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DSU Archives: Mission & Donation Policy

Our Mission

To Archive or Not To Archive, send your materials to the DSU Archive! For questions and comments contact Abbie Steuhm at archives@dsu.edu.

 

The Dakota State University Archives serves as the official repository of the university administration’s activities and accomplishments, as well as a depository maintaining the varied histories of local and campus life. Our work promotes DSU scholarship and advancement by providing access to historical, primary materials and administrative files.

Due to the size of our physical archive and the technical mission of DSU, it is our goal to build up our digital repository and work with the Digital Library of South Dakota in collecting and preserving the activities of our administration and campus. We are committed to maintaining and improving accessibility to our collections and making them sustainable through limited selection, promotion of digital-born materials, and practicing reuse and recycling.

Acquisitions Overview

Items of interest for donation are those that will assist in our mission to provide access to and preserve DSU history and campus life in a sustainable manner. If you have something you would like to donate, please contact our archivist at archives@dsu.edu to schedule an evaluation.

Special Areas of Interest

Special areas of interest are subject to change. Currently our areas of interest include cybersecurity and artificial intelligence research and projects; materials from student clubs and organizations; and staff/faculty activities and accomplishments.

The Karl E. Mundt Collection are housed within the DSU Archives; however, it is no longer accepting donations.

Restrictions

Due to the confidential nature of some donations, we can restrict access to items. Restrictions may include embargo periods and authorized access. The length and severity of the restriction will depend on the items donated.

Items That Will NOT Be Accepted

Due to our limited physical and digital capacity, as well as our goal of sustainability and accessibility, the DSU Archives will limit the acceptance of items to those meeting our mission. The following is a nonexclusive list of materials we will not accept. Any attempted donations of these items will be immediately returned. We will not discard items for you.

  • Papers with coil/spiral/comb bindings (remove bindings before donating)
  • Binders
  • Multiple copies (our maximum acceptable copies are 1 physical and 1 digital)
  • Materials published by non-DSU institutions (please donate those items to the original publishers)
  • Any kind of food, drink, or perishable item
  • Clothing and accessories (i.e., bags, drink cups, hats)
  • Photograph frames
  • Rough drafts/non-final copies
  • Materials with no relation to Lake County or DSU
  • Personal copies of published books
  • Government publications
  • Advertisements
  • Furniture

If you need assistance in finding other repositories to donate to, please contact our archivist at archives@dsu.edu.

Archivist