Johns Hopkins Magazine -- November 1997
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NOVEMBER 1997
CONTENTS
RETURN TO UNCERTAINTY IN THE ARCHIVES
AUTHOR'S NOTEBOOK
O N    C A M P U S E S

Uncertainty in the Archives
What's Worth Keeping...What's Not

Archives keep a university's corporate memory. Records created today can be valuable in the future. For example, administrators may search for backgrounds on decisions, attorneys can look for evidence to defend against litigation, and historians can document events.

When files are no longer being used by a campus office, they may be good candidates for the archives. The question is: What qualifies posteritywise? Take, for example, the Ferdinand Hamburger Jr. Archives at Homewood. Some materials are keepers, others not:

Keepers:

  • Faculty résumés, correspondence, and research papers

  • Student admission applications, or letters of recommendation

  • Syllabi, exams, lecture notes, lab manuals

  • Memos, minutes of meetings, and publications

    Discardables:

  • Room schedules, textbook or office supply orders

  • Canceled checks, invoices, or petty cash reports

  • Personnel paperwork for unsuccessful student or faculty applicants (Stimpert says Einstein would be an exception, even now.)

  • Blank forms

    --JC

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