Donations

Any potential donation of historical materials should be discussed with the department’s staff in advance of the gift. External (non-University) donors are required to complete a Deed of Gift form. Having accurate and thorough documentation of donations is beneficial for our repository as well as for researchers. This form can be completed online or downloaded and filled out as a PDF.

• Deed of Gift online form.
• Deed of Gift PDF.

Please call (208) 885-0845 or email libspec@uidaho.edu to discuss any potential donations of archives, personal papers, photographs, and/or select publications to Special Collections in the University of Idaho Library.

Faculty Papers Donation Guidelines

• Faculty Papers Donation Guidelines PDF.

Special Collections and Archives collects faculty papers to preserve the institutional history of our university. It is important to document how decisions were made, how policies evolved, and how the university functioned as an organization over time. Our primary focus is on materials that document your role in the university’s governance, administration, and institutional life. We are most interested in materials that show how you contributed to shaping the university as an institution: your service on committees, leadership of programs or departments, involvement in policy development, and engagement in matters that affected the university community. These materials help future researchers understand how the University of Idaho operated, evolved, and responded to challenges over time.

We are also interested in discipline-specific scholarly materials when they align with the U of I’s research strengths and regional collecting areas, such as environmental studies, natural resources, agriculture, and other fields central to the university’s mission and the state’s history. Scholarly, literary, and artistic work of national or international recognition or acclaim, produced during a faculty member’s time at U of I, is also appropriate for our collection. Additionally, as a major historical repository for the state of Idaho, we collect materials about Idaho’s history, culture, environment, and communities, regardless of academic discipline. Scholarly materials outside these areas are typically better preserved through disciplinary archives, research libraries, or professional organizations in your field.

The guidelines below will help you identify which materials from your career best align with the collecting interests of the university archive. We ask all prospective donors to schedule a consultation with an archivist in advance of transferring any materials. This helps both parties identify the most appropriate materials for acquisition by the archives.

Please contact us with questions or when you are ready to schedule a consultation with a Library archivist.

University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives libspec@uidaho.edu 208.885.0845

Top Priorities

General Guidance:

Focus on materials that document your contributions to the university as an institution and your role in shaping its policies, programs, and community rather than routine activities. Consider what would help future researchers understand how the university functioned, made decisions, and evolved during your time here. When in doubt about correspondence, prioritize letters that involve substantive discussions about institutional matters, policy development, or significant university issues. For research materials related to the University of Idaho’s strengths or to Idaho itself, include enough documentation that someone could understand your methods and approach. Materials that document the process, context, and unique observational record of research are valuable, while materials that duplicate the published scholarly record are not. Similarly, materials offering unique documentation of Idaho, like original observations, data, perspectives, or records not available elsewhere, are most valuable for our role as a state historical repository.

Instructional History Collecting Guidance:

More Valuable	Less Valuable
Materials documenting institutional service, governance, and decision-making	Routine administrative paperwork like meeting agendas without your annotations
Correspondence about university policies or procedures	Duplicates of widely available publications
Administrative records for programs or departments, particularly from leadership	Routine office files like supply catalogs, mass mailings or promotional materials
Materials showing institutional change or disputes	Personal materials like financial records or correspondence unrelated to work

Discipline-Specific Scholarship Collecting Guidance:

More Valuable	Less Valuable
Original scholarly, literary, or artistic work of national or international significance	Published books and articles already available through the library
Teaching materials that represent innovative approaches, curriculum development, or course materials that document pedagogical evolution over time	Routine course materials such as standard syllabi, routine assignments and exams, and student work
Correspondence between peers about news or issues within the discipline	Correspondence about routine manuscript preparation
Documentation of particular research methods and approach	Subject files of copied sources
Field notebooks and research journals, or a sampling of photographs related to field research
Original data, measurements, and observations

Idaho History Collecting Guidance:

More Valuable	Less Valuable
Field notebooks and research journals, and a sampling of photographs related to field research	Published books and articles already available through the library
Original data, measurements, and observations	Correspondence about routine manuscript preparation
Primary sources such as diaries or personal papers acquired in the process of researching	Duplicate copies of widely available Idaho materials
Photos of Idaho, such as landscapes, communities, people, events, environmental conditions, or cultural life	Subject files of copied sources
Correspondence with Idaho residents, organizations, or institutions related to the research
Oral history recordings or transcripts with Idaho subjects
Materials documenting Idaho-specific events, policies, or controversies not widely available to the public
Maps, charts, or visual materials depicting Idaho geography, demographics, or other data not widely available to the public

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Internal Transfers

Transfer of Records to Special Collections and Archives from University of Idaho partners

The following requirements shall be met before any transfer of University of Idaho records to the Library Special Collections and Archives department:

• An initial consultation with Special Collections and Archives to discuss scope of collection
• Detailed and accurate labeling of record boxes/folders/enclosures
• Complete box inventories and transfer form

Preparing Records for Transfer

• The Special Collections and Archives prefers a standard sized durable box 15” in width x 11.5” in width x 10.5” in height and made of an acid neutral or acid free material, if possible
• Pack records in the same order in which they are/were filed in the office
• Leave space within the container for ease of reference (about 2-3” of working space)
• Remove or replace hanging file folders with plain folders
• Provide notification about condition of records, such as items that are fragile or unique/rare or that require special archival attention
• Remove any records that contain sensitive personnel information, such as performance reviews or letters of recommendation, or student information protected by FERPA
• Don’t send boxes of unfoldered records
• Boxes should ideally weigh no more than 35 lbs.

Labeling and Numbering Boxes

• Label boxes on the side (under the handle)
• Using a marker or pencil, clearly note on the side of the box:
  • The name, division, or other organizational unit that the documents are associated with
  • The type of records within the box
  • The year or year range of records within the box
  • Any sealed or restricted records series
• Number the boxes with consecutive numbers - for example: 1993-1, 1993-2, 1993-3, etc.

Box Inventories

• Each records box shall contain an inventory/container list. If the inventory was created electronically, please provide a copy with the transfer form.

Records Transfer Form

• Attach a copy of the inventory to the transfer form
• Please keep a copy of the transfer form
• The transfer form should accompany the records at the time of transfer or can be sent electronically or by mail

Terms and Conditions

• It is understood that management of transferred materials becomes the responsibility of Special Collections and Archives, including decisions about retention, access, arrangement, distribution, and exhibition. Decisions will be informed by professional best practices and university priorities
• Once transferred, items in the archives do not circulate, and all access to said items will be restricted to the Library premises

Forms:

• Internal Transfer online form.
• Internal Transfer PDF form.

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Monetary Support

Monetary support is not required when gifting archival materials. Financial contributions do enable timely processing and helps underwrite the costs of long-term high security storage. Such funds are used to organize, maintain, and care for our collections so that they may be preserved and made available for future generations.

Gift funds may be used to honor an individual, a family, a company, or an organization, and the Library will work with donors to employ appropriate means to publicly acknowledge donations. If interested in making a monetary gift to Special Collections and Archives, please contact Dulce Kersting-Lark, department Head, at dulce@uidaho.edu or call (208) 885-1309. To discuss setting up endowments or bequests, please contact Ben Hunter, Dean of University of Idaho Libraries, at bhunter@uidaho.edu or call (208) 885-5858. More information is also available on the Giving page.