Rebecca Crown Library Policies

Dominican University’s Archives and Special Collections is committed to fostering transparency, open dialogue, and equity through free and open access to its archival collections. Thus our collections are open to faculty, staff, students, and external researchers without regard to academic or institutional affiliations. 

Restrictions imposed on Archival materials are included in each collection’s finding aid as well as noted at the time of the request. Additionally, the Archives does not provide access to student records protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99).

Dominican University’s Archives’ access policy adheres to the International Council of Archives Principles of Access to Archives.  Dominican University’s Special Collections, meanwhile, are open to the public in full without restriction, though access to some materials might be limited owing to the materials’ physical condition.  Availability of manuscripts, documents and records is guided by both University polices and by relevant State and Federal laws.

All institutional records of Dominican University, excepting specific classes of documents as noted below, are made available following a 25 year period after the records’ date of creation (the date as noted upon the document itself) unless the records’ creator has designated a shorter period of time guiding availability, or unless written permission is granted to the researcher by the appropriate representative of the department, board or individual in question. 

During restricted periods, records are made available only to the office of origin, the staff of the University Archives and authorized record handlers of the University. The Archivist may impose whatever conditions on the use of the records as he or she deems necessary to preserve the confidentiality of the information contained in such records.  Several record groups are closed for longer periods:

                Board of Trustee Records, including minutes of meetings, are restricted for a period of 50 years after date of creation, unless the researcher is granted written permission to access the documents by the current Board or by its representative.

                Student Records for current students or for former, living alumni are restricted for a period of 75 years (as per the Federal Family Education and Privacy Rights Acts) unless the researcher is granted written permission by the individual to access his or her records.

                Faculty Records for current faculty or for former, living faculty are restricted for a period of 75 years unless the researcher is granted written permission by the individual faculty to access their records.

                Unprocessed Collections are closed to private researchers unless prior arrangements are made in advance with the University Archivist.

Anonymous studies which request the use of materials otherwise restricted but which can be anonymized through the redaction of protected information, will be considered on a case-by-case basis; no guarantee for the provision of any requested documents prior to the date of general availability is granted.  For the protection of its holdings, the University Archives also reserves the right to restrict the use of materials which are not arranged or are in the process of being arranged, materials of exceptional value, and fragile materials.

These policies do not affect or restrict normal administrative uses of a department’s own records.

Dominican University’s Archives and Special Collections are non-circulating.  Access is provided in the Archives located in Lewis Link, Room 200. This is the 2^nd floor hallway connecting Lewis Hall and the Rebecca Crown Library.  Staff will provide research assistance for questions received by mail, telephone, or email.

Special arrangements for the use of Archives materials are made on a case-by-case basis. If you need an appointment we can accommodate other hours.  Faculty members who wish to book time for their classes to use archival materials or who have an assignment using primary source materials available in our collections should first contact the Archivist to determine if special arrangements for use will be required.  Please provide the Archivist with the text of the assignment at least two weeks prior to any class session.  Archives and Special Collections also offers individual or group archival orientation sessions as well.

For further information on the Dominican University Archives contact Steven Szegedi, Archivist: sszegedi@dom.edu  or (708) 524-5929; or, contact Jingfeng Xia, University Librarian: jxia@dom.edu or (708)524-6873.

University Records

1. Materials placed in University Records remain the property of the originating department. Hence, the originating department may borrow only its own files from the Archival Facility.
2. University Records materials that are restricted for any reason or materials for which the requestor does not have authorized access may not be accessed.
3. Requests for University Records are made to Archives and Special Collections personnel via phone, fax, or email.
4. Individuals may access University Records collections in the Archives, Lewis Link 200, by appointment only.
5. Staff access to University records is limited by the Archivist and Special Collections Librarian.

Special Collections

To protect the unique holdings of the Dominican University Archives, and to facilitate research, all researchers must abide by the following rules:

• Positive identification is required of all prospective researchers.
• Visitors must sign the Archives Log each visit.
• All coats, briefcases, portfolios, notebooks, purses, and all items not essential to one’s research must be stored during use of the archive.
• The use of a pen of any kind is prohibited.
• No eating, drinking, or smoking is permitted while using archival materials.
• Each patron is limited to one box of material at a time. Remove one folder at a time, and remove nothing from the folder even if you wish to have it copied.
• All materials must be handled with utmost care. Manuscripts may not be leaned on, written upon, folded anew, traced, erased, or handled in any way likely to damage them. It is the responsibility of the researcher to help safeguard all of the Archives’ materials.
• The exact order and arrangement of the materials must be maintained. If any mis-arrangement is discovered, please notify a staff member immediately. Do not rearrange them yourself.
• Proper consideration of other researchers is expected.

Lastly, we request that all researchers provide the Archive with a free copy of any publication which is based in whole or in part upon its holdings.

Please refer to the Dominican University Copyright Declaration for details about our policies.  Do not assume that Dominican University Archives holds physical and/or intellectual copyright on any given material. Please consult with the Archivist before attempting to publish any of our materials.

It is the responsibility of the researcher to secure permission to publish material found in the Archives and to adhere to laws of copyright and literary and intellectual property right.  Users seeking to publish or reproduce either published or unpublished materials held in Archives and Special Collections must secure permission from those legally entitled to claim such rights under U.S. Copyright Law including the University Library.

If you have any further questions, we encourage you to consult the United States Copyright Office website.^[1]  The Society of American Archivists also provides detailed guidance on copyright and unpublished materials.

All photocopies cost 50¢ per page. All scans and .pdfs cost $1 per page.

Copies are provided for your personal research needs only. Copying is a service to the patron, not a purchase of the material or of its contents. This service is provided as a courtesy, to expedite your research, and to lessen any wear on the documents.  Permission to capture images for research purposes does not constitute permission to distribute or publish these images.

Please credit any materials used using our preferred citations:

Documents including Correspondence: 

                Item, date, box, folder, record group, collection, University Archives, Dominican University
 

i.e. Organ Recital program, 1936, Box 1, Folder 8, 4070.5 Musical Events,

University Archives, Dominican University

Photographs:

                Photo ID, Descriptive information, date if known, record group, collection, University Archives, Dominican University

i.e. 047114, Strawberry and Champagne Reception, 1997, 4055 Events,

University Archives, Dominican University

Minimum Citation:

                Collection, University Archives, Dominican University

i.e. The Hart Collection, University Archives, Dominican University.
 

Copies are provided for your personal research needs only.  Copies are not to be given to any other person, institution, or used for any commercial enterprise. The Dominican University Archives reserves the right to require that copies be returned to us upon request when you have completed your research.

In some cases it might be necessary to refuse copying due to the physical condition of the material, lack of staffing, existing access restrictions, or copyright laws. The amount of copying from any particular work may also be limited at the discretion of the archivist or donor.  Please plan ahead if you will require a large mail or telephone copy request as such jobs often necessitate a substantial allowance for research time.