Formal Establishment of College Archives
Presented by
Irene Herold, Dean of Mason Library
Robert Madden, Special Collections Librarian
Lucy Jones, College Archivist
Mason Library is pleased to present to the College community for your information and comment the mission of the Keene State College Archives. The first sentence is intended to define the functions of the archive and the archive’s intended patrons. The second sentence places the mission within the context of the college, specifying the topics of the records of enduring value and the scope of the holdings by listing all incarnations of the College.
College Archives have three main functions, one of preservation, another of maintaining information, and finally providing access to the information of the institution. While providing access to information is a familiar function of libraries, preservation and maintenance may not be. Preservation refers to the physical condition of what is placed in the Archive. Preservation would be re-housing fragile materials and capturing information produced on materials or in formats that will deteriorate over time so they will be available for the future. Maintaining refers to the organization and development of the collection. Maintaining in this context involves the creation of records management procedures to ensure that the history of the college is routinely captured and placed where future generations can access the information.
New Hampshire Higher Education Assistance Foundation (NHHEAF) Network Educational Foundation awarded to Mason Library and Franklin Pierce University’s Library a twelve-month joint grant for the creation and implementation of records management at the respective institutions. The grant-funded archivist, Lucy Jones, commenced her work in January. As she works to establish records management protocols for Keene State College, Mason Library is simultaneously developing supporting documents of policy and procedure to formally establish the College Archives. This mission statement is just the first official step in this process.
Keene State College Archives Mission:
The College Archives preserves, maintains, and provides access to institutional records of enduring value as a resource for Keene State College students, staff and faculty, alumni, researchers, and the interested public. In support of the mission of Keene State College, the College Archives is committed to providing access to information about the College’s origins, goals, and programs, including its former incarnations as Keene Normal School and Keene Teachers College.