The Barnard College Archives is the official repository of the documents and records created by Barnard College from its founding in 1889 to the present day, along with a number of documents pertaining to the movement to found a women's college in the City of New York during the 1870's and 1880's. It is the responsibility of the Archivist to preserve, arrange, and describe these collections, and to routinely furnish information from them to the administration, faculty, librarians, students, alumnae, and other constituents of the College, as well as to outside researchers. The mission of the Archives may be summarized in the following three aims:

1) To evaluate, acquire, arrange, describe, and make available the historical records of the College and the movement to found it.

2) To provide optimal physical conditions for the care and preservation of these records, by ensuring that the environment of the Archives is regulated and the space secure, and that the items in the collection are properly housed and protected.

3) To promote and encourage the use of the Archives, in order to raise awareness and improve knowledge of Barnard College's origins, history, development, and contributions to American culture and society.

To these ends, the Archives is committed to collecting the official records of Barnard College, as well as certain unofficial records pertaining to the College in all formats, including print, visual, audio, and electronic. In general, we shall accept items in the following three categories:

1) The official records of Barnard College and the movement to found Barnard College, including documents in various formats that have been created and collected by the College and its various offices and departments from its origins to the present day. These documents include (but are not limited to) publications, correspondence, committee minutes, ledgers and other financial records, clippings, photographs, films, and sound recordings.

2) The personal and professional papers of the administrators, faculty, and alumnae of Barnard College.

3) The papers and other records of individuals and organizations affiliated with or historically related to Barnard College at present or in the past, e.g., the Barnard Club of New York and the Seven Sister College Conference.

In the case of any contemplated acquisition, the Archivist shall refer to the provisions of this statement to determine what portion, if any, of the available materials shall be incorporated into the collections of the Barnard College Archives. In case of unsolicited acquisitions, the Archivist shall have the discretion to retain and preserve only those materials consistent with both our mission and our collection policy.

revised 08/2007

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