Hello, Diane, I think the work you reference may provide some general guidance on restricting material in archival collections in the Access section. But I would also say that you are certainly within your rights as custodian of the records of your institution to restrict these materials if you have reason to believe their broad access may cause harm, even slight, to individuals in your community or inure to the detriment, even minimally, of your institution. While archivists' best practices counsel an overall bent toward liberal access, your records are those of a private institution and you're not under any moral or certainly any legal obligation to open them at all to the public. Managing the restricted portion within the rest of the collection can sometimes be a bit of a headache, and what you'd do may depend on how much material you're restricting. If there's not too much, you can copy the restricted items and redact the identifying information on the copies and make these available. If there's too much material, you may not be able to do that, but you can put a placeholder in the folder(s) and catalog describing what's been restricted in general terms. Having said all of this, you may also want to note in the collection file/record somewhere that staff should review the restriction in XX years to see if it can be lifted (because we do strive for open access when we can).
Regards, Deena Schwimmer, Archivist Yeshiva University Archives From: Diane Wolf [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, May 04, 2017 4:47 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [ha-Safran] Looking for advice re: confidential information in synagogue archives I have uncovered some very old (more than 75 years) bills for overdue synagogue fees. These include the names and addresses of members in arrears, including some angry notes in response... I can't assume that no one would care after all this time, as Wilmington (DE) has a number of families that have lived here for generations. I know at least a few people descended from our synagogue founders who are current members. Thanks to great advice from this group, I've read "Starting from Scratch: Creating the Synagogue Archives," and that has been a great help. That document discusses the need for policy but doesn't offer any specific advice about how to handle confidential archival items. I'd appreciate hearing from any one who has already tackled this issue. Also, I hope to meet with other synagogue archivists at the AJL conference in June, so please let me know if you'll be there. Thanks, as always, Diane Diane Wolf Congregation Beth Shalom Librarian Wilmington DE [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> http://www.bethshalomwilmington.org/library/
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