Purpose
Collection Development Policy
Access and Restriction Policy
Patron or Use Policies | Download PDF
Photocopying Policy
Scanning Policy
Rare Materials Policy for the James White Library
Request to Use Personal Papers Collections | Download PDF
Purpose
The Center for Adventist Research (CAR) is a part of the James White Library, on the Campus of Andrews University. It provides a home for interdisciplinary study of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, its predecessors and related groups, from the Millerite movement of the mid nineteenth century to the present, through its collection of monographs, periodicals, photographs, audio/visual materials, and artifacts. The Center seeks to promote and preserve all aspects of the Seventh-day Adventist Church—its mission, theology, and activities—including those from official and unofficial sources and its predecessors and related groups.
Collection Development Policy
The Center comprehensively collects and preserves Adventist related resources. This includes:
- Books, pamphlets, and other monographs
- Periodicals
- Official church publications and records
- Personal paper collections
- Photographic materials and other visual images
- Sound and motion recordings
- Microform materials
- Charts, maps, and posters
- Artifacts and memorabilia
- Digital archives and other electronic resources
Additionally, we collect in all formats and all languages though English is the primary language of the collection.
Access and Restriction Policy
Access to 99% of the holdings of the Center for Adventist Research is open to all. While this is true, the collections are housed in secure storage and are not browseable except via our online finding aids. Additionally, some materials are restricted from viewing by limitations set by the donor, due to the sensitivity of their contents, by University policy governing their archival records which are housed in the Center, or by the Center’s Restriction Policy for Manuscript Collections. The Center staff will help you understand how this may affect you, the researcher. If you have a question please feel free to call or e-mail us.
Requests which come to the Center via the James White Library’s Inter-Library Loan process will be treated as a usual request for copies of materials. All limitations and costs associated with such requests will usually be applied.
Patron or Use Policy | Download PDF
Please review our Patron Policies document. This shows you the rules or regulations we work under in providing service to you. We do not intend to be restrictive through these but rather to do the best we can to treat everyone equitably and to protect the resources we make available to you. We feel a deep stewardship responsibility to properly care for the materials under our care. This guides much of the way we interact with you and how you can use the resources provided here.
Photocopying Policy
Our policy regarding photocopies is found in our Patron Policies document. In brief, most resources in the Center may be carefully copied. This may be done by the researcher or may be limited to staff, depending on the item and its physical condition. If you wish to photocopy something, please show it to the Reference Specialist first and tell them how much you want to copy. They will consider requests for photocopying of materials when such duplication can be done without marked damage to the material and when photocopying does not violate copyright restrictions and donor agreements.
Scanning Policy
The Center’s policy regarding scanning or digitization is similar to the photocopy policy and is also found in the Patron Policies document. Researchers may not use their own scanning equipment at the Center except for a handheld digital camera. Large scale or whole document scanning is different from the need for a few pages. For these larger scale or whole document requests we have a full scanning department within the Center that handles this type of work. Speak with the Reference Specialist about this type of request. The Center reserves the right to refuse scanning requests deemed too exhaustive of time and staff resources, damaging to the material, in violation of copyright, in excess of what we will duplicate from a personal papers or manuscript collection, or outside of our digitization goals.
Our policy regarding limited numbers of scans is found in our Patron Policies document. In brief, most resources in the Center may be carefully scanned if you are wanting a limited amount. This may be done by the researcher or may be limited to staff depending on the item and its physical condition. If you wish to scan something show it first to the Reference Specialist and tell them how much you want to scan. The staff of the Center for Adventist Research must approve all scanning requests. They will consider requests for scanning of materials when such duplication fits the criteria of our Patron Policy. Material judged suitable for scanning may be done on Center machines or by hand-held cameras. No material may leave the Center for any reason without special arrangements. The Center reserves the right to refuse any scanning requests deemed damaging to the material or in violation of copyright.
Rare Materials Policy for the James White Library
The Center for Adventist Research serves as the repository, or holding location, for the James White Library Rare Materials Collection. Essentially these are books older than 1860 or for some other reason are deemed to be of such value, uniqueness, or rarity that they need the extra measure of controlled access available in the Center. They may be used but use is limited to the Center’s Reading Room. To find these books do a word search of the James White Library catalog for “Rare Materials Collection.”