Historical Materials the Society Will Assist a Congregation in Preserving

As a part of the service which the Historical Society provides to congregations and organizations in the church one very important service is preserving historical materials. The Society will assist in the selection of material from congregations, which it will preserve in its archives.

While space is limited the Society is concerned about preserving those materials which will be most helpful to researchers in the future. Should the congregation wish to send other material not outlined in this brochure, contact should be made with the Society before the materials are sent to ascertain if the Society is able to handle them.

Material is sent at the sender's expense. Copies of material either on microfilm or original can be returned to congregations for a small fee per page.

Materials Considered to Be on Permanent Loan

Materials placed with the Historical Society remain the legal property of the congregation but are considered to be placed with the Society on a permanent basis. By action of the Official Board of the congregation original materials may be returned to the congregation for temporary purposes. Copies of material may be sent without official Board action.

In order to assist the congregation in knowing the length of time certain records should be kept the following information is given. The numbers in parenthesis indicate the number of years materials should be kept for legal purposes. A capital P indicates that the originals or copies should be kept permanently. Any questions pertaining to what or how to preserve materials will be gladly answered, if possible, by the staff of the Historical Society.

Materials and records are stored at the Society according to archival specifications for preserving their life and readability.

Basic Material to Be Preserved

• Church Worship Bulletins for special orders for occasions such as building dedications or ministerial installations will be preservedand placed in the congregational files.
  
  
• Rare Books and Periodicals, Diaries, Scrapbooks, Congregational and Organizational Histories, Pictorial Directories and Year Books are definitely wanted by the Society and will be preserved in their original form. These may be sent at any time.
  
  
• Board and Congregational Minutes (P), with department or committee reports attached, should be kept at least five (5) years before sending them to the Society. Copies may be sent annually or originals may be sent after five (5) years. Unless they are bound they will be put on microfilm.
  
  
• Correspondence is an item for various considerations. All correspondence should be kept a minimum length of time (5); correspondence relating to the calling of staff and correspondence relating to policies and legal transactions should be kept permanently. Copies may be sent to the Society annually or originals after five (5) years. Discretion will be used by the Historical Society in deciding what will be retained and how it shall be retained.
  
  
• Membership and Baptismal Records (P) may be sent to the Society on an annual basis or every five (5) years.
  
  
• Legal Papers should be kept in a fireproof vault and copies should be kept in other places for easy access. The Society will preserve copies of the originals if they become of historical nature after being held by the congregation (25). Papers pertaining to long life equipment should be kept as long as the equipment is in use.
• Financial Records such as ledgers, annual statements, audits and summary records of financial capital campaigns will be preserved by the Society.
  
  
• Photographs of key persons, groups and buildings will be kept by the Society if they are properly identified. Posters and charts cannot be maintained but close-up pictures can be taken of these with the prints and negatives sent to the Society for preservation. Blueprints of all buildings should be preserved and the Society is prepared to preserve copies. They should not be folded, but should be rolled.
• Visual and Audio Records will be kept if they are of a sampling of the regular services of worship or if they are of special services or events in the life of the congregation. Oral histories are of special significance and will be preserved.
  
  
• Miscellaneous items such as museum material, i.e. old communion ware, other documents not previously referred to; manuscripts, leaflets, pamphlets, and any such items may be of value but contact with the Society should be made before they are sent.

The above list of historical materials contains those items which are basic to historical preservation. Congregations will have special things which seem important to them. If it is the desire of the congregation to have the Historical Society preserve such items the leaders of the congregation need to be in conversation with the Historical Society staff.

Congregation and organization historical records are of value to the whole church as well as to the group to which they belong. They are a part of the much larger historical picture of the church. The records of your congregation should be important to you. They are also important for general historical research and study in the future.