Governing Policies and Procedures for the
Establishment, Maintenance and Use of the Archives

NAME

The official name of the collections shall be the: BROTHER I. LEO O'DONNELL ARCHIVES OF CHRISTIAN BROTHERS UNIVERSITY.

LOCATION

The archives collections will be housed at a location determined by the President of the University and/or his representatives. At present, the archives is located within the campus boundaries at 2455 Avery, Memphis, Tennessee, 38104, 901-321-3243 (FAX 901-321-3244).

PURPOSE

The purpose of the archives shall be to centralize and organize the historical materials and records of the university through collecting, cataloguing, preserving, protecting, and restoring when necessary, those records and materials pertaining to the history of the individuals within the university community and the university in general. The further purpose of the archives shall be to make available needed records to those persons authorized to view such information, materials, records or collections.

IMPORTANCE

The university archives serve not only as a historical depository but as a reminder of years of fruitful service given by the faculty/staff and the life of the campus over the years. Archival materials provide knowledge of our heritage, an appreciation for the dedication and sacrifice of those who came before - in whose footsteps we walk, and as an incentive to keep alive and viable the motivating spirit which marks an institution as a De La Salle Christian Brother heritage. For these reasons the expansion and maintenance of the archives should be a special concern for the administration and for the officials of the university. Consideration must be given not only to the contents of the archives but also to space, budget and personnel.

DEFINITION

The CHRISTIAN BROTHERS UNIVERSITY O'DONNELL ARCHIVES is the official depository for all documents and materials of any form, made or received by the University in the pursuit of its religious and legal obligations and in the transaction of its business. These documents reflect the internal development of the University, the conduct of its affairs as a legal corporation, the individual and personal lives of its members, and the people the Brothers have been called to serve in their ministries.

SCOPE

All accounts of functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations and other activities which provide information about the university shall be deposited in the archives permanently. The archives shall serve as a source of valuable information and serious research, not a warehouse for storage. The contents are not limited to the official papers of past administrative officers but will encompass anything and everything which helps to preserve the sense of history, the spirit and the charism of the De La Salle Christian Brothers.

THE ARCHIVIST

The Archivist is appointed by the President of the university and serves in a staff position under the Director of the library. The chief function of the archivist is to manage and direct the various activities related to the Archives.

The archivist shall receive necessary training and be provided such assistance, budget and space as is judged necessary by his/her supervisor.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ARCHIVIST

The archivist shall work to create an awareness of how the archives can be of service both to the members of the university and to those they serve, The archivist shall perform the following services:

1. Publish inventories of archival materials on a periodical basis;
2. Prepare archive-related materials for newsletters;
3. Assist researchers in their use of archival materials;
4. Develop a program to educate the campus as to the materials that should be preserved;
5. To increase archival holdings by correspondence with individuals and other sources;
6. Maintain a Records Retention Service, keeping easily available for a specific time the records of the university.

BASIS FOR POLICY DECISIONS

Most archival materials are protected by private law, that is by the constitutions or by-laws of an organization, legislative ordinances, executive directives and approved policies. Religious profession records are considered public records and are therefore subject to public law. With the exceptional use of those records such as these that may be subject to public law, all materials contained or preserved within the archives are considered the property of Christian Brothers University and are therefore governed by the policies of the Board of Trustees. In order to maintain autonomy of ownership of all materials maintained in the Archives, the archives will not accept, nor care for, "on loan" items or papers from any source.

PRINCIPAL KINDS OF RECORDS AND MATERIALS TO BE MAINTAINED

All vital university records will be maintained in the archives. These are the records necessary for the rebuilding of the original "structure" of the university should existing records be destroyed by some disaster. Vital university records include the workings of: the Board of Trustees, administrative councils and offices, department and faculty meetings and committees and the legal and financial dealings of Christian Brothers University. Notarized duplicate copies of all current legal documents and deeds (as well as those maintained in safes or safety deposit boxes or local or national banks and/or law offices) should be on file in the archives offices.

Files should contain clippings, accounts of activities, notes, annotated books, notebooks, minutes of meetings, annual reports, correspondence etc. All administrative, historical and pertinent records and materials of the general administration, and similar materials are maintained in the archives.

