Museums and Galleries

The Yale University Archives seeks to collect documentation concerning museums and galleries at Yale.  Specific topics of interest include:

• Acquisition and collection development strategies and policies
• Collection management and preservation strategies and policies
• Access, use, and outreach
• Planning for exhibits
• Strengths of Yale collections
• Provenance and value of museum and gallery holdings
• New policy, procedure, initiative development in any of the above areas

Archival Records

Examples of records of interest to the Archives, regardless of format:

• Annual reports
• Appraisal and insurance records
• Accessioning/acquisition, provenance, and disposition records
• Correspondence
• Donor files
• Exhibit publications and descriptions
• Loan records
• Minutes and supporting materials from committees and governing bodies, friends or volunteer groups
• Photographs and audio-visual resources
• Publications and websites (see Depositing Official Yale Publications)
• Published catalogs, periodic snapshots of records in a catalog system, and finding aids
• Recordings and written copies of lectures and presentations sponsored by the museum or gallery, and associated publicity materials
• Summarized statistics and reports

Office of record

The provost and each museum and gallery maintain the record copy of documentation concerning this activity. Individual offices that are not responsible for the creation of such records, but that maintain duplicates or related materials, should destroy these files after they are no longer needed.