Before you toss or shred, take one last look and assess what departmental records you may be destroying forever. Some of those records may be non-current but they’re historic. And that’s when you need to call the Canisius College Archives.
All non-current historic records of departments and the college are covered by the College Retention Policy adopted May 2012. To avoid loss of these important records, you may need to transfer them to the Rev. J. Clayton Murray, S.J., College Archives & Special Collections located in the Library.
Kathleen DeLaney, college, archivist will assist anyone with questions about what constitutes a historic record. She can help any campus office determine whether or not its documents are considered historic. Records are sent to archives because they are of long-term, historical value but are not needed for day-to-day administration of the office in which it was originated or was received. Archival records are retained and preserved indefinitely.
A list of materials appropriate for transfer to the archives may be found here: http://library.canisius.edu/archives/guidelines
Policies and forms governing archives collection, care and use is located at: http://library.canisius.edu/archives/policies_forms
These policies are regularly updated and are governed by the best practices of the Society of American Archivists, and the New York State Archives and Historic Records policies and practices.
Please do not send materials to the archives without first contacting the department. The guidelines referenced above provide tips about preparing documents for transfer and include instructions for proper labeling of boxes or files. The archivist can clarify all of this information for you too.
Contact Kathleen DeLaney at ext. 8421 or delaneyk@canisius.edu.
Submitted by: Kathleen DeLaney, archivist/reference librarian
