Welcome to the GW Archives and Records toolkit, created by staff at the Special Collections Research Center. Information in this guide is designed to help students, faculty, staff, community members and more understand the importance of their records and how to preserve them for the future. This guide will help you identify records of importance to keep, how to store and organize them, and make them accessible for the future. It will also help you identify records that do not need to be kept, and tips on discarding the records.
The University Archives here to help, whether it be assisting with identifying the best storage options for the paper or even being a home to them for future researchers.
Your materials, and your history, are important!
The University Archives is the official repository of the university with the responsibility to collect and preserve the historically valuable documentation of university units and individuals, including faculty, staff, administrators, students and more. The University Archives documents the history of the University, including the Mount Vernon Seminary and College Collections, and the Corcoran Archives. Information on the history of the University is available on GW Past.
The GW University Archives actively collects materials from GW academic and administrative units, following the University’s Records Management Policy, as well as from faculty, alumni and students. Our collection development policy provides details about what we collect in the University Archives. Please contact the archives for additional information and how to donate.
If you're not sure what to do with your records, both physical and digital, or even how to begin - the University Archivist and other staff in the Special Collections are happy to help you. While the University Archives is the official repository of George Washington University, the staff expertise is also available to you for understanding how to care for and keep your records within your own organization.
