Policies and Procedures

Reading Room Usage 

The College of the Holy Cross Archives and Distinctive Collections has a responsibility to maintain all material entrusted to its care in good condition.  Readers are asked to exercise the greatest care in handling documents and books and not mark them in any way.  The Archives reserves the right to limit the use of restricted records as well as collections which are unprocessed or fragile.  The following policies are intended to help preserve the College’s archival collections.

1.  Readers are required to sign in at the front desk of the Reading Room.

2.  All material must be used in the Archives Reading Room.

3.  Neither food nor drinks are allowed in the Archives Reading Room.

4.  All packages, bags, briefcases, and coats will be stored in the location designated by the staff. All personal property brought into the reading room is subject to inspection upon leaving.

5.  Readers must use pencil or laptop computer for note taking.  Pens, markers and scanners may not be used in the Archival Reading Room.

6. Readers should wash their hands with soap and water before handling collections. Residue from hand sanitizer can harm collections and therefore, should not be used before handling any materials. In some instances, readers may be directed to wear gloves by staff.

7.  Care must be taken in handling all Archival and Distinctive Collections material.  All items must lie flat on the tables.  Nothing is to be placed on top of the material.

8.  The original order of all collections must be maintained.  Do not rearrange material.  Please report any disarrangement to the staff.

9.  Readers who wish to publish, reprint or reproduce materials in the collection should request permission in writing from the College Archives. Consult with Archives staff for further information.

Back to top

Reproductions

Reproductions for private study, scholarship, or research purposes may be made available upon request. The Archives reserves the right to limit the number of reproductions made and refuse reproducing any item if such action will damage the material.  Copies of entire books, manuscript collections or archival record groups will not be made. Reproduction of photographs, videos or audio-visual material will be performed by the College.  Please consult with the Archives staff for further information.

Materials believed to be under copyright or other restrictions are available for limited noncommercial, educational and personal use only, or for fair use as defined by United States copyright law and with proper citation.Please note that the College of the Holy Cross does not hold the rights to all items in its collections. 

Users assume responsibility for identifying all copyright holders and for determining whether permission is needed to make any use of the content.

For permission to publish, reprint or reproduce materials in the collection rights held by the College, a patron must request permission from Archives & Distinctive Collections. Please contact the Archives via archives@holycross.edu.

Archives & Distinctive Collections reserves the right to refuse a reproduction order.

Back to top

Potentially Offensive or Harmful Content Statement

The mission of Archives & Distinctive Collections at the College of the Holy Cross is to collect, preserve, and provide access to institutional records of permanent value as well as a wide variety of other resources represented in Distinctive Collections.

Objects in historical collections reflect the attitudes, ideas, and norms of the era and culture in which they were created or collected. As such, some material and the language used to describe them may be considered outdated, biased, or offensive today. Their presence in these collections on this site does not constitute any endorsement of the viewpoints or sentiments expressed within them by the College.

Questions or comments about any item or the policy above may be directed to archives@holycross.edu. All concerns will be reviewed and addressed by Library administration, or other departments as appropriate.

Back to top

Take-down Policy Statement

The Archives and Distinctive Collections at College of the Holy Cross provides access to digitized materials that may be under copyright or other restrictions. These materials are available for limited noncommercial, educational and personal use, or for fair use as defined by United States copyright law with proper citation.

The Archives makes digital versions of collections accessible in the following situations:

  • They are in the public domain
  • The rights are owned by the College of the Holy Cross
  • The College of the Holy Cross has permission to make them accessible
  • There are no known restrictions on use

Copyright owners who are not properly identified, have questions, or are concerned that their copyright may have been violated are welcome to contact Archives & Distinctive Collections at archives@holycross.edu.  Please include the following information:

  • Your contact information (name, address, email address and phone number)
  • Title of the work infringed upon
  • Title and findable location of the infringing work (citation, URL, etc.)
  • Statement detailing violation of copyright which includes the name of the copyright holder.
  • Statement that you are the rights holder, or are authorized to act on behalf of the rights holder. 

Upon receipt of a request, a member of the Holy Cross Archives & Distinctive Collections staff will:

  • Promptly acknowledge the request via email or other means of communication if you do not have an email account;
  • Assess the validity of the request;
  • By request temporarily remove the material from public view while we assess the concern.
  • After completion of the assessment, take appropriate action and communicate that action to you.

Back to top

Collection Development Policy

Mission Statement

The mission of Archives & Distinctive Collections at the College of the Holy Cross is to collect, preserve, and provide access to a wide variety of materials represented in the College Archives, Rare Books Collections, Special Collections, and Digital Scholarship. The Archives & Distinctive Collections department works to engage with the entire Holy Cross community and affiliated researchers through the shared goal of preserving the College’s history, fostering a scholarly research environment, and acquiring items reflective of our diverse academic community. We seek to make these materials as accessible as possible through an active instruction program, scholarly collaborations, robust online repositories, digitization, and exhibitions.

