Pine Mountain Settlement School
Series 00: ARCHIVE
POLICIES PROCEDURES
Archive Donations
ARCHIVE DONATIONS
Donations to the Pine Mountain Settlement School archive are welcomed. We accept donations that support the primary mission of the Pine Mountain School archive, that is to preserve materials that document the history of the School and its surrounding community. We also welcome materials that support the educational mission of Pine Mountain and that will further research in the areas of environmental education, progressive education, rural settlement schools, Appalachian subsistence farming, and topics which relate to our existing material and our programs. Of course, we always welcome monetary contributions in support of our efforts.
Because each donation received may have a cost associated with the processing and care of the donation, we reserve the right to decline a donation that will create substantial costs to the institution without agreed compensation for proper handling of the material. (This applies to large collections of material of over 3 cartons.) Even small cost off-sets are welcomed. The School’s supplies, labor and safe storage costs, staff time in managing access to material and other costs are often “hidden” to the donor. It is our intention to build an on-site repository of primary and secondary research materials that will have enduring historical and cultural value for local, regional, national and international audiences. It is also our intention to provide limited access to the repository items through digitization and direct access through appointment. Both of these access options have expenses associated with them.
Donations to the archive at Pine Mountain need not be in physical form, but may also be material donated or shared via any of the recent virtual forms, i.e. digital photographs, narratives, blogs, oral histories, music, video, etc. We also welcome guest blogs on topics related to Pine Mountain Settlement School and the surrounding community of interest but reserve the right of refusal of material deemed inappropriate.
All materials that users submit for donation is subject to review. Pine Mountain reserves the right of refusal for material that is outside the scope of the institutional mission or that is deemed inappropriate for the collections or for digital publication on the Pine Mountain web site.
While the primary collection focus at the School is the institutional history of Pine Mountain Settlement School, other collection areas will be considered if they directly support K-12 curricula or are related to areas of common interest to the rural settlement school movement. Collection development decisions will be made by the Director of Pine Mountain Settlement School in consultation with the current Curator, the Executive Board of the School and, if necessary, the full Board of Trustees, as required for large donations of material or large financial donations.
The Pine Mountain Settlement School Collections include materials from individuals, K-12 schools, civic groups, state and local government records, and non-profit agencies, businesses, religious organizations, and cultural organizations associated with the School during its life-span. Materials collected, for example, include oral histories, manuscripts, correspondence, personal papers, photographs, diaries, maps, fiction, scientific studies, books, pamphlets, newspapers, publications, and similar materials, if they have a relationship to the School and its mission.
Donations of materials are considered gifts to Pine Mountain Settlement School and will become a permanent part of the School archive if deemed worthy of collection. Items may also be loaned to the School, but appropriate documents regarding loan duration, insurance, and conditions, etc. will need to be negotiated with the Executive Director and appropriate Board members. Short-term loan for exhibition is the most common form of loan. AN INVENTORY OF LOANED ITEMS IS REQUIRED.
All DONORS are required to sign a DONOR AGREEMENT. Donated materials will be organized according to archival principles, stored in secure conditions, and will be made available to researchers in a supervised, secure environment and through our online resources.
Under federal law, Pine Mountain Settlement School is not allowed to determine the value of an item or collection. All gifts will be acknowledged. However, because the Internal Revenue Service regards the Pine Mountain Settlement School as an interested party, the School is unable to provide appraisals for tax purposes. The appraisal or establishment of an item’s value for tax purposes is the responsibility of the donor, as are appraisal costs, if required. Donors should seek further information on valuation of donated property from the Internal Revenue Service and their own tax advisor or attorney. Acceptance of a gift that has been appraised by a third, disinterested party does not imply endorsement of such appraisal by Pine Mountain Settlement School. TAX LAW CHANGES. CONSULT THE CURRENT FEDERAL AND STATE LAWS GOVERNING APPRAISAL AND DONATION.
If you are interested in donating materials or monetary support for collections of Pine Mountain Settlement School and its archive and records, please contact the Executive Director, Preston Jones at 606 558-3572. For email, see CONTACT at Pine Mountain Settlement School .
