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Re: ethics in archives



Andy, go with the terms of the donor agreement.  If you review the SAA site
you'll find that under "Publications" is an online "brochure" of items to be
considered in writing up a donation agreement (I think it's called "Deeds of
Gift: What Donors Should Know").  One of the items to be addressed in the
agreement is what should be done with remainders, or the stuff that doesn't
"fit" as you described it.  Some donors want remainders returned to them,
others don't care if they're trashed, and some may ask it to be offered to
a more appropriate repository.

It's not unusual to find that older collections don't have a well-written
agreement so in such cases my personal take would be to ask the donor (if
reasonably possible) or offer it to a more appropriate repository.  On the
Archives list you'll often find posted lists of stuff that are being weeded
out or don't "fit" the collection development policy.  There always seems to
be someone that wants it, and I'll bet I already know who wants your
cuisine narrative!

Holly Hodges

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