The SAA Glossary notes the following about appraisal:

In an archival context, appraisal is the process of determining whether records and other materials have permanent (archival) value. Appraisal may be done at the collection, creator, series, file, or item level. Appraisal can take place prior to donation and prior to physical transfer, at or after accessioning. The basis of appraisal decisions may include a number of factors, including the records’ provenance and content, their authenticity and reliability, their order and completeness, their condition and costs to preserve them, and their intrinsic value.

Appraisal often takes place within a larger institutional collecting policy and mission statement.

Familiarize yourself with the most recent Schlesinger Library collecting policy:

2019 Collection Development Statement

As part of the survey process, you should ask yourself why we have accepted the papers or records you are working with, and what the collection documents and how. Having a good grasp on these issues should help you determine what (if any) parts of the collection may be out of scope and not retained.

Removing duplicates and inappropriate material from collections while processing:

As part of your survey, check the DOG to determine disposition of duplicates and inappropriate material.

If the donor wishes to be consulted about or receive duplicates/inappropriate material, be careful to separate such material while sorting/arranging. Some people prefer to have a carton at their workspace they can toss such material into.

Before weeding items that seem inappropriate, beware of possible pseudonyms or unofficial nicknames used by the creator (e.g., "Buzzard" for June Jordan).

Other material generally considered inappropriate for retention includes:

certain types of financial records (e.g., cancelled checks if check ledgers exist, bank statements, receipts, etc., as well as airline tickets when trip documented elsewhere)

galleys containing only typographical correction

class notes lacking comments by the note-taker (unless from Radcliffe College)

subject or research files (or materials that the donor simply kept out of interest) are often difficult to appraise. We try to keep only material by or about the donor. Where we depart from this rule is when the material is likely to be rare: flyers from small grass roots women's organizations, for example. Regarding print material from larger organizations, you should become acquainted with those organizational records already housed at the Library (National Organization for Women, NOW Legal Defense & Education Fund, National Abortion Rights Action League, Legal Momentum, Women's Equity Action League, National Association of Women Judges, National Women's Political Caucus, 9 to 5, Project on the Status and Education of Women, etc.) It is likely that printed material from these collections that you may find in your collection already exists and should not be retained unless it is annotated or if the donor of your collection had a direct hand in producing it (especially if there's a lot of it!) Similarly you should be aware of the holdings of other repositories: Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Young Women's Christian Association are at the Sophia Smith Collection; records of the Girl Scouts of America, the United Nations, many denominations, and any U.S. governmental agencies are in most cases safely stored elsewhere.

unpublished papers by students and others not by or about the individual/organization (or by and about individual/organization, but based only on secondary sources)

blank postcards

greeting cards with no messages

travel brochures/maps (without annotations)

In addition to the foregoing, organizational records often include the following types of documents to be weeded out: local arrangements files for conferences, workshops, etc. (re: hotel selection, menus, room requirements, etc.); routine requests for membership information, orders for publications, etc.; mailing lists, lists of media contacts, etc.; and employee forms such as time sheets, W-2s, W-4s, etc. In most cases, it will be desirable to retain a sample of the items weeded.

In general, we keep envelopes only if they provide information not otherwise included on the enclosed documents (date, year, address, annotations). If letters have enclosures, fold acid-free paper around the letter and its enclosure(s); do not use clips.

As with everything, if you are unsure if you should keep something, check with the Head of Manuscripts or a curator.

For detailed information on how to handle specific formats of material separated from collections, see Special Formats.

Individual format sections may have special appraisal notes. In particular, see Photographs, Audiotapes and Videotapes, and Memorabilia.

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