Special Collections and Archives reserves the right to deaccession any materials from
the repository. Formal removal of holdings may be initiated for any one or more of
the following reasons:
The material in question falls beyond the collecting scope of the repository
The material in question duplicates information already available in Special Collections
and Archives
The material in question duplicates information available at another library or archival
repository
The material in question is damaged or deteriorated beyond the point of repair or
usability
Considerations
When evaluating material for deaccession, Special Collections and Archives staff will
consider the following issues:
Access to information: Reasonable efforts are made to limit the potential negative
impact to researchers
Alternate repositories: Reasonable efforts are made to identify institutions to acquire
deaccessioned material through records transfer
Records restrictions: The terms of records restriction or other considerations stipulated
in donation agreements are honored
Donor’s wishes: Reasonable efforts are made to contact the original donor, heirs of
the donor, or estate of the donor. All disposition decisions are to be made with the
donor’s wishes in mind.
Final Disposition
Materials selected for deaccession will be handled in one of the following ways:
Transfer - Materials may be returned to the original donor, family or estate of the
original donor, or transferred to an appropriate scholarly institution that maintains
a public research repository.
Destruction - Materials ineligible for records transfer may be destroyed.
Sale - Proceeds from the sale of any material are used exclusively for maintenance
and preservation of existing collections in the repository.
All material selected for deaccession requires a completed Record Deaccession Form.
