The majority of materials housed in Archives come as gifts or as transfers from university departments. This department collects and requests materials of historic value to Baptists through staff contacts and correspondence with members of the depositing bodies. Reproductions of materials are typically not considered in lieu of originals. The department works with Baptist churches to digitize or microfilm their minutes and encourages them to deposit (not give) their records in Archives for safekeeping. The library’s acquisitions budget allows for the purchase of appropriate books on occasion, and donated books that contain autographs are moved to Special Collections.
The department considers for donation the personal papers of Mercer and Tift presidents, faculty, trustees, and alumni, as well as those of Baptist ministers and others affiliated with Baptist work in Georgia. Selected items related to local and state history are considered on a case-by-case basis. The department works with campus Greek organizations to provide a home for their records and photographs and encourages other student organizations to deposit items as well. The department does not have the required space to maintain gifts of large items although we welcome some small artifacts.
Materials must support the overall mission of Mercer University: “to teach, to learn, to create, to discover, to inspire, to empower, and to serve.” Although staff will evaluate potential donations on a case-by-case basis, current priorities include:
Again, although staff will evaluation donations on a case-by-case basis, the department currently does not want:
On occasion, collections or volumes may be considered as inappropriate to maintain in Archives, Special Collections, and Digital Initiatives. Deeds of gift are drafted to provide for these materials to be returned to the donor’s family or to be disposed of in an appropriate manner. Disposition may include transfer to a more suitable repository or sale of the volume with any proceeds returning to the department. Extra copies of published volumes may be moved to circulating stacks or sent to another library. These decisions are not made lightly; each acquisition is considered before it is accepted, reducing the need for reappraisal later.
Records, collections, and items related to the Atlanta campus will generally be housed at Swilley Library, while Macon-related materials and Baptist collections will be housed at Tarver Library. Atlanta-related collections that are housed at Tarver and fully processed as of December 2021 constitute an exception, however, and may remain at Tarver. Staff will make decisions about the location of non-campus-specific university collections and Atlanta-specific Baptist materials on a case-by-case basis. In some cases, and where possible, the department will maintain copies of significant, well-used, or unique collections and items in both locations.
