Dear Listers: I thought this would be of interest. Lauren * * * * * DONATING GENEALOGY MATERIALS By Susan Scouras [email protected] As a librarian with the West Virginia Archives and History Library, I would like to make several suggestions regarding recent discussion in Missing Links about what to do with one's personal genealogy when there is not another family historian who will appreciate the inheritance. Donation to a library, the larger and the more prominent the better, makes the information the most accessible to anyone searching for the same family. Do a little research to locate the library that has the best genealogy collection in the state or other geographic area most closely associated with your family. Possible recipients of your donation are a genealogical or historical society, a college or university library, a sizeable public library, or a state library and/or archives (in some states, the two functions are in separate agencies and in others are combined). Ask for a copy of their collection policy regarding donations, and discuss terms with them for the donation of your specific materials. Ask how materials are made available to the public and how different types of materials will be preserved. Be prepared to be flexible. Keeping all of your materials in the same box, regardless of type or format, will not be feasible for many institutions nor wise for preservation purposes. Generally, photographs will be housed in a photograph collection, bound books (with a gift plate inserted) will go on the library shelves, letters and journals may go in a manuscript collection, genealogy charts will be placed in a folder in a map case, while postcards and scrapbooks will be considered special collections. The West Virginia State Archives even has a separate collection of West Virginia family Bibles. Regardless, in any setting most materials should be accessible through the library's catalog under the subject heading of your family name. Usually you will be asked to sign a donation form that allows the institution to use the materials as it sees fit, as long as you are credited as the donor. I know West Virginia Archives and History does not make a significant profit from this practice; however, I realize that our fee schedule is necessary to cover our costs. For example, area restaurants and other businesses often decorate with copies of photographs of West Virginia scenes from our collection. We also receive requests from all types of publishers and filmmakers for West Virginia-related images. When we provide these images, we always name the donor ("From the A. B. Cee Collection.") and ask that the donor be credited. Individuals may also purchase photographic copies of images in our collection. If you donate a typescript of your family history, generally the West Virginia Archives and History Library will have your manuscript bound in a standard library binding, cataloged as a published book, and placed on the library shelf for public use. Based on our experience with genealogy collections accepted by us in the past, we know an explanation of how the material is organized will be very helpful. While various record-keeping systems for family history have been developed and improved over the years, there is no standard method for organizing a family tree. Please include a description of the system you have adopted or that you have devised for yourself. If no one can figure out how your system works, your information has limited value. At the very least, a good genealogy chart that shows names and dates will be a basic guide to accessing the more detailed information in your collection. Please, please, please do not assume that the library will do the organizing for you! Few, if any, tax-supported institutions are going to have the staff time to spend on this type of project unless your family history is of significant historical interest in some way (prominent politician, scientist, artist, author, etc.). A bonus of donating to an institution such as the West Virginia State Archives is that your materials are also made available to the State Museum for display. If you have clothing, artifacts, antiques, etc., that you would like to donate along with your research materials, in West Virginia you can keep them all in the same building. The State Museum considers these type of items with West Virginia connections, while all paper, photographic, tape and film formats are reviewed by the State Archives for acceptance. We are also interested in West Virginia- related business or professional records for our collection. We have architectural drawings, blueprints, account ledgers, etc., from a variety of West Virginians. Look for a similar arrangement in your state of choice. Finally, please write or call the institution and make formal arrangements for acceptance of your donation. While the West Virginia Archives and History Library will accept any family history book for the library collection, all other materials must have a West Virginia connection to be considered for acquisition. Most libraries and archives will have similar policies. If the institution you have selected is not the appropriate place for your collection, hopefully the staff there can guide you to a better home for your work. For more information on West Virginia Archives and History, visit our Web site at http://www.wvculture.org/history . * * * * * Previously published in MISSING LINKS, Vol. 7, No. 44, 3 November 2002 http://www.petuniapress.com