Your student organization is an important part of campus life at Bucknell University. The records or information your organization or club creates, such as minutes, correspondence, and promotional material, contributes greatly toward documenting and preserving the history of your organization.

Special Collections/University Archives is responsible for collecting, preserving, and providing access to the University's institutional records. To ensure all aspects of the University's history are documented and made available to future researchers, we encourage your participation by transferring your organization's records or documents to the university archives collection. This guide is intended to inform and guide you through the process. 

Physical records

Contact scua@bucknell.edu for instructions about transferring physical (i.e. paper) records to Special Collections/University Archives.

Digital records

The following guidelines will help prepare digital content for transfer to Special Collections/University Archives.

- Create a new folder and add files for transfer.

- If  the files were created in Google Drive (Google Docs, Sheets, Forms), download them with an assigned file format, such as a PDF (.pdf) or an Open Document format (.odf) before transfer. 

- Navigate to the transfer form. Select the ‘Add files’ button and navigate to the location of the files to be transferred. The form will accept a maximum of 10 files totaling 10GB in size. Select submit to transfer files.      

- Transfer additional files by submitting another form.

Both paper and digital formats are accepted as transfers. You should collect, retain, and prepare for transfer any records representing your organization’s “story” that documents its mission, activities, and decision making. 

Questions? Contact scua@bucknell.edu.

Tip: It is good practice to assign historian duties to a member of your group. In addition to documenting your organizational or club history, the historian could be made responsible for collecting and transferring the appropriate records to Special Collections/University Archives. 

Consider the following when preparing a records transfer. 

Records collected by university archives

- Organizational histories

- Evidence of decision making

- Constitutions and bylaws

- Minutes and agendas

- Newsletters and publications

- Event planning records

- Promotional materials, including flyers and posters

- Photographs and albums about events

Records not collected by university archives

- Records with private or personally identifiable information

- Financial records, such as receipts

- Trophies and plaques