http://dspace.library.cornell.edu/bitstream/1813/52/3/Archives+or+assets.html Archives or Assets? by PETER B. HIRTLE, Cornell University 58th president of the Society of American Archivists That archival records can have monetary value is not a surprise to any practicing archivist. We are custodians of records that are of incalculable value in the study of our history, culture, and values—and that can also be sold on eBay or in an auction house for substantial sums. I have heard it estimated that at my own institution, Cornell University, the library is the single largest asset that the university owns. Since Cornell has among its seventy million manuscripts items such as a copy of the Gettysburg Address in Lincoln's hand and some of James Joyce's manuscripts for Ulysses, it would be easy to imagine that most of the value in the library resides in the archival and manuscript collections.