated in the instrument of transfer or by law. (See the Center's General Restriction Policy Statement, form SW-2.)  The Center's collection materials are for supervised library use only at the Center--they cannot be circulated.  Arrangement and description of collections will be as complete as resources allow.  To the degree that resources are available, the Center will provide information about its Special Collections to regional and/or national databases; this information may include visual as well as textual access.  An unprocessed collection may, at the discretion of the Archivist, be made available if the Center has a preliminary inventory of its contents, if access is unrestricted by the transfer instrument or law, and if the collection is in some kind of usable order.  The predominant role of the Archivist in providing intellectual access will be the creation of finding aids to the materials; staff time for reference services to individuals--providing information from the collections--will be limited by the resources available.  In any case, such reference service, whether in person or through the mail, by telephone or by other medium, will be limited to 30 minutes per user per month.  Research is the responsibility of the user.

All users must comply with the Center's procedures for registration. (See the User Registration Form SW-1, Request for Special Collections Materials SW-16, and the Daily Register of Users SW-17.)  The Center will maintain the confidentiality of user registration and use records.  It may consult previous use records to assist others with related research (so long as this does not divulge the product of thought and time that the first party has invested in the research), and it should inform users of parallel research by other individuals, to avoid duplication of research work.  The Center will respect each user's right to privacy as to the details of his or her own work, but cannot exclude other users from access to the sources used.

The Center is responsible to preserve the materials, which includes taking all reasonable and prudent measures to protect them from theft, from physical deterioration and from unauthorized use.  The Center's staff will enforce the Center's Special Collections Special Handling Guidelines (form SW-23).  Staff may deny access to original materials when an available copy exists.  Access to materials may be denied also if the Archivist and/or the Director deems that the use of the materials may cause significant damage to the materials; the Archivist and/or Director will attempt to provide an alternative form of access (such as a photocopy or microform version) in such circumstances.  Furthermore, access may be denied to persons who have exhibited carelessness or destructiveness in the use of materials.   The Center reserves the right to search items carried into or out of the research area.

Subject to copyright laws (cf. title 17, United States Code) and to access restrictions specified in donors' agreements, the Center will provide reproduction facilities for researchers' use.  (See the Image Duplication Request Form SW-4 and the Photoduplication Request Form SW-18.)  User fees will cover the Center's costs of providing reproductions of materials.  Users wishing copies of materials must complete the appropriate form and must adhere to the procedures for such duplication.  Permission to use materials does not imply permission to publish such materials in whole or in part, which must be obtained from the Center and/or the copyright holder in every instance. 

The Center does not allow users to digitize the Center's collection materials; to preserve the originals and reduce their exposure to unnecessary handling and light, all digitization of collection materials is performed by Center staff or those to whom it contracts such work.  Users may not use scanning equipment or digital cameras in the Research Room.  (Photography of items on display in the galleries is possible, given that the photographer completes Form SW-27B.)  Subject to copyright and/or other access restrictions, the Center sells digital files of items that have already been scanned electronically; users may pay the Center's fees for the Center to produce digital files of items that have not yet been digitized.  (See the Fees part 1 section of the Image Duplication Request Form SW-4.)

8. Records Management

Effective management of records and information generated, processed or received by the faculty, staff and students is essential to fulfilling the College's mission.  An effective records management program assures economy and efficiency in the creation, organization, maintenance, use and retrieval of administrative records, assures the protection of records that are vital to the College and ensures the preservation of historically important records.  Such a program requires the cooperation of all concerned.  The Fort Lewis College Records Management Program Authorization signed by the President on January 7, 1995 establishes the Center of Southwest Studies as the hub of Fort Lewis College records management.

The Archivist, together with the Director, the Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Vice President for Business and Finance and the several College deans and department heads, shall develop guidelines and procedures for the management of the current records of the College. They shall determine retention and disposal schedules for all types of records and shall see to it that such schedules are observed by all offices and departments of the College.  The Fort Lewis College Records Management Manual (SW-39) provides guidelines for all persons who are responsible for College records.

9. Definitions

The following archival terms and definitions used in this policy statement have been derived from these sources: A Glossary for Archivists, Manuscript Curators, and Records Managers (Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 1992); Julie P. Bressor`s Caring for Historical Records: Workshop Curriculum and Resource Materials (Storrs, CT: University of Connecticut, 1990; printed and distributed by Society of American Archivists); Retention of Records: A Guide for Retention and Disposal of Student Records, appendix F (American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, 1987); "The Commission on Preservation and Access Report of Task Forces on Archival Selection" (Washington, D.C.: The Commission on Preservation and Access, draft 1993 Feb.); and Archives and Records Management Thesaurus (ARCHTHE): List of Descriptors and Cross References (Ottawa: National Archives Library, National Archives of Canada, 1988 Nov.).

Access    Availability of historical materials through physical arrangement and intellectual guides.

Accessioning    The act of transferring physical and legal custody of historical materials from a donor or other source to a repository.

Acquisition    Addition to the holdings of a repository of materials received by transfer, gift, bequest, purchase or deposit.

