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Using Archives & Special Collections

Donating Materials to the Archives

The Hobart and William Smith Colleges Archives & Special Collections strive to collect, preserve, and provide access to materials that document the history of the Colleges. This is done by collecting the official records of the Colleges (such as Board of Trustee minutes and HWS publications like the Pulteney Street Survey) as well as the personal records (such as diaries or scrapbooks) of the students, faculty, and staff that make up the HWS community.

With the donation of each new item or collection, we are able to increase the breadth and depth of our resources to better serve the educational needs of the Colleges and of scholars who are drawn to our collections.

What to Donate

Broadly, the Archives seek materials that document the experiences of students, faculty, staff, and alumni and alumnae at HWS. The types of items that can accomplish this vary but may include (though are not limited to) diaries, scrapbooks, photographs, correspondence, school publications, campus announcements, and materials created for campus events. Official records such as meeting agendas and minutes, course catalogs, handbooks, and official studies and reports conducted by the Colleges are just a few examples of the kinds of official records that should ultimately find a home in the Archives.

The Archives & Special Collections are also open to considering donations of books that would fit into our Rare and Special Books collections.

How to Donate

Those wishing to donate materials to the Archives and Special Collections should contact the Archivist to discuss the donation and determine whether it would be an appropriate addition to our collections. Once it is determined that the items will be a good fit in our collections, donors are asked to complete a Deed of Gift form to transfer custody of the donated materials to the Hobart and William Smith Colleges Archives & Special Collections. The Archivist will work with the donor to arrange for the delivery of donated materials to the Archives.

The Archivist and library staff are unable to provide a monetary appraisal for any donated materials.