Donating Items
Donation Form
Please send form and materials to:
South Dakota State Historical SocietyAttn: State Archives Donation
900 Governors Dr.
Pierre, SD 57501
Or
Contact Archives Staff: archref@state.sd.us
State Archives Collection Development Policy
The South Dakota State Legislature's principal mandate to our State Historical Society is "to provide education of the public in the fields of history." (SDCL 1-18-3) In order to fulfill that mission, South Dakota Codified Law (SDCL 1-18B-2) requires that the Society "collect, preserve, exhibit and publish material for the study of history, especially the history of this and adjacent states . . . acquire documents and manuscripts . . . obtain narratives and records of pioneers; conduct a library of historical reference . . . diffuse information relating to the history of the region and in general encourage and develop within the state the study of history."
The South Dakota State Archives is one of the state-funded programs through which the Historical Society accomplishes these tasks. The purpose of the Archives' Collection Development Policy is to provide guidelines for staff in the appraisal and acquisition of those published and unpublished materials which will fulfill the Legislature's mandate, and to inform the public and our colleagues of our collecting policies and interests.
Statement of Collecting Interests and Priorities:
COLLECTING INTERESTS:
The State Archives exists to collect, preserve, process/catalogue and provide reference access to those primary and secondary research sources, regardless of format, which best document the political, social, cultural, economic and natural history of Dakota territory and the State of South Dakota, its political subdivisions and citizenry; and those secondary (published) sources which similarly document the history of adjacent states with which South Dakota's history is closely intertwined.
PRIORITIES:
Government Records
As a state agency, our first duty is to collect and provide professional care for permanently valuable records of state/territorial and local government and those published materials, particularly government documents, which complement our records collections. Permanent value of government records may be established 1) by the State Records Destruction Board through formal records retention scheduling procedures (see SDCL Chapter 1-27) or 2) by appraisal by the State Archivist or his/her designee. The State Legislature has defined state and local government records in SDCL 1-27-9.
South Dakota and Regional History
While the State Archives' primary responsibility is to serve as a repository for those state and local government records and publications which have continuing research value, the Archives also accepts donations of materials which fall within our collecting guidelines but which were not created in the transaction of official state or local government business. The Archives may also purchase such material when donation is not a possibility. These materials may include federal government records, personal papers and manuscripts, records of private businesses and organizations, photographic images, maps and architectural and engineering documents, sound and video recordings, books, machine-readable records, and other types of records or publications which document aspects of the history of our region's people, natural resources, and their interaction.
Special Library Materials
In addition to adherence to collection policies outlined for the Archives above, the Archives' library unit actively collects materials to be added to our large genealogical reference library; serials published in South Dakota; and support literature for professionals in the fields of archives/historical library and museum administration and curatorship, archaeology, historical preservation, and conservation science.
Digital Records
The South Dakota State Archives is committed to collecting, preserving, and providing access to primary and secondary resources which document the political, social, cultural, economic, and natural history of Dakota Territory and the State of South Dakota. Increasingly, these resources are created and maintained in digital formats. In response, the State Archives has established a Digital Preservation Program designed to ensure long-term access to digital materials.
Materials Not Collected
Generally, the State Archives does not actively collect: three-dimensional objects (such items may be accepted, however, in conjunction with a manuscripts or record collection and separated by prior arrangement to the most appropriate state museum or added to the Archives' ephemera collections if the items are small in size); public records of other states or manuscript material which does not pertain to South Dakota history; published material which does not pertain to our regional history; the paper originals of newspapers or newspaper clippings (we do collect and preserve South Dakota newspapers on microfilm and we encourage persons owning paper originals to check with the State Archives to determine whether the papers they own have been filmed). The published works of South Dakota authors will be actively collected only if they fall within our general collecting guidelines.