Archives Info: About

About

OLLU Archives Collection Development Policy

Records shall be defined as all documents, regardless of form, produced or received by any agency, officer, or employee of Our Lady of the Lake University in the conduct of its business. Documents include all forms of recorded information, such as: correspondence, computer data, files, financial statements, manuscripts, moving images, publications, photographs, sound recordings, drawings, or other material bearing upon the activities and functions of the university, its officers, and employees.

Records produced or received by any agency or employee of Our Lady of the Lake University in the transaction of university business becomes university property and subject to university policy for retention/disposal, access, and publication. Records produced or received by faculty in administrative and university committee service capacities are university records and subject to policy.

No university records shall be discarded, destroyed or transferred from the custody of the university except upon the prior written approval of the University Archivist, pursuant to a finding and recommendation by the administrative unit involved that such records have no further administrative value. The archivist shall withhold the approval of any such action until satisfied that the records involved have no value for other administrative offices and that they need not be retained for legal or accounting reasons, as determined by appropriate officers. Where appropriate, the archivist may arrange for the transfer of records to the University Archives as an alternative to destruction.

Our Lady of the Lake University Archives, under the direction of an archivist, is the depository for records having research or historical value and includes records transferred to its custody. Our Lady of the Lake University Archives also includes professional and personal manuscripts of members of the academic and administrative staffs and records of faculty and student organizations that may be given to the university for preservation and use.

Selection Criteria:

1. Records which would normally be presumed to have enduring administrative and/or historical significance include:
   • Records reflecting the special functions and responsibilities of the originating office;
   • Records which document the policies administered by the office;
   • Records which establish precedents or agreements binding on the University;
   • Records which document change and development in key personnel, programs, projects, plans, purpose, and philosophy;
   • Official publications of the office.


2. Records which would normally be presumed not to have enduring administrative and/or historical significance include:
   • Papers and publications originating outside the University;
   • Duplicated records, papers, or notices originating from another University office;
   • Routine or courtesy correspondence (letters of transmittal, acknowledgements, requests for routine information or services, reservations and itineraries, routine interoffice forms, etc.);
   • Material unrelated to the function or responsibility of the office;
   • Records which may not legally be held for more than a specified period of time (e.g., certain records governed by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act).


3. For most offices, a general agreement should be negotiated with the archivist on which records should be weeded and discarded  and which should be transferred to the Archives. The archivist should be specifically consulted, however, on any records not clearly covered by the general agreement before these are discarded. 


4. Personal papers of trustees, faculty, and administrators which document the professional achievements of these individuals and of the University may also be donated to the Archives. Donors may place reasonable restrictions on the use of these papers, provided that these restrictions are negotiated at the time of transfer to the Archives.