Vision Statement

Archives & Distinctive Collections strives to be an active member in support of the academic mission of the College by playing a distinctive role in assisting a broad research community. We seek to build collections that are wholly representative of the Holy Cross community, in addition to unique collecting areas not well covered by other existing repositories. Our mission to acquire and preserve materials in a variety of formats is coupled with a commitment to outreach and access in order to engage and collaborate with faculty, students, and campus offices in new and innovative uses of our collections in order to highlight history, strengthen scholarship and build new digital projects.

College Archives

The Holy Cross Archives collection includes administrative records from the offices of the president, deans and other college officials, as well as records of the college staff, faculty, student organizations, athletics and alumni. It also contains complete runs of all college publications including yearbooks, the college catalog, The Crusader, its predecessor The Tomahawk, The Purple, newsletters, pamphlets, and similar material. An extensive photograph collection documents administrators, staff, faculty, students, alumni, athletic teams, student activities, the built environment and college life in general. There is also an extensive collection of audio visual material documenting theatrical plays, lectures, and sporting and other events.

The Archives actively collects records of enduring value in the following areas

  1. Official college records
    • Of the governing bodies of the college, such as the Board of Trustees
    • Of the administrative offices of the college
    • Of the academic departments and programs of the college
    • Of the faculty as a body, in committee or individually
    • Of student organizations, clubs and activities
    • Of the athletics, intercollegiate and intramural sports programs
  2. Supporting materials to the official college records
    • About the alumni, individually or in groups
    • All college publications including student publications
    • Honors Theses, Fenwick Scholar projects and prize-winning works
    • Faculty and alumni authored books and artistic performances
    • Publications about college history
    • Works produced as a result of the use of archival material
    • Objects relevant to the collection focus of the Archives

The materials types and formats collected by the Archives are broad and include books, journals, newspapers, yearbooks, manuscripts, architectural drawings, paper documents, photographs, slides, film, electronic files, sound recordings and objects. Some examples are

  • Departmental newsletters
  • Correspondence, memorandums, meeting minutes and other office files
  • Typewritten copies of speeches given at college events or external events in support of the college’s mission
  • Pamphlets and flyers advertising the college as well as the college’s programs and events
  • Annual Reports and other major reports such as space studies and program reviews
  • Programs of events held on campus
  • Photographs of people, campus and college events
  • Committee files
  • Sport media guides, schedules and rosters
  • Student and departmental publications
  • Reunion records
  • Recordings of college events such as performances, lectures, athletic games and major ceremonies
  • Materials documenting the student experience including records of student organizations

Records that are NOT collected by the Archives include

  • Personnel records
  • Medical records
  • Educational records of living persons, i.e. gradebooks, graded copies of student’s work, transcripts, etc.
  • Invoices, receipts and other budget records
  • Photocopies
  • Records containing personal identifying or sensitive information
  • Materials not related to the college or college activities
  • Active records, i.e. materials still actively being edited or used.

Back to top

Duplicates

Due to the limitations of both physical and digital storage, the Archives are unable to accept duplicate copies of items already held in our collections. Some exceptions may be made if the second copy has unique features. Generally, copies of the major college publications such as but not limited to the Purple Patcher, Holy Cross Magazine, the Purple, and Course Catalog are not accepted because copies of these publications are received upon release by the department of origin.

Objects and Artwork

The Archives maintains a collection of college memorabilia and ephemera. While this collection is actively growing, the department must be selective to ensure the objects are adequately cared for and preserved. In some instances, items may be more appropriate for the Cantor Art Gallery collection. The Archives & Distinctive Collections department works closely with gallery staff in these instances.

Back to top

New Collecting Initiatives

The Archives & Distinctive Collections department recognizes there are gaps and deficiencies in our records. The Archives are dedicated to filling those gaps and strive to collect materials which tell the stories of

  • Persons of color
  • The LGBTQIA+ community
  • The first women at the College including students and faculty members
  • Holy Cross in the local Worcester community

Additionally, the Archives are committed to expanding our holdings documenting the student experience from the student perspective. Highly-desired materials include records of student organizations, materials and photographs documenting significant events on campus such as the BSU Walkout in 1969 and the Sit-In in 2019. Candid photographs especially from 1990 to present also are desirable.

