Archival Donations & Collection Policy

Purpose

This collection policy clarifies what items The University of Olivet Archives seeks in order to fulfill its mission. In order to purposefully and responsibly meet this mission, there are necessary boundaries and limits on the items that the OC Archives will accept from donors.

Applicability

This policy applies to all donors.

The Policy

The University of Olivet Archives will actively collect material in the following areas:

• Core printed documentation including yearbooks, college newspapers and other college publications, course catalogs and other key administrative publications and alumni publications.
• Documentation of early college history, particularly 1800s into the early 1900s, which (during this early period) may include select documentation of the village of Olivet and the Congregational Church.
• Key administrative records including those of the trustees, senior officers such as the president and key departmental and faculty records documenting the education of students, such as minutes of the academic senate, departmental faculty meetings, and similar groups whose decisions directly shape the college programs within the college.
• Summary financial information portraying the overall financial status of the institution.

The University of Olivet Archives will sometimes accept gifts of material in the following areas:

• Student social organizations, Greek societies and documentation regarding student social activities.
• Material relating to Olivet’s sports programs.
• Material created by alumni, such as memoirs or scrapbooks, that document their student experience at Olivet.

The University of Olivet Archives will not seek and, except under extraordinary circumstances, will decline gifts of material in the following areas:

• Material created after the early 1900s that primarily documents the City of Olivet and the surrounding community.
• Faculty created or collected material not directly focused on the education of Olivet students.
• Detailed financial records of the college or individuals employed by the college.
• Alumni papers documenting the careers of students after their graduation from Olivet.
• Duplicate material, particularly printed items relating to the College already found within the archives or the library.

*When donating an item, the donor must sign the archives’ Deed of Gift. The archivist must accept the Deed of Gift and items; the OC Archives is not responsible for any items that do not have a signed and accepted Deed of Gift.

Thank you for your interest in donating to our collection! Since potential donations need to adhere to our Collection Policy, please contact our Archives’ staff with any questions and for the Deed of Gift form, which needs to accompany any accepted donation.