Mission Statement

The permanent records of Connecticut College document the growth and development of the College and serve as an information resource for administrative decision-making and other College operations and activities. Furthermore these records are an important resource for the social and educational history and the United States, with special relevance for women’s studies and social science research. The mission of the Connecticut College Archives is to collect and preserve this permanent record of the history of the College and to make it available to qualified individuals who request to use it. The College Archives carries out this mission by:

  • Identifying, evaluating, collecting, arranging, describing, providing access to, and permanently preserving materials of historical, legal, or administrative value to the College.
  • Providing security for restricted or vital documents.
  • Promoting efficient recordkeeping practices within departments, offices and committees of the College.
  • Encouraging the use of the Archives by administrative staff, faculty, and qualified outside researchers.
  • Encouraging the use of the Archives by Connecticut College students, thereby providing them with research experience involving primary source materials.

Established and accepted by the Board of Trustees, August 1990

Mandate for the College Archives

To support the mission of the Connecticut College Archives, the Board of Trustees hereby adopts the following policies governing the development and preservation of the Archives.

  • All documents of enduring value generated or received by the administrative or academic offices in the conduct of College business and activities comprise the permanent records of the institution and should be regarded as the property of the College. These may include publications and correspondence, as well as biographical, financial and committee records, and do not preclude other materials.
  • The archival value of records shall be determined cooperatively by the head of the department of origin and the College Archivist, with advice from others when necessary. A records retention plan will be developed for each department to guide faculty and staff in managing their records and files. Records should not be discarded without first consulting the retention plan or, if necessary, the department head and the College Archivist.
  • The Archivist shall be given reasonable access to college records in order to develop a records retention and disposal plan for each department in cooperation with the department head. The department head, or an official designee, shall determine which records are in current use to be retained by the department. All non-current material of enduring value shall be transferred to the Archives according to a schedule unless otherwise decided by the department head and the Archivist.
  • The Archivist shall take appropriate measures to preserve, arrange and describe the valuable records of the College, provide access to and information about them, and make copies from originals as required for the business of the College or for individual research purposes.
  • If access to records transferred to the Archives is to be restricted in any way, such restrictions shall be determined by the department or office head and the archivist prior to transfer. Restriction on access shall be subject to review by the President or designee, and by College Counsel.
  • The College Archives shall be located in the Charles E. Shain Library and the Archivist shall report to the College Librarian.

Established and accepted by the Board of Trustees, August 1990