The SHRAB Manual
American Library Association-Society of American Archivists Joint Statement on Access: Guidelines for Access to Original Research Materials
- A repository1 preserves collections2 for use by researchers. It is the responsibility of a repository to make available original research materials in its possession on equal terms of access. Access should be provided in accordance with statutory authority, institutional mandate, the code of Ethics for Archivists,3 the Standards for Ethical Conduct for Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Librarians,4 and this Joint Statement. A repository should not deny access to materials to any researcher, nor grant privileged or exclusive use of materials to any researcher, nor conceal the existence of any body of material from any researcher, unless required to do so by statutory authority, institutional mandate, or donor or purchase stipulation.
- A repository is committed to preserving manuscript and archival materials and to making them available for research as soon as possible. At the same time, it is recognized that a repository may have legal and institutional obligations to protect confidentiality in its collections, and that private donors have the right to impose reasonable restrictions upon their papers to protect privacy or confidentiality for a reasonable period of time.
- It is the responsibility of the repository to inform researchers of the restrictions which apply to collections.
- The repository should discourage donors from imposing unreasonable restrictions and should encourage a specific time limitation on restrictions that are imposed.
- The repository should periodically reevaluate restricted material and work toward the removal of restrictions when they are no longer required.
End Notes
- A repository is defined as an archives, manuscripts library, research center, or any other institution responsible for keeping primary research materials.
- Collections are defined as individual manuscripts, archival or manuscript collections, fonds, or record groups found in repositories in any format.
- Code of Ethics for Archivists and Commentary (Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 1992).
- "Standards for Ethical Conduct for Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Librarians, with Guidelines for Institutional Practice in Support of the Standards," College & Research Libraries News 54 (April 1993): 207-215.
- Repositories wishing to participate in the interlibrary loan of materials may consult as a model the "Additional Guidelines for Access to Archives, Manuscripts, and Special Collections," Chapter 8 of the RLG Shared Resources Manual (3rd ed., Stanford, CA: Research Libraries Group, 1987.) The chapter is reprinted in Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship 3 (Fall 1998):126-130. Repositories wishing to loan original materials for research or exhibition may consult the RBMS "Guidelines for the Loan of Rare and Unique Materials," College & Research Libraries News 54 (May 1993):267-269, or the "Guidelines for Borrowing Special Collections Materials for Exhibition," College & Research Libraries News 51 (May 1990):430-434.
- Repositories may wish to provide researchers with the American Library Association's 1991 publication, Locating Copyright Holders.
Adopted by the American Library Association and
the Society of American Archivists
1994