The McDaniel College Archives houses the official records of the College and related collections and materials selected and preserved for their enduring historical, scholarly, and administrative value. The Archives is committed to providing access to its collections as far as possible within the limits of privacy and confidentiality, and following the guidance outlined in the SAA Core Values Statement and Code of Ethics, and the ALA-SAA Joint Statement of Access: Guidelines for Access to Original Research Materials.
However, many materials in the Archives may be closed, or have other restrictions placed upon them for legal or other reasons. Restrictions on materials may be imposed by a law, regulation, donor, the institutional office from which the records originated, or the Archivist per standard archival procedure and best practices. Restrictions may apply to parts or the entirety of collections and/or record groups. Requests to reproduce or publish restricted records generally will be denied.
By operational necessity, the Archivist and Library Director (when the Archivist is unavailable) have access to all archival materials, both restricted and unrestricted. Volunteers or student workers in the Archives have permission to access all unrestricted materials, and only those restricted materials directly related to their projects or work in the Archives. Donors or the originating office have full access to the materials that they have donated or transferred to the Archives.
Researchers will be granted access to all unrestricted materials in accordance with the rules and policies of the McDaniel College Archives governing the use of manuscript, archival, and special collections materials.
Researchers who have been permitted to use collection materials, especially unprocessed or partially processed collections, may come in contact with materials that contain private or restricted information about individuals or organizations, and must understand that they may not convey this information to anyone by any means.
Manuscript materials generally consist of paper/photographic collections produced by, for, and about individuals, organizations, or particular subjects. Many of the manuscript collections in the Archives consist of the papers and memorabilia of alumni and faculty. Special Collections materials are related to a subject or interest and may contain several types of material, including books, manuscripts, photographs, memorabilia, and other artifacts. Manuscript and Special Collections materials are generally unrestricted and open for research, and the Archives encourages the use of these collections.
College Records are the non-current official records produced by or for the College that are kept for their continuing and enduring value to the College’s history. Many of these records are considered to be closed or otherwise restricted. The following record groups are open for research:
For access to all other materials considered to be College Records, please contact the Archivist, who will determine if there are any additional restrictions which may be on the materials. If restrictions exist, permission must be secured in writing prior to use from the originating office and the Archivist, and/or any other office(s) whose permission may be required to grant use of the materials.
All visiting researchers must complete and submit a Researcher Registration Form prior to use of any non-circulating materials, and comply with all policies of the McDaniel College Archives governing the use of manuscript, archives, and special collections materials. Any researchers wishing to publish or publish from any materials must complete and submit a Request for Permission to Publish.
All researchers who wish to use restricted materials must additionally complete and submit a Request for Use of Restricted Materials. The researcher must clearly state his or her research goals and reasons why use of the restricted materials would be important for the outcome of the proposed project. The request will then be reviewed by the Archivist, and the appropriate permissions will be sought. Decisions will be based on the merits of each request, weighing the needs of scholarship against the privacy rights of individuals and the legal and other interests and obligations of the College. The Archivist and/or the originating offices reserve the right to deny any request for use of restricted materials.
Researchers wishing to use unprocessed or partially processed collection materials must be aware that their request for use may be denied or delayed until such time as the requested materials can be reviewed and/or processed by the Archivist. This is meant to ensure that any potential restrictions on or restricted materials in the request may be identified and handled appropriately prior to researcher use, to identify any potential preservation concerns and to assess the condition of the materials prior to researcher use, and to ensure the security and integrity of the materials.
Any materials originating from, or for which there is strong evidence or belief to have originated from, the President’s Office, regardless of collection or record group, will be treated as restricted. Written permission must be granted from the President’s Office for any use or reproduction of these materials. Exceptions to these restrictions may include:
In cases where restrictions on materials cannot be determined, are disputed, or other questions about restrictions arise, the materials will be reviewed by the Archivist and/or Library Director, who will make a reasonable effort to determine if any existing restrictions on materials exist, and use their discretion in providing access to and reproductions of the materials in accordance with the rules and policies of the McDaniel College Archives. Researchers must be aware that their request for use may be denied or delayed until any such restrictions on materials can be determined.
McDaniel College
2 College Hill, Westminster, MD 21157
Phone 410.857.2281
