Baylor University Poage Library


  1. Procedures affecting collecting policy and its expedition
    1. Deed of gift:
      1. The BCPM will not accept materials without a legal transfer of title, Deed of Gift, Request for Deposit, or other official acknowledgment.
      2. If a donor requests the return of materials for which there is a legal Deed of Gift, the BCPM will consult the university legal counsel before making any decisions. Legally, the university does not have to return any item for which a Deed of Gift is on file.
      3. If materials have been accepted in the past and there is no Deed of Gift, a donor may legally request materials be returned.
    2. Loans, deposits, donations:
      1. Loans: The BCPM will under no circumstances accept loans of materials.
      2. Deposits: Materials may be deposited for a specified period of time subject to review at the end of the specified period.
        1. No materials are to be deposited for an indefinite period of time.
        2. Deposits should be for five years and may be renewed upon written request.
        3. Deposited materials will not be processed.
      3. Donations: No materials are to be permanently donated to the BCPM without a Deed of Gift.
    3. Closed collections:
      1. Permanently: The BCPM will not accept collections that are permanently closed to public access by the donor .
      2. Temporarily: The BCPM will accept collections that are temporarily closed by the donor to public access for a reasonable period of time.
      3. Classified materials: Declassification of materials will be in accordance with state and federal laws. Congress has legislated that House committee records have restricted access for 30 years and Senate committee records for 20 years. [See Rules XI and XXXVI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, and Senate rules XI and XXVI 10 (a), and S. Res. 474, 96th Congress].
    4. Deaccessioning/Sampling: The BCPM reserves the right to deaccession/sample any materials within its collections, subject to the terms of acquisition and the notification of the donor or his/her heirs.
      1. Case files are a controversial part of any congressional collection. Most materials in case files are protected by federal privacy legislation and should be sealed for 75 years from date of closing. Options include complete disposal immediately or after ten years, or selective sampling of files which (a) illustrate the "personal" aspects of governmental policy or (b) relate specifically to the Congressperson's district.
      2. Military applications do not have long-term historical value and the contents raise serious questions concerning third-party privacy rights. Furthermore, access to them prior to the death of the applicants probably violates federal privacy legislation. Deaccession of such materials is strongly recommended.
      3. Duplicate materials:
        1. Duplicate materials may be deaccessioned and either discarded, offered to another repository, returned to the donor or donor's family, or discarded.
        2. A Separation Sheet should be filled out and filed for all materials removed from a collection.
      4. Other materials which can be deaccessioned or sampled include the following:
        1. Desk calendars; invitations; recommendations; memorabilia; telephone message slips; legislation not authored by the Congressperson; Congressional Record; publications of state and federal agencies; congratulations/condolences/greetings; issue mail; letters from school children; petitions; reference files; request for flags/publications; unidentified or duplicate media; press mailing lists; personnel applications; personnel files; security clearances; office equipment records and travel expenses or vouchers.
    5. Exhibit:
      1. The BCPM reserves the right to include unrestricted materials in exhibitions on the Baylor University campus in accordance with normally accepted archival principles and practices.
      2. Generally, no original materials will be loaned for off-campus exhibitions although photocopies may be ordered.
      3. Special arrangements may be made for the loan of original materials by major exhibitors such as the Smithsonian or Library of Congress. Such requests will be considered on an individual basis and must be approved by the Director and/or library committee.
    6. Revision of policies: BCPM reserves the right to make changes in its policies as these seem reasonable and prudent. While every effort will be made to conform to the intent of the agreement made between the library and the donor at the time of accession, the library does not undertake to notify each donor of policy revisions.
    7. Emergencies: Baylor University has standard practices and prescribed procedures to follow in the event of emergencies which would threaten the collection. Duplicates of some materials may need to be made in case the original is destroyed. Such duplicates will be stored at another site to ensure survival of the intellectual content of the originals.
      1. Theft:
        1. Special security measures will be followed to protect those collections which contain sensitive materials or potentially valuable signatures of prominent individuals.
        2. Careful inventories of all materials will be maintained to authenticate ownership in case of theft, and consideration will be given to the use of a nonintrusive permanent library ownership mark on certain types of highly desirable items.
        3. Library officials will contact national organizations and stolen materials databases in the event of a theft, giving detailed descriptions of items believed stolen.
