Acquisition, Processing, and Disposition of Materials

Acquisition, Processing, and Disposition of Materials. The MDAH Director, Division director, and other designated Division staff may accept donations of materials or the transfer of state records. The MDAH Director or Division director must approve the purchase of materials. A Contract of Gift, signed by the donor and a Division representative, transfers title of non-state records to MDAH and conveys information about transfer of copyright, publicity, disposition of materials, and access restrictions. The contract is legally binding when signed by all parties. It is the donor’s responsibility to obtain an appraisal of materials for tax purposes. MDAH staff will not perform such services. The Division will evaluate, process, preserve, and maintain the materials in accordance with policies approved by the MDAH Board of Trustees and established archival practices. The Division will provide access to and make the materials available for research, duplication, and publication after processing and preservation work have been completed, and in accordance with policies approved by the MDAH Board of Trustees and established archival practices. Division staff may assess materials and, if most expedient to ensure preservation of the information, reformat materials and dispose of the original. Division staff also may appraise materials according to the selection criteria enumerated above and recommend disposition of materials determined not to be of sufficient long term archival value to warrant retention. Disposition of materials may include return to donor, transfer or donation to another institution, sale, destruction, or any other alternative consistent with appropriate archival practices. If not specified in the Contract of Gift, the collection archivist, in consultation with the Division director, will determine the disposition of materials. The Board of Trustees will approve the sale of any items. All preservation, reformatting, and disposal actions will be documented. This documentation as well as correspondence and other paperwork relating to the acquisition of the collection is public record.