Special Collections + Archives Collection Development Policy

Sections of this policy include Special Collections Goals, University Archives, Area Research Center (ARC), Local History Book Collection, and the Rare Book Collection.

Special Collections Goals

The goals of Special Collections are to:

1. Preserve, organize, and describe all collections according to current archival and library standards.
2. Continually improve intellectual control over and access to the collections, including integrating Special Collections holdings into the information systems of the library, university, and University of Wisconsin System, and developing new information services.
3. Enhance collections through supplementing the university's archives with related historical materials, assisting the Wisconsin Historical Society in acquiring additional historical records related to the Chippewa Valley, and further developing the Rare Book Collection.
4. Provide curricular services and other academic support to the university; create a heightened awareness of the department as a laboratory for faculty/student collaborative research and the communities we serve.
5. Provide outreach services to local historical and genealogical societies, museums, libraries, archives, and schools; develop a firm working relationship with local historical societies in the ARC region so that the ARC can serve as a catalyst for sound local history research.
6. Collaborate with the University of Wisconsin Records Officers Council to develop and implement UW System General Records Schedules on the UW-Eau Claire campus.
7. Work in collaboration with local and regional repositories to support the growth and development of archival collections across the Chippewa Valley. A collaborative collecting agreement between the department, the Chippewa Valley Museum, and L. E. Phillips Memorial Public Library exists.

University Archives

The specific mission of the University Archives is to:

1. Appraise, collect, organize, describe, interpret, and preserve the university's official permanent records as well as related historical materials in any format, including electronic records. Coordinate with the University Records Management Program to transfer archival materials into the University Archives in accordance with active records retention schedules.
2. Provide access to these materials.
3. Provide information and academic support services to the administration, faculty, students, and others interested in the institution's history.
4. Provide consultation and support services to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Barron County to aid in the growth and development of its own archival collections.

For the University Archives, collection development seeks to document the activities and functions of the university community. The four major areas of interest are:

1. administration of the university,
2. intellectual life on campus,
3. student life and activities, and
4. university/community relations.

Area Research Center (ARC)

The Wisconsin Historical Society and the University of Wisconsin (UW) System cooperate in a network of ARCs located at UW campus libraries throughout the state and at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center. Each area research center serves a specific geographic location. Records created in and focused on the region served by a particular ARC are housed permanently at the appropriate center.

1. House and maintain the six-county regional collections belonging to the Wisconsin Historical Society, that document the social, business, economic, demographic, political, governmental, and administrative history of the Chippewa Valley. The Eau Claire Area Research Center is responsible for collecting from a geographic region consisting of the Wisconsin Counties of Eau Claire, Chippewa, Clark, Taylor, Rusk, and Buffalo.
2. Make these collections available to the university community and the public.
3. Provide access to the Wisconsin Historical Society's collections through the Area Research Center Network.
4. Support the Wisconsin Historical Society’s acquisition of solicited and unsolicited offers of historical materials pertaining to these six counties.

Local History Book Collection

The local history book collection consists of published materials pertaining primarily to the six-county region covered by the Eau Claire ARC and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Titles are added to the collection through both donation and limited purchase of appropriate materials.

Rare Book Collection

The specific mission for the Rare Book Collection is to:

The rare book collection consists primarily of British and American first editions of literature from approximately 1850 to 1950. The rare book collection is not an area of focus for collection development, but unsolicited donations that compliment the collection’s primary focus are welcomed.

This policy is reviewed and/or updated annually.