      2. Fire: While the possibility of fire is remote, the BCPM staff should, nevertheless, take precautions with valuable or sensitive materials to ensure that they are not destroyed by fire or damaged by smoke.
      3. Vermin:
        1. Materials being accepted into the BCPM should be cleaned, whenever practicable, or fumigated, if needed, before being brought into the building.
        2. Periodic spraying of the building for insects will be carried out to preserve the materials in the collection.
      4. Flood: As the BCPM is several feet below ground level and at the edge of a flood plain, the staff should take precautions to protect the collections. Therefore, no boxes or papers should be stored on the floor either permanently or temporarily during processing.
    8. Duplicate material: Congressional and other manuscript collections generally contain significant quantities of duplicate materials. The BCPM will handle duplicates as follows:
      1. Criteria for cataloging: If an item is already in the OPAC, the BCPM may retain it for cataloging if it supplements the materials in one of the collections or documents the legislative process.
      2. Criteria for disposal: If an item is in the OPAC, it may be offered to Technical Services as a duplicate copy. They may dispose of it if it is not needed.
      3. Government document: If duplicate documents, whether received from a government agency or as part of a donated collection, do not enhance existing materials in the BCPM, any government documents may be offered to the Government Documents Department of the Baylor University library system. If they are not accepted by that department, procedures will be followed as outlined in section VII.
    9. Copyright laws:
      1. Use of materials, including use for publication, must be done in keeping with current copyright laws.
      2. A copy of the current laws are kept in the Government Documents Department of Baylor University.
      3. Researchers will read and sign the Photoduplication Order which includes a Warning Concerning Copyright Restrictions.
    10. Privacy laws:
      1. While it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine legal use of materials, it is also the responsibility of the BCPM to insure that federal privacy legislation will be honored.
      2. Copies of current laws are kept in the Government Documents section of Moody Library.
    11. Preservation:
      1. The use of acid-free processing materials will be standard practice in the BCPM.
      2. Enhanced preservation procedures will be followed for any materials in danger of deterioration.
      3. The content of most newsprint items will be preserved through photocopying.
      4. The BCPM needs to keep in mind that there needs to exist a program to begin microfilming on an ongoing basis older or unique items in collections.
      5. Future plans for preservation should also include a program to reformat electronic media items to insure continual survival or audio and video tapes.
    12. Duplicating materials: All requests for duplication must be submitted on the Photoduplication Order form.
      1. Photocopying: Items from collections may be photocopied if their physical condition permits.
        1. Assessment of suitability for photocopying will be made by the Collections Manager or the Director.
        2. The patron will pay reasonable costs, but all copies will be made by library staff.
        3. Patrons are to be warned that copies are made for personal research only and cannot be further reproduced or placed in another repository without prior written permission of the BCPM.
        4. Copies will be stamped with the name of the collection it was copied from, the box and folder numbers if processing has been completed, and the date copied.
      2. Photographs: Photographs may be reproduced by the university photographer at patron expense.
        1. A fee, payable in advance, will be determined at the time of order, but patrons should understand that provision of the copies can require as much as two weeks or more.
        2. Photographic reproductions will be stamped on the back with the following:
          1. "Reproduced from an original in the Baylor Collections of Political Materials."
          2. "Copies are made for personal research only and cannot be further reproduced or placed in another repository without prior written permission of the Baylor Collections of Political Materials."
          3. Name of collection, box and folder number from with it came and date copied.
      3. Copy stands: Patrons may bring their own copy stands and use their own equipment in the presence of a staff member, but they must fill out a Photoduplication Order form just as though the staff were providing the service.
        1. A note will be made on the form to the effect: "Copied by patron using own equipment."
        2. The patron is responsible for labeling all copied materials as being from the Baylor Collections of Political Materials.
      4. Hand scanners: Original materials may NOT be scanned by the use of hand-scanners because of the danger of damage. However, patrons may purchase photocopies of needed items and hand-scan the copies.
      5. Finding Aids: Finding Aids, either photocopied or on computer disk, may be copied for patrons at their expense.
      6. Publication: Patrons intending to use duplicated materials for publication will need to request a letter granting permission from the Director of the BCPM for specific items as outlined on the Photoduplication Order form.