Published documents, histories, newsletters, etc. will be maintained in the archives. Books, articles and other materials published or printed by the University. Published materials for faculty and professional staff will be maintained whenever possible and available.

TRANSFERRAL OF RECORDS

The general rules governing the regular and orderly transfer of records to the archives are the following:

1. Inactive files should be transferred immediately to the archives;
2. Files used infrequently, less than once a year, should be transferred to the archives;
3. Administrators, upon leaving appointed or elected offices, should transfer files notrequired by their successors to the archives before the day of their departure from office. Files generated while an elected, appointed or hired person is in office are the property of the office, not the individual, in which they were generated. Files must not be removed from offices at the end of a term of office except to be transferred to the archives;
4. Under no circumstances should any file be destroyed or laundered in any manner prior to transfer or deposit in the archives.

MATERIALS USE AND RESTRICTIONS

The CHRISTIAN BROTHERS UNIVERSITY O'DONNELL ARCHIVES is a private archives and therefore the records contained therein are NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AT ANY TIME without written permission from the appropriate university officials.

Those publics outside of the legal bounds of CHRISTIAN BROTHERS UNIVERSITY seeking to do GENERAL research from PUBLISHED material available to the general public may use those materials in this category contained in the archives with the permission and at the request of the archivist. Without written permission of appropriate university officials, no further research may be conducted.

Ordinarily faculty and staff of the university may have general access to the collections and general files of the archives. The use of these is at the discretion of the Archivist.

Those files or materials sent to the archives by administrators or other officials or individuals which are sent sealed and/or are marked "RESTRICTED" will be held in locked and secure files. These will be opened only by those persons designated and at the designated time and/or place.

The person authorized to restrict the file must give written permission for its use. Records/files/materials that are donated to, transferred to, or deposited in the archives that are PERMANENTLY RESTRICTED OR MAY NOT BE VIEWED BY ANYONE "IN PERPETUITY" WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED by the archives for security or storage. It would serve no purpose for the archives to receive or house such materials.

GUIDELINES FOR RESEARCH USE

The following guidelines shall beobserved by researchers:

1. Permission to use the Archives is obtained from the Archivist;
2. A request to use the Archives by researchers not affiliated with the University must be made in writing to the Archivist.
3. Each researcher shall submit to the Archivist a statement of their purpose of the research and the records to be consulted;
4. The archivist will oversee the use of all materials requested in a designated area;
5. The use of certain documents may be restricted by statute, office, origin, or by request of the donor; the researcher may quote from these documents only with permission of the archivist and with due reference to the source;
6. No letter, memorandum, or document written by a person still living may be quoted, paraphrased or used in any way without the written consent of the author;
7. The researcher must assume full responsibility for conforming to the laws of libel and literary property rights which may be involved in the use of manuscripts and other archival materials.

HANDLING OF ARCHIVAL MATERIALS

Records shall be handled with care, they shall not be traced over or marked upon; therefore, no carbon, ink or ballpoint pens are permitted in the research area - pencils only may be used.

If permission is given for reproduction of materials, the process is carried out by the archivist or staff. Those requesting materials to be reproduced must pay for them in advance. A reproduction is provided solely for the convenience of examining the manuscript.

The reproduction may not be further copied without prior written permission. Permission to reproduce material does not constitute permission to publish.

If permission is given for the use of materials for publication, two copies of the publication are to be sent (at the author's expense) to the O'Donnell Archives. A thesis or dissertation is considered a publication.

No book, document, manuscript or other item may be removed from the archives.

A copy of the policies and guidelines governing the use and handling of materials in the Archives will be presented to all researchers or those seeking to use materials in any manner.

RESEARCH

The permanent staff consists of one part-time archivist. At times during the year student assistants and volunteers are available for assistance in the archives. Due to staff limitations, research outside of the needs of the university are considered on a priority basis. It may be necessary to remit an administration fee for this service.

MORE INFORMATION

If you would like more information about this special collection or the use of these materials for research, please contact:

Brother Robert Werle, Archivist
2455 Avery Avenue
Christian Brothers University Archives
Memphis, TN 38112
rwerle@cbu.edu
901-321-3243
901-321-3244 fax

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