Alexian Brothers Provincial Archives Policy Statement
- Purpose
- Authority
- Authority and Position of Archivist
- Collection Policy
- Founding documents, Articles of Incorporation, bylaws, merger documents, etc. that document the authority and reasons for existence of the entity
- Administrative and Operational correspondence and files of enduring value relating to the development of the Province, corporation, or local religious community, policies, programs, physical plant, recruitment of key personnel, and other major decisions and activities
- Reports of major or significant activities and House Diaries
- Policy and Procedure Manuals and other guides produced within the institution or local religious community
- Minutes, reports, and supporting documents of local religious communities, all governing boards, standing and ad hoc committees, subcommittees, departments, medical staff, and other policy setting groups
- Surveys, studies, and other significant reports
- Audited Financial Statements, Financial plans, capital and operating budget summaries
- Strategic Planning documents
- Legal files including bequests, wills, and estate papers (final document); copyright registration; correspondence on major or significant issues including tax, real estate, probate, etc.; significant litigation; briefs to the Supreme Court; tax exempt files, certificates, and Form 990; Counsel's opinions; closed property files such as deeds, easements, mortgages, etc.; contracts concerning construction and improvements of the physical plant; policy statements
- Records of the Auxiliaries, Foundations, Guilds, Leagues, Friends, and other volunteer and fund raising groups including but not limited to: Articles of Incorporation, bylaws, President's books, minutes, reports, files on special activities, directories, membership and donor records, newsletters, invitations, programs and memorabilia
- Construction records such as contracts, architectural plans, specifications, blueprints, and maps documenting physical growth and development
- Major affiliation agreements
- Public Relations material
- Official publications such as annual reports, newsletters, directories, press releases, and in-house publications on all levels
- Newspaper clippings and other external publicity about the facility or local religious community
- Photographs of Brothers and local religious communities, staff, groups, buildings, and events; audiovisual materials documenting development and special events or activities; scrapbooks, etc.
- Historical artifacts, including ephemera
- Invitations, programs, and memorabilia of all types
- Samples of stationery, postcards, community or facility Christmas cards, etc.
- Grant Award Files: Includes proposals and notification of grant award, funds requested, in-kind contributions and plan of work, statement of terms and conditions of funded grant project
Grant Progress and Final Performance Reports: Statements on progress, problems, and successes in completion of the grant project, including annual, periodic, and final performance reports
- Access
The purpose of Alexian Brothers Provincial Archives ("Archives") is to collect, organize, preserve, and make available the inactive records of permanent historical value of the Congregation of Alexian Brothers Immaculate Conception Province ("Province") and its corporate entities. Historical value is defined as the evidential value of a record—the evidence it contains on the organization, functions, and activities of its creating body over time, as well as the informational importance of records—what it tells us about the persons, places, things, conditions, and problems with which the body dealt.
The Archives serves and supports the activities of the Province by making available information and documentation from the religious and institutional records in the collection. For senior members, the Archives serves as a reminder of their years of fruitful service, and gives them an assurance that their work is continuing. For younger members, archival materials provide knowledge of the Province's heritage, an appreciation for the dedication and sacrifice of those who preceded them, an incentive to keep alive and viable the motivating spirit that marks one as an Alexian Brother.
The Provincial Senate established the Provincial Archives by formal action on December 14, 1973. The Archivist has access to all records of both the Province and the corporate entities to identify, appraise, acquire, and take steps for the physical care and preservation of inactive, permanent records that have historical value. The Province has ultimate authority over the holdings of the Archives.
Material acquired by the Archives is subject to archival appraisal and becomes its property to be administered as the Archivist determines, subject to the authority delegated by the Province. The Archives will reserve the right to dispose of material deemed non-archival. Material processed into the Archives becomes a permanent part of its collections.
The Archives shall be under the direction of an archivist who has the authority to acquire, arrange and describe, take preservation measures, and provide access to the collection, and will perform these duties based on sound archival principles, and in conformance with ABA Policy 106, "Provincial Archives" and ABHS Policy 103, "Archives."
The archivist conducts research for and provides reference assistance to the Congregation of Alexian Brothers and Alexian Brothers Health System and its units ("ABHS".) Independent researchers will be assisted on specific questions or research topics subject to the conditions stated in the Policy on Access and Use.
The archivist reports to the Provincial of the Immaculate Conception Province.
Records, historical materials, and artifacts of lasting historical or institutional significance that are created or received through the official activities of the Province and ABHS, and serve to document the organization, functions, policies and procedures, major decisions or other significant activities will be accessioned by the Archives. Such items are not to be discarded, transferred or otherwise disposed of except as provided by state and federal laws and the general rules of the institutions without consulting the archivist. Non-archival materials that are transferred to the Archives will be destroyed.
All permanent records will be sent to the Archives when the responsible administrative officer or department head determines that they are no longer current/active. Records should be transferred to the Archives in the same arrangement in which they were used in the office of origin. Material transferred to the Archives will not be removed without the archivist's approval.
The archivist will be available to consult with departments, offices, and individuals in order to identify those records that have long-term historical value.
Examples of permanent records and historical materials include, but are not limited to:
Restrictions are assigned to each category of records by a general consensus of the Provincial, the President, and Legal Counsel.
Open: Access is allowed at the discretion of the archivist
Limited: Access is granted by written permission of the Provincial or the President
Restricted: Access to records designated as Legal Material is granted by written permission of the General Counsel of ABHS.
Departments or persons who have created the records have unlimited access to those materials.
Reproduction fees may be charged for the duplication of materials from the collection.
Approved:
Brother Edward Walsh, Provincial, June 12, 1998
Brother Felix Bettendorf, President, June 16, 1998
Approved by the Provincial Council: June 18, 1998
Glossary of Terms
Access
Availability of records, or permission to use them.
Accession
The formal acceptance of records into physical and legal custody as an addition to the archival holdings.
Appraisal
The process of determining the value and thus the disposition of records based on their administrative, fiscal, or legal use; their evidential and informational value; their arrangement and condition; their intrinsic value; and their relationship to other records.
Archives
(1) The records of continuing value of an organization; specifically, non-current records that have been transferred to a place of long term storage because of their continuing or enduring value. (2) The building or area in which the permanent records are kept. (3) The agency, organization or program responsible for selection, care, and use of archival material.
Disposition
The physical actions taken regarding records that are no longer needed to support on-going administrative functions, in accordance with the institution's records disposal schedules. Possible actions include permanent retention in the administrative unit, transfer to the Archives, transfer to inactive storage space, and destruction by such methods as dumping, recycling, or shredding.
Evidential Value
The value of the information as evidence of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations and other activities of the body that produced the record. The concept of evidential value has come to dominate record selection in most institutional archives.
Inactive Records
Records which are not referenced regularly, or which are not needed for current use by the creating administrative unit for the conduct of regular business.
Informational Value
Information about objects of bureaucratic activity: the persons, places, and activities with which the institution dealt.
Record
A document, of whatever physical form and characteristics, created or received and accumulated by an administrative unit in the conduct of official business.
