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Archive |
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Guidelines for Access to RecordsThe Archives is committed to an on-going effort to collect records which deal with the historical experience of the Archdiocese of Boston. It exists to collect, preserve, and make available records of significant value which pertain to the life of the Catholic Church in eastern Massachusetts. The Archives encourages as much openness and availability of its collections as possible. At the same time, the Archives has a responsibility to safeguard the confidentiality of certain records. The Archdiocese of Boston and its Archives are not public institutions, and, therefore the records of the Archdiocese are not public records. While some collections are completely closed to outside research, others may be open with restrictions, and some are open with no special restrictions. This system of accessibility tempered by judicious restrictions is guided by a sensitivity toward the balance between the researcher's needs and the protection of privacy and confidentiality. In general:
Before You Contact the Archives . . .A basic understanding of the nature of Archives [vs. Libraries] and a well thought out strategy will be beneficial for any researcher. Archives contain unique unpublished records known as primary resources. Libraries contain published works [i.e. monographs, journals, encyclopedias] which are held in multiple copies by other libraries. Library materials are referred to as secondary sources. ONLY after secondary sources have been consulted should the researcher consider contacting the Archives. Secondary sources will provide the context for the research and assist in developing a strategy to make the most of the time spent in the Archives. The researcher must be able to define the scope of the project and identify its focus. For in depth projects, this is best done by writing to the Archives first. Then the archivist will be able to assess the project and respond to the researcher to discuss potential materials in the Archive. Some collections will require the use of finding aids, documents prepared by the Archives Staff which will aid the researcher to focus on the pertinent parts of the collection. The researcher must be prepared to commit the time needed to work through material and look for information. Because of the large volume of material which may be searched, it is imperative to make proper citations initially, for it will be difficult and time consuming to locate that quotation again. Record Groups Contained in the Archdiocesan ArchivesArchivists maintain records by Record Group, a collection of material created by a person or organization. Thus, Record Groups will contain varied form of documentation, from standard paper based items to photographs, computer discs, audio or video tapes, architectural drawings, and ephemera. Two principles observed are those of provenance and original order. Provenance dictates that records created will be maintained as distinct collections of material, and not mingled or combined with similar archival collections. Original order requires the archives to maintain the records in the order in which they were created or maintained by the creating office. The Archives of the Archdiocese of Boston adheres to the following Record Group system:
See also the Overview of the Collection |
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Historical
Resources