Back to top

Distinctive Collections

The Distinctive Collections consists of the Rare Book Collection, the Jesuitana Collection, the Manuscripts Collection and the Realia Collection. These collections include materials such as books, decorative art objects, manuscripts and personal papers, newspapers, scrapbooks, pamphlets, graphic materials, prints, paintings, ephemera and realia. Additionally, the Deaf Catholic Archives (DCA) is located in Distinctive Collections. This collection holds materials pertaining to the history of Deaf culture and gives an understanding of how Deaf Catholics practice their faith (culturally) in new ways, when traditional methods are insufficient. Rev. Joseph Bruce, S.J., founder and curator of the Deaf Catholic Archives, is responsible for developing the DCA.

Jesuitana

This collection contains materials by and about the Jesuits from their founding in 1540 to the present. Many were published before the Suppression of the Society of Jesus in 1773. In addition to documenting the history of the society, materials also highlight the Jesuits’ contributions to life, thought and culture.

Manuscript Collection

The Manuscript Collection holds the personal papers of individuals and families as well as records of organizations, businesses and other entities. Noted collections include the papers of James Michael Curley, David I. Walsh, Louise Imogen Guiney, Dorothy Wayman and Rev. Joseph J. Williams, S.J.

The subject strengths of this collection are

  • Government Services with a strong emphasis on Catholic Politicians from New England
  • Irish American Experience in New England
  • Jesuits and Catholicism with a strong focus on individual Jesuits, Catholic Organizations, and New England Church History
  • Local Worcester History
  • Military History
  • Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
  • Writers, in particular writers and journalists from New England

Rare Books

This collection contains books published prior to 1860, artists’ sketchbooks, autographed volumes, monetarily valuable books and works with limited availability. While there is a broad range of subjects represented, the strengths of the collection are bibles, Catholicism, American literary first editions and Americana

Additionally, this collection includes the personal libraries of Louise and Patrick Guiney as well as Bishop James Augustine Healey. Books given to the College by Georgetown University in 1843 also may be found.

Realia Collection

This collection mostly consists of decorative art objects, artwork and other historical objects. When Dinand Library opened in 1927, there was a museum space and many of the objects in this collection are connected to the former museum. Currently, the Archives & Distinctive Collections are not actively collecting objects due to space limitations and their specialized storage requirements. Exceptions may be made in extraordinary circumstances and any new additions must have a strong connection to the existing manuscript or realia collections.

Back to top

Collecting Priorities

The Archives & Distinctive Collections department recognizes there are gaps and deficiencies in our holdings. The department is dedicated to filling those gaps and making our collections more diverse and inclusive. New collecting priorities include

  • Artist sketchbooks, artist books and other materials related to the Dr. Mark D. Nevins '86 Collection for the Study of Comics and Graphic Novels
  • Rare books and facsimiles of significant text supporting coursework
  • Materials documenting Jesuit history with an emphasis on New England and Holy Cross Jesuit history
  • Collections pertaining to Catholic politicians from New England
  • Collections and materials documenting women, particularly women in science, and marginalized groups. We are especially interested in items with some connection to Holy Cross.

Back to top

CrossWorks

CrossWorks is a dynamic institutional repository based on the principle of Open Access. It enables the College to collect, preserve, and provide broad access to the works of the faculty, students, and staff at the College of the Holy Cross. Members of the Holy Cross community interested in submitting materials should consult with the Digital Scholarship Librarian. Appropriate content may be added following the guidelines below

  • The work must be original, produced or sponsored by a member of the Holy Cross community.
  • The work must be creative, scholarly in nature, research oriented, or of institutional significance.
  • The author must own the copyright to all content and additional components within the work, or have received and shown permission to have the material available on CrossWorks.
  • Contributors may include non-affiliated scholars if they are co-authoring with Holy Cross authors or are affiliated closely with the College, e.g., are emeritus professors, or hold honorary degrees.

Examples of possible content are

  • Working papers, conference materials, and technical reports
  • Published articles when copyright and/or license allow
  • Honors projects
  • Faculty-student collaborative projects
  • Journals published by the Holy Cross community
  • Faculty course-related output primarily of scholarly interest
  • Organizational annual reports and newsletters
  • Strategic college documents
  • Data sets, image galleries, multimedia projects

The author or representative of the organization or department must grant permission prior to material being uploaded to the repository, authorizing the College the right to preserve and distribute the material via CrossWorks (See Appendix B). Exceptions may be made at the discretion of the Digital Scholarship Librarian. Submitters may choose to make material available only to the Holy Cross community. There is no formal limit to the amount of material and most file formats are acceptable.

Back to top

Gift Policy

Archives & Distinctive Collections gratefully accepts material within our collecting scope and financial contributions to support its collections and programs. Please contact Abby Stambach, Head of Archives & Distinctive Collections (astambac@holycross.edu or 508-793-2506) before sending any items for inclusion in the archival, manuscript or rare book collections. A list and description of the materials you are offering is required so that staff may ensure they fit within the collecting scope and be adequately cared for. Additionally, please provide a description of the condition of the materials. Since there are limited funds for conservation work, materials in fair or poor condition or have evidence of mold or pest damage are not accepted. After the list is received, it will be reviewed and you will be contacted by department staff.

