ACCESS AND CONFIDENTIALITY

Access

The Kalamazoo College Archives is open to students, staff, alumni, and interested researchers from the community. The Archivist and student workers staff the Archives approximately 20 hours a week during the Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters. Arrangements must be made with the Archivist or Reference Librarians for access at other times. The Archives is closed for public access during the summer. The College community must make special arrangements with a Reference Librarian ahead of time for access.

Materials must be used in the Archives under supervised conditions. It is possible for materials to be left in the Reference Area for individuals who are unable to visit the Archives during open hours or who wish to continue their research beyond those times. The materials used under these circumstances are generally not of a confidential nature. Individuals must have made prior arrangements so that materials may be transferred from the Archives to the Reference Office. It is not the responsibility of the supervisor on duty to retrieve Archives materials. (They occasionally retrieve College publications or other published materials if they are able, but this should not be expected.) Materials used in the Reference Area should be returned to the supervisor on duty.

Confidentiality

The Kalamazoo College Archives is committed to providing researchers with the material they need. However, due to the confidential nature of certain records, access to some materials may be limited. Restrictions are placed on the use of records in order to protect the rights to privacy of individuals and the institution. Researchers may be required to obtain permission from the office of origin before using unpublished materials.

The President's Office has been transferring relatively current files to the Archives since President Bryan took office. To ensure that these files remain confidential, only the Archivist processes or has access to them. The President's Office has been assured that this is the procedure that will be followed.

The following materials may be consulted without restriction:

• Audiocassettes
• Baptist Collection
• Blueprints
• College publications (Index, yearbooks, alumni magazines, catalogs, etc.)
• Memorabilia
• Photographs
• Other published materials
• Videos
• Materials available to the general College community at the time of their original distribution

See the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Ac (FERPA). This has an impact on the use of Archives material.

Updated 10/98