E. Geographical areas collected

1. 11th Congressional District : The BCPM will concentrate its efforts in obtaining political materials from the 11th congressional district on the local, state, and national levels.


2. Texas :Selected other materials dealing with Texas government/politics may also be solicited if the staff of the BCPM determines that such papers would enhance the research value of the library.


3. Outside Texas : No attempt will be made to collect papers from outside the state of Texas even if they are from Baylor alumni. The BCPM will refer such inquires to appropriate depositories in their areas.

F. Chronological periods collected : There are no time limitations on materials collected.

G. Subject areas collected : Any limitations in subject areas are the result of limits set by the papers of individuals in the BCPM. Each collection will have its own areas of special interests. The BCPM will attempt to supplement these special interests with additional materials as funds are available.| TOP |

H. Languages, other than English, collected :

1. While currently the BCPM does not knowingly accept papers in languages other than English, some collections may contain foreign language materials which will need to be considered on an individual basis.


2. Since Texas has a growing Hispanic population, materials in Spanish may need to be added in the future to document this political involvement.
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I. Forms of materials collected

1. Manuscripts : When an individual is newly elected from the Central Texas area, the staff of the BCPM should make initial contact with the intent of securing at least a verbal confirmation for the papers in the beginning stages of the term(s) of service. Elected officials may include Central Texas politicians, state legislators, U.S. Congressmen, and judges.

a. Local politicians : Papers of Central Texas elected officials who have made a significant contribution to the area may be collected with the understanding that only files which document the political process of the official's specific contribution will be retained.


b. Local political party files : The BCPM will attempt to serve as a repository for all local political parties in the 11th congressional district. Party organizations may donate / deposit local records for safe keeping with the proper documentation.


c. Local political organizations : Other political organizations such as the League of Women Voters may also be invited to donate / deposit records of their activities as they relate to the 11th congressional district or Central Texas.


d. State legislators : State legislators from the 11th Congressional District or the Central Texas area will be encouraged to deposit their legislative papers with the BCPM.


e. Judges : When available, judicial papers may be secured to complete the legislative process documented by other collections.


f. U.S. congressional papers : Congressional papers are defined by federal law as personal papers which may be acquired by universities, historical societies, and libraries. These papers are created in the offices of United States Senators and Represen-tatives by congressmen and their staffs. This repository will collect papers of elected or appointed senators or representatives who are from the Central Texas area and/or Baylor alumni in Texas. The only papers which will not be accepted are covered in the section on Exclusions.


Furthermore, because of the quantity of papers and number of duplicate materials in congressional collections today, it is neither practical nor responsible to preserve them in their entirety or to devote large amounts of funds to their processing and preservation.


Therefore, the following guidelines need to be considered when assessing potential papers for the BCPM:

• Member's stature on the national or international scene;
  

• Member's relationship with his/her constituency;
  

• Content quality of the collection; and
  

• Manageability of the collection.
  
(1) 11th Congressional District : All congressmen from the 11th congressional district will be encouraged to deposit papers accumulated during their terms of service. It will be stipulated by the Deed of Gift that the papers will be processed and made available to researchers in accordance with standard archival practices as prescribed in the BCPM Processing Manual.


(2) Baylor alumni : Baylor alumni who have distinguished themselves in government service will also be encouraged to deposit their papers with the BCPM if they reside in the state of Texas.


2. Personal papers : Materials which document the life of the individuals whose papers are in the collections may include personal letters, awards, photographs, media, or any items in any format which give fuller dimension to the character, goals, and ideals of these persons.


3. Ancillary papers : Papers of ancillary persons and/or organizations may be collected in conjunction with congressional papers.


4. Books :

a. Criteria : The BCPM will purchase books that will support research in the subjects emphasized in individual collections as well as books related to politics and government in general.


b. Duplicates : Books about Texas politics and government already held/ordered by another Baylor library may be duplicated by the BCPM if they relate specifically to the collection or activities of an individual whose papers are presently in the holdings of the BCPM.


5. Media : The BCPM will not actively solicit any form of non-print media which it cannot support. However, older collections may contain vinyl records, 8/16mm film, and cassettes; contemporary collections may contain audio and video tapes; and collections in the future may contain computer, optical, compact, or other forms of disks. Therefore, non-print media will be accepted as part of larger acquisitions. Eventually, some materials may be stored in the campus media center. In the meantime, arrangements can be made with the non-print media materials department in the university system for patron viewing upon request.


6. Government publications : Since the general library is a depository for federal documents and the Texas Collection for state documents, government publications that are accessioned as part of a collection will only be retained if they inherently relate to the papers in that collection. When possible and practical, publications will be cataloged by Technical Services and returned to the BCPM. Therefore,

a. The BCPM will continue to accept for deposit publications of the U. S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture.


b. Otherwise, only those documents which reflect the primary legislative interests of legislators whose papers are deposited in the BCPM will be collected.


c. Other government documents received will be offered to the Government Documents, the Texas Collection, or discarded.


7. Serials : Serials will be collected if they relate to existing collections or the political process in general and are not duplicated in other University libraries.


8. Newspapers : Generally, extended runs of newspapers will be collected by other university libraries which are better equipped to handle storage and viewing of this format. However, some single issues or limited runs which have importance in relation to individual collections may be retained in association with those collections.


9. Microforms : Some microforms may be included as part of a collection with the understanding that the BCPM does not currently have equipment for viewing. Generally, the BCPM will not actively collect microforms which cannot be viewed in house.


10. Book catalogs : Vendor materials which relate to politics and the legislative process may be retained for bibliographic purposes. Other vendor catalogs should be sent to the appropriate university library.


11. Campaign materials : Materials which document political campaigns will be collected when possible and practical. Some of these materials may be used for display.


12. Maps : The BCPM will continue to collect whatever maps are sent by the Department of Agriculture or mapes included as part of a donor collection.


13. Biographical material : Limited biographical material documenting the lives of Texas politicians will be collected when available. This material will be organized into a Biographical Vertical File.


14. Vertical File : Pamphlets, brochures, and other smaller-than-book-size materials dealing with the same subjects as "8. Books" above will be collected for the Vertical File using standard LC headings. Topics will be input into BayLIS, the Baylor University's OPAC.
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J. Exclusions : The BCPM will generally NOT accept the following :

1. Materials that are not from the geographical areas listed in IV.E.


2. Partial manuscript or congressional collections when major portions of the collections have already been deposited in another repository.


3. Materials which are non-political in nature.


4. Media materials that are not part of a larger collection.
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K. Limitations on acquisitions :

1. No item may be added to the BCPM which cannot be stored, protected, and preserved under conditions that ensure its availability for research or exhibit purposes and that are in keeping with accepted professional standards.


2. If an item, subsequent to acquisition, can no longer be properly stored or preserved or is harmful to other objects in the collection, appropriate action should be taken, including copying, disposal, or return of the item.


3. No item may be acquired which is not intended as a permanent part of the collection.


4. No item may be acquired with a commitment that it will be exhibited, that any special manner of exhibit will be followed, or that any area of the library will be named for a donor.


5. Unsolicited donations must be evaluated in terms of their suitability and relationship to other holdings in the collection. Unsolicited donations that are not suitable or pertinent to the library should be returned to the donor with a suggestion of a suitable institution for deposit. However, such items may be accepted if, in the opinion of the Director, refusal might cause adverse publicity or unwarranted offense to the individuals involved. If such materials are received by the action of a will, legal counsel should be consulted before attempting to return the items.
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