Donations to Archives & Distinctive Collections require the completion of a Deed of Gift Form. (Appendix A). As agreed in the Deed of Gift, donations become the property of the College, which reserves the right to dispose of materials not chosen for inclusion in the collections. Archives & Distinctive Collections is not able to appraise gift items, and any appraisal information used by the donor for tax purposes is the responsibility of the donor.

Monetary donations, or a request for more detailed information on planned giving, may be sent to the Director of Library Services, Mark Shelton (mshelton@holycross.edu or 508-793-3372).

Back to top

Appendix A

College of the Holy Cross Archives & Distinctive Collections

One College Street, Worcester, MA 01610-23

DEED OF GIFT

Link to Print Deed of Gift (.pdf)

The College of the Holy Cross Archives & Distinctive Collections gratefully acknowledges the receipt from:

Donor:______________________________________________________________

Address:_____________________________________________________________

of the following materials: 

I hereby make a gift of these materials to the College of the Holy Cross. By making this gift, I assign and convey to the College of the Holy Cross legal title and any and all copyrights and/or other intellectual property rights that I hold in these materials. The rights assigned include the right to create derivative works or compilations and to record or fix the materials in any tangible medium that currently exists or that may be developed. Title and rights shall pass to the College of the Holy Cross at the time of the transference of materials.

The College of the Holy Cross may use its discretion in the disposition of materials considered appropriate for retention in its collections unless instructions, if any, are stated below. Disposition instructions, if any: 

 

Access to these materials will be provided in accordance with the policies and procedures of the Archives & Distinctive Collections unless restrictions, if any, are stated below:

 

I certify that I have read the terms of this deed and that I have absolute authority to donate this property.

Donor's Signature:_____________________________________________  Date:______________

Print Donor's Name:________________________________________________________________

For The Archives & Distinctive Collections_________________________  Date:______________

Back to top

Appendix B

College of the Holy Cross Library Services

CrossWorks Submission Agreement

Link to  print CrossWorks Submission Agreement (.pdf) 

CrossWorks is an open-access institutional repository maintained by the College of the Holy Cross Library Services to collect, preserve and provide access to the scholarly and creative work produced by the Holy Cross Community. To properly administer this repository, contributors are asked to sign the CrossWorks Submission Agreement:

I grant to Holy Cross the non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, display, distribute, or reproduce the deposited work(s) in any format or medium for inclusion in CrossWorks for non-commercial, research, educational or related academic purposes only. This agreement does not transfer copyright to Holy Cross. Other than this limited license, the Contributor or copyright holder retains all intellectual property rights to the work(s) and the responsibility for enforcing those rights.

I represent and warrant that the submission is my original work and, to the best of my knowledge, does not infringe on the rights of others. When using material created by others, my use complies with fair use of the copyright law and includes appropriate citations and/or permissions. The library has permission to withdraw the materials from CrossWorks without notice in the event such materials are alleged to have violated another's intellectual property rights or in the event the College determines doing so is in the best interest of the College.

I acknowledge that my work(s) may constitute an education record(s) and agree that such record(s) may be disclosed to library patrons for their informational purposes, subject to the disclosure limitations defined below.

I agree that Holy Cross may keep more than one copy of my work(s), which may be migrated to any medium or format for the purpose of preservation and access in the future.

My submission will be maintained in an open access online digital environment via CrossWorks, a service of the Holy Cross Library Services. My submission is intended for educational purposes only. This license shall not authorize the commercial use of the materials by Holy Cross or any other person or organization. Because materials on CrossWorks are available to anyone with internet access, I do not hold Holy Cross responsible for third party use of my submission

Please check one of the following options and sign and date below

☐Open Access (you give permission to make your work available online for anyone to read)

☐Limited Access (you give permission to make your work available online for anyone to read after a delayed release up to ____ years)

☐Restricted Access (you give permission to make your work available to users logged in to the Holy Cross network, with the option to make available to anyone after ____ years)

By typing my name into the author field I am agreeing to the terms above and attaching my electronic signature. I understand that if I do not agree to these terms, I should not sign my name.

Author:_________________________________________________  Date:_______________

Holy Cross email:______________________ or permanent email:______________________

Title:________________________________________________________________________

Keyword(s):__________________________________________________________________

Department: _________________________________________________________________

Faculty advisor signature ( if student) ______________________________ Date :__________

Please indicate which criteria this work meets:

☐College Honors

☐Departmental Honors

☐Faculty-sponsored research

☐College publication

☐Other ____________________________________________________________________

Back to top