About the Bates College Archives

The Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library serves as the official repository of the Archives of the College.  These are records and other materials that document the history and development of the College from its inception to the present and that have permanent administrative, legal, fiscal or historical value.  These records include, but are not limited to, administrative papers, correspondence, reports, electronic records, published and/or printed material, scrapbooks, photographs, and any associated records in any format or on any media.  In addition, the Archives seeks to collect records of student, faculty, and staff organizations, selected personal papers of Bates faculty and staff, and other materials about the College.

Resolution of the Board of Trustees with respect to the Bates College Archives, adopted December 13, 2000

Whereas:

The records of academic departments, programs and committees of the College, so far as they have permanent value, should be preserved, and

The records of administrative offices and committees of the College, so far as they have permanent value, should also be preserved;

And whereas:

The Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library has been formed, combining the operations of the Edmund S. Archives and the Special Collections Department of the Library, with staff professionally qualified in the administration of archives and manuscript collections;

Therefore be it resolved:

That the Bates College Archives be established and administered as part of the Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library;

Be it further resolved:

That records of permanent value should be deposited in the Bates College Archives when retention of active files is no longer considered necessary by the office, department, program or committee responsible for the records,

That decisions concerning permanent value will be made from time to time by the professional staff of the Archives in consultation with an administrative officer of the College, and

That the President shall authorize the Librarian and the staff of the Archives to develop policies and procedures for the administration of the Bates College Archives, subject to approval by the President.

Statement by President Donald W. Harward to the Bates College community on the establishment of the Bates College Archives by the Corporation, December 18, 2000

The Bates College Archives has been established by the President and Trustees of Bates College in recognition of the need to preserve those official College and other documents which have permanent value.  The Bates College Archives will be administered as part of the Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library, under the supervision of the Librarian.

The guidelines listed below apply to all members of the administrative staff and faculty, including faculty whose non-teaching or administrative responsibilities (such as chairing a department or program or serving on a committee) put them in possession of records concerning their official duties.

1. The records of the official activities of College offices, departments, programs and committees, including papers and correspondence, official printed materials, minutes, committee files, and financial and associated records in any format, are the property of Bates College.
2. Such records may not be destroyed without the approval of a representative of the College Archives.
3. The officer in charge of each office, department, program and committee will determine when records cease to have current administrative value.  A representative of the Archives will determine which of these records have permanent value and shall arrange their transfer to the Archives.
4. Professional staff of the College Archives shall have access to all records, including those considered confidential, sufficient to determine their archival value and to arrange their transfer to a suitable repository or their disposal at an appropriate time.
5. Policies and procedures for appraisal, transfer and disposal of College records, establishment of any restrictions on access, and compliance with these policies shall be developed by the professional staff of the Archives, subject to approval by the President or his or her designee.
6. The College Archives may also accept the privately owned papers of employees, alumnae/i, students or organizations which bear on the history of the College.  Such materials will be subject to conditions of deeds of gift executed by the Archives and the donor of each gift.  Such deeds of gift may not restrict in any way the conditions under which official College records are handled.
7. All records transferred to the Archives will be open to researchers on a non‑discriminatory basis unless specific restrictions apply.