GENERAL POLICIES
Please fill out the Item Request Form or email the Special Collections Librarian to retrieve materials.
Most materials in the Special Collections and Archives can only be accessed in the Wardman Library Reading Room or, in the instance of digitized pieces, online. Currently, Wardman Library is only open to students, alumni, staff, and current and emeritus faculty. If you do not fall into one of these categories and wish to access the Special Collections and Archives, please fill out the Item Request Form or email the Special Collections Librarian in order to arrange for an appointment. Visitors who are concerned about their ability to access materials are encouraged to contact the Special Collections Librarian to discuss accommodations and solutions.
While handling collections patrons may use pencils, laptops, notebooks, and digital cameras. Food and drink are not allowed in the Reading Room, but storage lockers are available for use. Many of the items in our Special Collections are rare, unique, or fragile; to ensure their continued stability, you may be asked to follow specific handling protocols.
Please contact the library if you have materials that you wish to donate.
In order to enhance the quality and usefulness of Wardman Library’s Special Collections and Archives, the Collection aims to acquire, preserve, and share a specific sub-set of materials. These materials include information and artifacts pertaining to:
More subjects may be added to this list on the basis of student/faculty interest or if gifts are made to the college. These materials are maintained primarily for the use and benefit of Whittier College students, faculty, staff, and alumni, but the Special Collections and Archives are also open to use by members of the community, outside researchers, and other interested parties.
The Special Collections and Archives also adhere to the American Library Association’s “Library Bill of Rights,” which asserts that:
I. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
II. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
III. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.
IV. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.
V. A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.
VI. Libraries which make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.
VII. All people, regardless of origin, age, background, or views, possess a right to privacy and confidentiality in their library use. Libraries should advocate for, educate about, and protect people’s privacy, safeguarding all library use data, including personally identifiable information.
(Adopted June 19, 1939, by the ALA Council; amended October 14, 1944; June 18, 1948;
February 2, 1961; June 27, 1967; January 23, 1980; inclusion of “age” reaffirmed January 23,
1996. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill.)
As such, no material will be turned away or removed from the collection on the basis that the subject matter is distasteful, offensive, or contrary to the values of Whittier College. Access to material that is deemed capable of facilitating harm may, however, be restricted at the discretion of the Special Collections Librarian and the Library Director, as will materials containing sensitive or personal information. Access to materials may also be restricted, or gifts of materials be declined, due to the condition or value of the materials; the Special Collections only maintains those materials that it is able to responsibly care for and preserve.
Materials may be considered for withdrawal only under specific conditions:
Please contact the Special Collections Librarian if you would like photocopies, reproductions, or other facsimile of our materials, or if you would like permission to publish a reproduction or facsimile. Patrons visiting the Special Collections and Archives in person are also allowed to use their own devices to take pictures of those materials not held in copyright and without restrictions.
The American Library Association’s “Library Bill of Rights” states that, “All people, regardless of origin, age, background, or views, possess a right to privacy and confidentiality in their library use. Libraries should advocate for, educate about, and protect people’s privacy, safeguarding all library use data, including personally identifiable information”. Special Collections must collect some information in order to best serve its patrons, but that information is limited and consciously safeguarded.
We collect:
Your name;
Your phone number and email address;
Your research topic, if applicable;
Your relationship with Whittier College, if applicable;
Your affiliation with other organizations that motivated your visit, such as your university, place of work, or community group.
If you are accessing rare, valuable, delicate, or sensitive materials, we may ask for a copy of some form of identification, such as a student ID card. If we do, that copy will be shredded at the conclusion of your visit.
We do not collect:
Details of what materials you accessed;
Your address;
Your affiliation with any organizations that do not pertain to your visit.
(Adopted June 19, 1939, by the ALA Council; amended October 14, 1944; June 18, 1948; February 2, 1961; June 27, 1967; January 23, 1980; inclusion of “age” reaffirmed January 23, 1996. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill.)
Whittier College Digital Preservation Policy
Policy Statement
Whittier College’s Special Collections performs digital preservation methods to the best of our abilities in order to preserve the college’ historical materials and support “the research, curricular, and information needs of the students and faculty of Whittier College” (Wardman Library “Our Mission”).
Introduction
The purpose of Whittier College’s Digital Preservation Policy is to support the access of Whittier College Special Collections materials by college faculty, staff, and students. Our main objective is to properly preserve our historic materials to make them accessible and viewable for future administration, enjoyment, and use. We prioritize the larger mission of the college rather than our personal priorities. This policy will be utilized in reporting to the Dean of Faculty to assist in demonstrating the value of the library to the college, as well as being used in the annual report.
This policy will continuously be updated as technology evolves; new and emerging technologies will greatly impact the way in which we preserve and provide access to digital content. For the purpose of this policy, “digital preservation” is defined as the combination of policies, strategies, and actions which ensures authenticity, integrity, reliability, long-term access to, and use of digital assets under the care of Whittier College’s Wardman Library.
Objectives of Policy
Transparency
Whittier College Wardman Library strives to keep our patrons up to date as frequently and consistently as possible when it comes to current policies, practices, procedures, and strategies related to that of digital preservation whenever possible.
Scope
The policy covers all materials within the college archives and special collections with an emphasis on materials and formats that are likely to degrade or become obsolete. We do not digitize works published elsewhere and/or that are not considered archival. Newsletters of other organization books under print or copyright are also not within our scope. Please note that under copyright law, we only deal with digitizing works that are under Whittier Creative Commons license.
Selection Criteria
The points listed below are the criteria by which we determine our digitization priorities. The order in which digitization takes place is based on these criteria and are subject to change based on the acquirement of new acquisitions or changing conditions.
*The above selection criteria also applies to all donation inquiries
When will my donation be digitized?
We are limited in the number of staff available to conduct digitization work. Additionally, our timeline on how quickly digitizing occurs fluctuates due to budget. Typically we employ an intern whose main task is assisting in digitizing. If any year’s budget does not allow for an intern, less digitizing will be done. Therefore, the time it takes to see a donation completely digitized varies greatly.
Strategies
When we receive an item that requires digitization, we will rank the item by its importance compared to the rest of the collection. This strategy allows us to create a schedule of items that need to be digitized. You may refer to our Collection Development Policy to see that our priorities align with our Digital Preservation Policy.
Operating Principles
What we digitize is primarily uploaded to Poet Commons; the college’s digital repository, hosted by bepress and Elsevier’s Digital Commons. We occasionally loosely utilize Dublin Core, an international metadata standard.
Methods of Preservation
Please be made aware that there is no single, standardized method of digital preservation for all items. However, our primary digitization method consists of scanning analog materials and uploading them to our primary student/faculty repository, Poet Commons.
Who utilizes our digital collections?
Our patron use predominantly remains internal, meaning our own student body, staff, and faculty. As time goes on, we do hope to make our digitized collections more discoverable to researchers outside of the College community.
Date/Authors
Latest Revisions: 5/5/2024. Wardman Library, Whittier College.
Related Documents
Policy Review
This policy is reviewed when digitization goals are met and new acquisitions are made.
Last Reviewed: May 2024