Appraisal    The process of determining the value, and thus the disposition, of records based on considerations of their current administrative, legal or fiscal use, evidential and information or research value, arrangement and relationship to other records. Appraisal is the process of determining whether documentary materials have sufficient value to warrant acquisition by an archival institution.

Archives    One of three things:
(1) the non-current records of an organization or institution preserved because of their enduring value, or
(2) the agency responsible for selecting, preserving and making available records determined to have enduring value, or
(3) the space in which archival records are housed.
(Note: a 4th definition commonly used, but not by archivist, refers to archives as the entirety of documentation of a person, organization, email listserve, etc.)

Archivist    An educated, trained and experienced professional engaged in the management of archival and special collections materials, including the activities of appraisal and disposition, acquisition, preservation, arrangement and description, reference services and outreach.

Arrangement    The pattern of organization of materials. More specifically, the intellectual and physical processes and results of organizing documents in accordance with accepted archival principles, at the following levels where necessary: repository, collection, record group, subgroup, series, sub-series, file unit and item.

Artifact    A three-dimensional object showing human workmanship or modification.

Collecting policy    A written statement which:
(1) states the purpose of a repository's archives program,
(2) cites the program's authorization to exist and mentions any governing regulations it must observe,
(3) explains what materials the program will accept, and under what conditions it will be accepted and
(4) articulates any access or copyright restrictions that users must observe.

Collection    One of two classes of materials:
(1) the holdings of a repository or
(2) a natural grouping of materials within a repository.

Collection development    The process of building a repository's holdings of historical materials through planned acquisition activities.

Curator    An educated, trained and experienced professional engaged in the administration of artifact materials, including the activities of appraisal and disposition, acquisition, preservation, research, documentation, arrangement and description, reference services and outreach.

Deaccessioning    The process of formally removing materials from the custody of a repository, either through return to the donor, transfer to a more appropriate institution, or destruction.  Such disposal of materials may be warranted because they do not fall within the repository's collecting policy or because the legal owner of deposited materials has requested their permanent return.

Description    Provision of intellectual access to records.  More specifically, the process and results of analyzing, organizing and recording information that serves to identify, manage, locate and explain the holdings of a repository.

Disposal schedule    Documented official authorization for the periodic disposal of described records series, on a continuing basis.  Also known as records disposition schedule or retention schedule.

Document    Recorded information, regardless of the physical medium or characteristics in which it may be recorded.

Machine readable records     Records, usually in code recorded on an electronic storage medium such as magnetic disk or magnetic tape, whose contents are accessible only by machine.  Related term: electronic records.

Manuscript     A handwritten or typed document, including a carbon or letterpress copy. A typed document is more precisely called a typescript.

MARC AMC     A communications format for machine readable cataloging for archival and manuscripts control for the exchange of descriptive and administrative information about archival materials. The USMARC AMC format is jointly administered by the Society of American Archivists and the Library of Congress.

Preservation     The processes and operations involved in the stabilization and protection of documents against damage or deterioration and in the treatment or damaged or deteriorated documents. Preservation may include the transfer of information to another medium, such as microform or electronic storage media.

Provenance     Archival principle that records of different offices of origin or from different donors or different sources should be kept separate, to maintain the organic nature of the records and thus to maintain their evidential value.

Record series     File units or documents arranged in accordance with a single filing system or kept together as a unit because they relate to a particular subject, result from the same activity or have a particular form or relationship arising out of their creation, receipt or use. Also known as series.

Records     Any and all recorded data, published or unpublished, textual or illustrative, in whatever format, regardless of media or characteristics, made or received and maintained by an organization or institution.

Records management     A program of systematic control to facilitate economy and efficiency in the creation, organization, maintenance, use and disposition of records, which insures that useful records will be preserved as long as needed and that unneeded records will not be created or preserved beyond their usefulness.

Records schedule     See disposal schedule.

Reference services    The range of activities involved in assisting users using the materials.

Repositories    Institutions or facilities that house records, papers and other materials that have lasting evidential or informational value for administrative, fiscal, historical, legal or research purposes.

Research area    The space in the repository where users consult documents under the supervision of and with the assistance of repository personnel. Also known as reading room or search room.

Researchers    See users.

Responsible custody    The provision of care for repository holdings in a manner that limits the extent of physical damage done to the collection materials and/or slows the rate of deterioration caused by the chemical composition of their media, with the goal of achieving the full term of life expectancy for each of the materials. Responsible custody encompasses implementing and maintaining the following: adherence to a collecting policy which is feasible and appropriate for the institution in consideration of the institution's resources, the institution's place within the total universe of documentation for the subject areas in which it collects, and the collecting policies of related repositories and the strengths and weaknesses of their collections; proper control of the environment; protective housing; fire prevention, detection and suppression systems; effective security systems and procedures; disaster preparedness; and training staff and users in the proper handling and care of the collections.

Retention period    The scheduled time period for the retention of a records series.

Retention schedule    See disposal schedule.

Series    See record series.

Solicitation    The practice or act of approaching potential donors to encourage placement of collections within one's repository.

Users    Individuals who consult documents, either by a visit to a repository or through mail or telephone contact seeking information about or from the holdings of a repository.

Information for doing research at the Center of Southwest Studies

Tools for archival work

Center of Southwest Studies

Page last modified: February 20, 2008