Library Archives: Use and Access Defined

Basically, an archival collection is a repository for important documents and/or memorabilia, usually pertaining to historical figures, organizations or events. Such material provides scholars with the primary sources needed to construct an objective historical account. Patrons of our collections include members of all levels of this and other academic communities - administration, faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, and alumni - as well as other interested researchers.

Researchers are invited to use the Providence College Archives and Special Collections by signing our guest register. We answer requests for information on various collections but do not provide detailed reference reports on entire collections. Researchers are advised to consult with the staff on using the appropriate finding aids.

The desire to maintain the historical integrity, order and value of our College and manuscript holdings is a basic consideration. Therefore, requests to copy large portions of a collection are discouraged.

The Committee on College Archives and Special Collections, with the approval of the Committee on Administration, has established four (4) classes of material to provide access for proper historical inquiry while safeguarding the right of the donor (individual, organization, College official/department) to stipulate restrictions on access. Groups of documents or individual pieces may be:

SEALED--Materials are completely unavailable, even for processing, for a specified number of years. CLOSED--Documents are processed but available only to scholars having written permission from the donor.
RESTRICTED--Records are generally available for research, but users must obtain permission from the donor before citing or quoting for publication.
OPEN--Access is controlled only by the physical condition of the records and by scholarly courtesy.

Approved by College Archives and Special Collections Committee
November 6, 2002

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