ENSURING CONTINUITY AND PRESERVATION THROUGH ARCHIVAL SERVICE AGREEMENTS

Abstract

Associations and organizations need not hire their own archival staff or establish an in-house archives to ensure the preservation of their documentary heritage. Fee-for-service deposit agreements with institutional archives and manuscript repositories provide a mechanism for meeting an association's archival needs. Such agreements also can help ensure that a repository has the policy and resource base to fulfill its responsibilities for records that document the important role that multiple and diverse volunteer, professional, and trade associations play in modern life. This article describes over twenty years of experience at the Archives of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in contract-based relations for managing the archives of external organizations such as the American Library Association and provides a sample deposit agreement.