Student Organizations

Records commonly transferred to the Archives include:

  • Constitutions, charters, and by-laws
  • Minutes and reports of meetings and committees
  • Membership lists
  • Organizational histories
  • Publications and publicity material:  newsletters, brochures, event programs and booklets
  • Officers’ files:  correspondence and memorandum (incoming and outgoing) and subject files concerning projects, activities, and functions
  • Scrapbooks
  • Audio-visuals: photographs, films, and video tapes

Items generally not transferred to the Archives include: 

  • Duplicate and blank forms
  • Detailed financial records, canceled checks, bank statements, and receipts
  • Plaques and trophies

Please transfer material in the order in which it was maintained. A brief inventory identifying the types of records included should accompany the transfer.


Tips for preserving an organization’s history

  1. Document activities: keep minutes of meetings, save copies of publications and flyers.
  2. Label materials with full names, dates, and descriptions of events or circumstances.
  3. Keep records together in one central place.
  4. Develop a straightforward filing system that works for your organization.
  5. Store records away from dampness, dust, excessive heat, and sun.
  6. Avoid using paper clips and rubber bands. If documents need to be kept together, use stainless steel staples or plastic clips.
  7. Develop a routine of transferring inactive records to the Archives at the end of the semester, year, or leader’s term of office.
  8. Consider the fate of non-paper documents. Electronic records can pose software and hardware access problems. Save CDs, memorabilia, photographs, posters, and tapes, as well as traditional paper documents.
  9. Get to know Ellen Swain, the Archivist for Student Life and Culture.

When in doubt, don’t throw it out!