Donate Your Documents
We invite inquiries from individuals who are interested in locating, contacting, and selecting appropriate repositories for the permanent retention of collections of their own personal and professional/scientific/clinical papers and organizational records.
Inquire about:
- Finding an Archival Repository (ACNP History of Neuropsychopharmacology Archives; alma mater; etc.)
- What to Preserve
- Donating Papers and Records to a Repository
- Access to Materials
- Restrictions on Access to Sensitive Materials
- Copyright
- Seeking Monetary Appraisals for Tax Donations
- Books
- Supporting Archives
Historical repositories, also called archives, are found in agencies or libraries whose mission is to ensure the protection and accessibility of the materials they house. An archives provides environmentally- and physically-secure storage for manuscripts of permanent importance and inactive organizational records, and safeguards these records by monitoring their access and use. More important, it can provide research access to the information in the documents, both to members of the profession and to the public. By placing personal and professional papers in an archival repository you take an important step toward their preservation and continued use.
What documents should be placed in an archival repository?
Many of the documents produced by an individual or an organization have long-term value. A repository is interested in the records that best document processes such as research, invention and instruction, or illustrate the purpose, activities and policies of an organization. Records should be inactive—that is, no longer used for routine business. Because the research value of records may be diminished if items are removed or shuffled, records should not be weeded, discarded, or rearranged before they are examined by an archivist.
Documenting scientific activities and careers
Archives consist of a wide range of records and personal papers that document scientific/clinical careers and organizations:
- Biographical material: CVs, bio-bibs, interviews, memoirs
- Correspondence and email
- Diaries and appointment calendars
- Research files: outlines, proposals, notes on experimental designs, raw data, lab notebooks, grant reports, patents
- Drafts & manuscripts of papers, books, reviews, speeches
- Published papers and monographs
- Instructional material
- Professional organizational files: agendas, minutes, committee correspondence, memoranda, reports
- Filmed, taped, or digital audio/visuals of lectures
- Speeches, interviews
- Photographs and slides
- Ephemera, scrapbooks, memorabilia