The Wartburg Archive consists of two main collections: The Wartburg College Archives and the Archives of Iowa Broadcasting. The two collections are housed together in the Wartburg Archives, located in Vogel Library on the campus of Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. Both collections are administrated by the same staff. However, the collections have distinct missions and collecting focuses:
Wartburg College Archives – is responsible for the collection and preservation of records that document the history, development, operation, policies, people, activities, and events of Wartburg College.
Archives of Iowa Broadcasting – establishes and maintains a permanent collection of materials relating to the history, development and contribution of radio and television in Iowa.
This manual is presented to instruct staff, student workers, interns and volunteers in the established procedures for collecting, preserving and making available records of the Wartburg College Archives and the Archives of Iowa Broadcasting. It also provides context for these procedures that are based in archival theory and practice, and therefore gives staff, interns and volunteers a conceptual framework from which to proceed with problems and challenges not specifically discussed. Issues that are not addressed can be resolved with the assistance of the Archivist.
The archival mission has three elements – to identify and collect records of enduring value, to preserve those records, and to make them available. These elements are put into practice with the specific procedures found in sections on Selection and Appraisal, Acquisitions and Accessioning, Arrangement and Description, and Reference and Access. Because archival collections are related records which require authenticity and context in order to interpret, procedures for managing these materials are governed by two important tenets:
Provenance – denotes the creation, ownership and chain of custody of permanent records. The archival method requires that provenance be maintained in order to guarantee the integrity of the records. In basic terms, this means that the records of each creator should be kept separate from records of another creator. Practically, materials will most often be separated by creator at the collection level (i.e. – Records of the President’s Office), while the types or subjects of records (Correspondence, Annual Reports) will be separated at the Series level. See the section titled Arrangement and Description for more detailed information.
Original Order – Archivists believe that the way in which records were maintained by the creator adds essential contextual value, and therefore strive to keep that original order within the archival collection.
Archivists work according to these core values and within a Code of Ethics established by the Society of American Archivists (https://archivists.org/statements/saa-core-values-statement-and-code-of-ethics). In part, this Code states: “Archivists endeavor to ensure that those materials, entrusted to their care, will be accessible over time as evidence of human activity and social organization. Archivists embrace principles that foster the transparency of their actions and that inspire confidence in the profession.”
Vogel Library, Wartburg College | 100 Wartburg Blvd, Waverly, IA, 50677 | Phone: 319-352-8500 | Email: asklibrarian@wartburg.edu