Community Work: Community Organizing Archive
ARCHIVE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What about “sensitive” material?
If the materials you would like to donate are of historical importance but include sensitive information that involves living persons and should be kept confidential, we can seal it until such time as it may no longer be sensitive and can be made publicly available without causing harm. Please give us a call to discuss any potentially sensitive situations. We’ll be happy to advise you.
Tax implications of sending materials?
Consult your tax advisor. We can provide a list of independent appraisers, should you wish to get an appraisal done for tax purposes. Please note that the John Hay Library is unable to pay for appraisals and is prohibited by law from appraising materials itself.
Can my colleagues or children have access to the material?
All collections in the John Hay Library are available to the public, unless restricted by the donor.
Can I get the materials back – or copies thereof?
Once materials are donated to the Archive, they become the property of the Brown University Library. We are happy to make copies for our patrons, but you should not donate any materials to the Archive that you are still actively using or think you or your children might possibly want to keep for sentimental reasons.
Can I get Bankers Boxes from the John Hay Library? There is no ready supply of such boxes at the Library, except in special circumstances. Should acquiring boxes be an issue, please contact the Brown University Archives and Manuscripts at 863-6414.
What will be weeded out?
Archivists are a cautious lot, and we tend not to throw things out. However, we will dispose of duplicate materials (e.g., 5 or more duplicates of the same item), personal items without evocative or historical value (i.e., form letters from credit card companies), and published materials that do not have intrinsic personal value (such as an author inscription) and that can readily be found elsewhere in the Library’s collections.
Do I have to send it to Brown, or are there other places I can archive my records?
There are a number of institutions throughout the country that accept records pertaining to activism and community organizing. Please see a list of them here. You need not send your records to the Archive of Community Organizing at Brown, but we do hope that you will send them somewhere, so that they can be preserved for future generations of researchers and activists.