Module 4: Part 2

Picture of the exterior of the Archives of the United States.

Module 4 Part 2
Ed Benoit, III

Archives & Museums

Preserving the memories of your time in service serves many different purposes including personal documentation and legacy materials for your family and friends. Another important potential role would be sharing your experiences with others in the community now and in the future. Archives and museums provide an important service as educators, research centers, and preservation specialists.

Formally, archives are organizations that collect the records of individuals, families, or other organizations. Archival organizations preserve and maintain the records they collect, provide access to the records to researchers, and use the records for educational and outreach purposes. There are many different types of archives including an organization or institutional (such as the Coca-Cola archives or university archives), those focused on particular regions (such as local or state historical societies), and those with a particular collecting area (such as civil rights archives or military archives).

Most people are more familiar with museums than archives through their public exhibits and educational events. Like archives, museums collect, preserve, and provide access to materials. Where archives tend to focus on physical or digital records, museums collect artifacts and objects and provide curatorial context for the objects. Many museums also include research centers and archives within their organizations as well.

Locating and Donating Your Records to an Archive or Museum

If you would like to donate your collection to an archive or museum, there are a series of steps you should take. First, you should identify which archive or museum you would like to approach. Museums and archives adhere to their specific missions and policies to determine which materials they collect. You should take a look at several options to figure out which might be the best fit. You might have an existing connection to a repository or visited a particular local or regional museum or archive that you enjoyed in the past. You can also search online for potential repositories as well.

Once you’ve identified a few candidates, take a look at their existing collections. Visit the repositories in person or online. You can then call or email the archives or museum to discuss donating your materials. Sometimes the archivist or curator might want to visit you at home to look at the materials, other times they may simply desire a phone or onsite conversation at the institution. Once they speak with you and do any preliminary visits, the archivist or curator will determine if the collection is a good fit for their institution. This determination will be based on how well the collection meets the needs of their existing collecting scope and mission and if they have the resources required to preserve and maintain the collection. If they decide to move forward, great! If not, please do not get discouraged or think it means that your records are unimportant. You may ask for suggestions for other institutions to consider and/or try somewhere else.

Assuming the institution would like to proceed with the donation, the next step would be the formal transfer of ownership. While some organizations will allow for long-term loans of materials in lieu of ownership transfer, this is discouraged by the professional community as it limits the use of the materials. However, most repositories will discuss potential access restrictions to collections as a whole or in part. Access restrictions are often placed on materials that could have sensitive information or to protect third party privacy. Typically, such restrictions are for a given period of time, such as 15, 20, or 30 years. These restrictions are negotiated as part of the transfer of ownership process. Once you and the repository are in agreement, you will sign a Deed of Gift to complete the transfer.

Following the donation, your collection will be processed by the archives or museum. The processing will include cataloging and describing the materials, creating records and finding aids, applying any conservation treatments, and moving the items into storage or exhibition. Please note that only a small percent of a museum’s holdings are on display at a given time—however, the rest are available to researchers in person (and online for digital materials). For archives, items may be included in special exhibits or educational events.

If you need more help with this process, feel free to reach out to a professional archivist or museum curator. They will be happy to speak with you about how to identify and approach repositories. You can also reach out to professional associations of archivists and museum professionals. They may help you locate an organization you can work with. Finally, veterans’ associations provide services for veterans, which may also rely on as a starting point in your preservation journey. Here is a list of starting points for you:

Military-Oriented Galleries, Libraries, Archives, & Museums

There are an array of military-specific or military-related GLAMs in the United States. The following section highlights some of them, but should not be considered a comprehensive list.

Galleries

Archives

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) offers collections for researchers based on the main military conflicts the U.S. has been involved in since the revolutionary war. In addition, through NARA’s Military Personnel Records Center, the federal government also serves active service members and veterans interested in obtaining copies of their own records of service.

While most local and state archives will also include military-specific collections. Many of these archives are included in the SAA Military Archives Section’s Directory of Military Archival Collections.

The following repositories’ primary focus is military records:

Libraries

Active service members also have access to Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Digital Libraries (MWR). MWR libraries are funded by the Department of Defense (DOD) and offer 24/7 access to free materials such as e-books and audiobooks. MWR libraries are run at the level of military bases and function similarly to public libraries for active service members. These libraries also serve military spouses and children and therefore have collections tailored for adults, teens, and children. You can access a complete directory of all MWR library locations by branch on the DoD MWR Libraries website.

In addition, military academies such as West Point, the Naval Academy, the Air Force, and the Coast Guard have libraries devoted to their students and function similarly to academic libraries with an emphasis on the military arts. The federal government also has the Pentagon Library, a governmental institution serving public officials from the Secretary of Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Military Departments located at the Pentagon.

Museums & Memorial Sites

Some of the most common museums and memorial sites include the Military Women’s Memorial in Arlington (VA), the National World War II Museum in New Orleans (LA), and the National Museum of the US Army in Fort Belvoir (VA). We offer a brief list of some of the most well-known military museums in the U.S. Most of these museums are privately run. Bear in mind, however, that there are many other museums and memorial sites devoted to military affairs. Additionally, many military museums also include libraries and archival collections. We encourage you to reach out to your local VA office or Veterans Association for pointers to other Museums and Memorial Sites in your State.

Veterans Associations

There are over 100 VA-recognized national Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs). The following section includes a select list of VSOs. The Department of Veterans Affairs publishes a comprehensive directory, most recently in 2019.

END OF MODULE 4

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