2. archives 101
objectives
• Understand what an archive is
• Know the value of an archive
• Suggestions on what to include
• How to get management buy in
3. what is an archive?
An archive is a collection of inactive records that
are collected and stored because of their
historical importance and their usefulness as a
research tool.
4. records management & archives
Ideally the archive should be part
of a well-managed records
program.
• Records policy
• Records retention schedule
• Archive collection policy
6. what to save
• Deciding what to save in the archive is not an
easy task, especially in this information rich age
when we produce, copy and distribute thousands
of sheets of paper daily. In order to capture the
information that is most important, we use the
following criteria to decide what to archive:
– The record will be used in the future operations of the
Trusts;
– The record needs to be preserved for legal reasons;
– The record has historical value.
7. what we collect
The Pew Charitable Trusts started the archive
program in 1990 to capture the Trusts'
institutional memory.
– Administration: Board and Executive Office
– Operations: Communications, Legal, Finance,
Institutional Planning, IT
– Program: Pew Environment Group, Pew Center on
the States, Pew Health Group, Pew Fund for
Health and Human Services, etc.
8. housing the collection
• The Pew archive is housed a the Hagley
Museum and Library in Wilmington, DE
9. access policy
• Staff have access to all material except records
marked as confidential, such as the President
and CEO correspondence files.
• Outside researchers:
– submit request with purpose of research
– Pew archivist reviews the requests and makes
recommendation to President and CEO
– Pew President has final say
10. getting management buy-in
• primary purpose of the collection is for staff
not outsiders
• can serve as a foundation for an institutional
knowledge system
• provides institutional memory
