Authorization for Archives

The Board of Trustees, recognizing the need for a formal archival policy to ensure the preservation and availability for historical purposes of the official records of Wellesley College, hereby adopts the following policies for the collection and preservation of these vital papers, records and documents.

All administrative officers of the College, including members of the teaching faculty whose responsibilities include nonteaching or administrative duties of either a continuous or occasional nature (such as acting as chairman of a department or serving on departmental or College committees) which put them in possession of files, records or documents pertaining to their official duties, are requested to observe the following regulations:

1. All correspondence, official printed material, record books, minutes, committee files, financial records and associated papers--in sum, any records generated or received by the various administrative and academic offices of the College in the conduct of their business-- are the property of the College.

2. Such property is not to be destroyed without the approval of the officer in charge of the office where the papers accumulate and the Archivist.

3. The officer in charge of each administrative office or academic department determines when records cease to have current administrative value. The Archivist, in cooperation with the officer in charge, will thereupon determine which of these records have permanent value to the College, and shall arrange their systematic transfer to the College Archives.

4. The Archivist shall consult with the appropriate administrative officers regarding any special conditions of access which may be placed on any category of records. It is understood that in the absence of specific restrictions, all materials transferred to the College Archives will be opened to researchers on a nondiscriminatory basis. It is further understood that records preserved in the Archives may be withdrawn by the office of origin at any time for its own use.

5. The Archivist will preserve the records of the Board of Trustees transferred to the Archivist by the Clerk of the Board of Trustees. These records will be made available only to those individuals who have been granted permission to see them by the President of the College and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees.

The College Archives may also preserve papers of faculty members, administrative officers, members of the Board of Trustees, alumnae, students or student groups, or employees as a supplement to these official records.

Voted by the Board of Trustees, September 21, 1983