Contents
Preparing and Transferring Records
All incoming materials, in person deliveries and mailed items, must be scheduled ahead of their arrival through the Cornell University Archives e-mail, we will also provide the required paperwork needed for the Archives to be able to accept the material. This process ensures proper documentation of a collection provenance and allows the Archives to manage the large number of incoming items. Transfer requests must include an accurate box count. Material arriving unsolicited, without paperwork, or deliveries with excess boxes may be refused upon arrival or not be retained by the Archives.
Upon approval, small amounts of records can be delivered in person or mailed to 2B Kroch Library. Larger collections can be delivered, after scheduling to one of our loading areas. A courier service, such as Red Runner, can be used as well. The Archives does not generally provide staffing or funding to pickup or ship materials.
Boxing Material
- After viewing the following information, contact the Technical Services Archivist with any questions before proceeding with boxing or organization of materials.
- Materials do not need to be in preservation quality, acid free, boxes, folders, sleeves or other containers before transferring them to the University Archives, but if you plan on boxing or organizing a collection we can provide input on proper techniques and supplies to avoid you purchasing new boxes or supplies that we can not use to store materials.
- If the University Archives is providing supplies, such as acid free boxes or folders, for packing materials, they must only be used for materials destined for the University and any unused supplies returned.
- There is no fee to add materials to the Archives, but financial support, particularly for larger collections is greatly appreciated given the cost of supplies and archival processing and description needs.
- If possible pack materials in standard office file / bankers / Paige boxes or request proper acid free storage boxes. One of these boxes will hold the contents of half of a full standard depth file cabinet drawer.
- Boxes, such as some moving and wine/spirits boxes, that are taller than 11″ are more difficult for us to store. Regardless of box size used, do not create overflowing boxes.
- When boxing materials, especially from file cabinets, ensure that the contents remain in the same order in the new boxes as it existed before boxing. Label boxes in a way that provides any needed sequential order information, such as File Cabinet 1 of 3, Drawer 1 of 4, Part 1 of 2. Retaining original order can be critical for interpreting materials in the future. Consult with the Technical Services Archivist with any questions about reorganizing materials during the boxing process.
- We prefer that rehoused collections avoid the use of hanging files, paper clips, or sticky notes. Do not add these to collections; if they exist and can be removed without losing context of the materials, exclude them. Hanging files or paper-clipped items can be replaced with regular folders to retain groupings. Sticky notes can be replaced with plain paper notes within folders. If you need to call attention to particular items develop a plan with the Archives for use of an inventory and/or flags.
- If items are already foldered and labeled it is not necessary to relabel them, but if items are being placed into new folders we prefer folder descriptions be written in pencil on the folder.
- Do not place loose paper in boxes, papers should be inside folders.
- Upon completion of boxing, label all boxes on the front narrow side with a collection identifying name, department, or organization, box number, and total number of boxes, for example, Box 1 of 10.
Describing Material
- Proper description of materials allows them to be more easily found and more useful for research. Particularly important and special items should be noted when transferring items. The University Archives relies on the creators of the material, or other subject experts on the faculty or from the transferring departments, who are most familiar with the material, to help provide the best description, subject headings, or keywords, and to properly identify what might be most significant within a collection.
- Materials should come with a basic level of description. The more detailed the description the better. If assistance, such as student help, is available to describe the materials at a box or folder level contact the Technical Services Archivist so that we can guide the description creation process.
- The Archives will provide a template for creating a box list in Excel that can be used for creating a guide to the material.
- Print the inventory and place a copy in each box and email a copy to the Archives.
Restrictions on Use or Publication of Materials
Materials in the University Archives that are not restricted are made available on equal terms to all researchers. Some materials in the collections have restrictions that limit their access or use. When depositing items in the University Archives restrictions can be placed on the entirety of the collection or portions therein. Restrictions can be customized to meet University, departmental, or individual needs or legal requirements. Restrictions typically fall into one of the following categories or a combination of several. The University Archives must be informed of needed or potential restrictions before transfer of materials.
- Time based
The restriction expires on a certain date, after a specified number of years, or upon the death of an individual. - Permission based
Materials are restricted to the permission of a specific individual, a department or office. - Use based
Materials not in the public domain may have specific copyright restrictions in place that will impact publication of the materials. For more information, please see Guidelines for Using Text, Images, Audio, and Video from Cornell University Library Collections.
Restrictions may also restrict use of an item because of its value, historical or monetary, or due to its fragility or availability of a physical or digital surrogate. If requesting items be restricted they should be marked clearly. Restrictions should be described as to why the restriction is in place and include information about who has the authority to grant permission or adjust the restriction. University Archives staff will administer restrictions and advise researchers in navigating restrictions, but may request involvement from the researchers in obtaining permissions. The University Archives prefers, if at all possible, that collections have at least some portion that can be accessible to the public without restriction and that restrictions in place have a time based expiration in which the material can be made public. It is understood that this is not always possible. Researchers using restricted collections acknowledge personal responsibility for respecting the privacy and confidentiality of the materials they view. Researchers shall also inform staff if they find confidential or restricted material not labeled as such. Information on confidential data can be found in University Policy 5.10.
Student Privacy & the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
Care must be taken with any materials containing student records. The University Archives typically does not accept student files that are covered by FERPA. If the transferring party believes that there may be student files in records being sent to the University Archives please discuss this aspect with us before transferring records. More information about access to student information is available in University Policy 4.5.
Contacts
Evan Fay Earle
Dr. Peter J. Thaler ’56 University Archivist and Interim University Records Manager
Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections
2B Carl A. Kroch Library
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853
For questions regarding collections or materials currently within the University Archives or other reference requests relating to University history contact the Reference Desk.
If you have items relating to University history or other Cornelliana and have questions regarding the potential acquisition of the material by the University Archives use the Cornell University Archives e-mail.
For questions regarding the preservation of official University Records as defined in Policy 4.7 or about Records Retention Policies use the Cornell University Records Management e-mail.
E-mail is the preferred initial method of communication, but phone messages may be left at 607-255-3530