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Scientific Association Records Programs: A Beginner's Guide
Appendix A:
Archives Policy of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Adopted by the AAAS Board of Directors in June 1982
[N.B. Originally drafted by Richard H. Lytle as part of a project
supported by the AAAS and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission
(NHPRC Grant 81-169).]
- Definitions
- AAAS Records: All correspondence and other documentation produced
in the course of official business of the AAAS.
- AAAS Archives: Those records selected for continuing preservation,
usually after they become inactive. Archives assume many forms, including
computer records and audio-visual materials.
- Professional Papers: Personal research notebooks, professional
correspondence, and other records of research or other professional activity
created by AAAS staff. (See section 3 for distinction between archives
and professional papers.)
- Manuscript Collections or Special Collections: Archives and professional
papers originating outside the AAAS (example: records of the Geological
Society of Washington).
- Archival Policy
- Authority and Purpose. The Archives of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science is hereby established by the Board of Directors
of the Association and under the immediate authority of the Executive
Officer. The Executive Officer delegates policy and general oversight
responsibilities to the Archivist of the Association.
The AAAS shall preserve its archives and the professional papers of
its staff for their administrative and research value. The AAAS Archives
is the official repository of the AAAS, charged with care of official
archives and with soliciting donations of professional papers from staff.
-
Appraisal of Records. All records created or
received in the course of official business are the property of the
AAAS. When records become inactive--no longer regularly used by the
office or person who created them--they are appraised for continuing
administrative and research value. Inactive records are:
-
discarded in accordance with the law and AAAS policy;
or
-
transferred to the AAAS Archives
The purpose of records appraisal is to identify records
of continuing value for the administration and history of AAAS. Current
administration is served by creation of a corporate memory which documents
activities, decisions, and programs. History is served by preservation
of records documenting AAAS and the wider scientific community.
- Disposal of Records. All AAAS staff should be aware that AAAS
policy does not permit unauthorized destruction, donation, or other dispersal
of AAAS records. The Archivist of the AAAS will ensure that all disposition
of records is consistent with AAAS policy, and staff members are urged
to work with the Archivist in records disposition. The AAAS Archives will
always consult appropriate staff when evaluating records for destruction.
Once records are received in the Archives, they will be discarded only
with concurrence of the office or person that created them.
- Records Management. In the normal course of its work, the AAAS
Archives is involved in appraisal and records disposition; assisting AAAS
staff in timely disposal of unneeded records is complementary to ensuring
preservation of archives.
The Archives also assists AAAS staff with establishment and maintenance
of files. General assistance is available to improving filing systems.
Specific assistance is given to establish techniques which identify
inactive records for appraisal and ultimate disposition.
Staff concern for AAAS archives should include preserving the order
and integrity of records while they are current. Since archives are
maintained in their original arrangement, staff should maintain current
records in order and transfer intact those records selected for archival
preservation. The archivist must be consulted before any records are
dismantled or dispersed.
- Cooperation with Staff. Selection of records for preservation--and
securing donations of personal papers--is a joint effort of staff and archivist.
The archivist relies on the staff members for information about the office
and its records, and the staff member relies on the archivist for technical
assistance and a broad view of what should be preserved.
- Professional Papers and Non-Archival Materials
- Official Records vs. Professional Papers. While some materials
are clearly official records and therefore the property of the AAAS, and
others are clearly professional papers, in some cases the distinction is
difficult to make. Professional staff members may combine official records
and professional papers. Moreover, when records such as research notes pertain
to AAAS activities in any way, the unit concerned has an interest in their
continued preservation at the AAAS. These are difficult cases which must
be resolved individually.
Papers of elected and appointed officers are considered professional
papers (example, papers of section officers).
-
Non-archival Materials Defined. Several kinds of
material are excluded from the definition of archives:
-
files collected for information only, for example, a
file of office equipment advertisements
-
extra copies of documents preserved only for reference
convenience
-
stocks of publications
-
stocks of mimeographed documents
-
files of reprints
Staff should bring these materials to the attention of the Archives staff
before discarding or transferring them to the Archives.
-
Special Collections
The AAAS does not collect archives, manuscript collections,
or professional papers from scientists or science administrators not associated
with AAAS. However, the Association is concerned that the history of American
science well documented. To this end, the AAAS Archivist makes continuing
efforts to alert other scientific societies to the importance of their own
archives and to provide guidance and counsel to those societies where AAAS
resources permit.
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Other Responsibilities of the AAAS Archives
In addition to preservation activities, the AAAS Archives has several responsibilities
to AAAS staff and others in the scholarly community.
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Access to Archival Holdings. The Archives maintain
a degree of control over its holdings which will ensure reasonable reference
service to staff and other scholars. The Archives will process selected
records in depth according to demand and potential research value. The
Archives further informs the scholarly community of the AAAS's archival
resources through publication of guides to the archives and communicating
with appropriate scholarly journals.
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Restrictions. By selective imposition of restrictions,
the Archives provides archival resources to staff and scholars, while
protecting rights of privacy and legitimate proprietary rights. Unless
restrictions are imposed by the donor or transferring office, research
materials are open to all bona fide researchers.
-
Physical Security. The Archives provides physical
security for records and personal papers used by researchers in its
reading room.
- Procedures for Securing Archives' Services
- Requesting Disposition of Papers. Staff who desire to transfer
records or professional papers to the AAAS Archives should make an appointment
with the Archivist, who will examine the materials in person. Both the
Archives and the requesting office will benefit if consultation precedes
work on the records. Records must not be sent to the Archives unannounced,
because the Archives staff needs to examine records with staff assistance
before the transfer is made.
- Determining Disposition of Papers. Archives staff and administrators
will decide on one of several actions:
- Determine that the records are not archival and make legal disposition
or transfer to a holding area until legal disposition is possible.
- Determine that the records are archival and transfer them to the
AAAS Archives.
- Determine that the records are active and establish a measure
of identifying inactive records.
- Donating Personal Papers. The Archives staff is available to assist
in making arrangements for donation of personal papers. Although papers
usually do not come to the Archives during the donor's active professional
life, early arrangements for giving papers to the AAAS at a later date
are encouraged.
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