Skip to Main Content
CPCC Library logo

Central Piedmont Archives

LibGuide for How to Access and Contribute to the History of Central Piedmont

Collection Development Policy

Central Piedmont Archives collects records that are created or received by the offices of the College in the conduct of their business as well as external materials that provide contextual information about the history of Central Piedmont and the surrounding Elizabeth community. Materials appropriate for the archives include, but are not limited to:

  • Legal or constituting documents (e.g. charters, constitutions, by-laws), minutes,  reports and supporting documentation, memoranda, correspondence and policy statements of the Board of Trustees, Central Piedmont President and Vice Presidents, deans, directors, and major academic and administrative committees, including the college senate and college cabinet
  • Reports of self-studies and accreditation visits
  • Annual budgets and audits
  • Reports of the public information, community relations, planning and research, and institutional advancement offices
  • Research projects, including grant records
  • Departmental records including minutes and reports
  • Records of the registrar, i.e. calendars and class schedules, enrollment records and other regularly issued reports
  • Records of academic, service, and social organizations of students, faculty and staff
  • Central Piedmont publications
  • Photographs, films, and audio recordings of Central Piedmont students, faculty, staff, administrators, events and facilities
  • Oral history interviews and transcripts
  • Maps, blueprints and  plans of the campuses and buildings
  • Some artifacts, as space in the archives and condition of the object permits
  • Newspaper and magazine clippings highlighting Central Piedmont students, faculty, staff, administrators, events and facilities
  • Written histories or clippings highlighting the history of surrounding communities, especially the Elizabeth community.

The Central Piedmont Archives does not acquire records that do not document the administrative and/or historical functions of the College. These might include:

  • Handbooks or manuals for equipment
  • Non-CP publications
  • Research materials related to an individual faculty member's work
  • Personal correspondence or family papers

Additionally, due to federal regulations, we do not accept student records (including student assignments, evaluations, etc.) or healthcare records (such as files maintained in the health and medical facilities on campus).

Life of a Record

Once permanent records are transferred to the CP Archives, we review items included in the transfer to check that everything you intended to transfer is present and in the order described in the transfer form. If there are additional materials present, or if we have questions about some of the materials, we will contact you for more information.   

We then begin the process of making these records available for researchers: 

  • If necessary, we refolder or rebox the records for preservation purposes. If the records are digital, we work to identify digital preservation needs.
  • If you identify any of the records you transferred as containing confidential information, we review and address those records — usually separating them from the rest of the collection and closing access to them for a set period of time. We do not conduct a page-by-page review to determine if there are additional sensitive records — we count on the transferring office to identify any records that may contain sensitive information. 
  • So that researchers know what records we have, we create an online collection guide for the materials, or add to an existing guide. Here's an example of a collection guide, also called a finding aid. While writing or editing the collection guide, we may contact you to make sure we're describing the records properly and have all the dates and department names correct.

Once the records are described, researchers can view the collection guide online, request materials, and use them in a reading room in Central Piedmont Library.

Archives Policy, approved by College Cabinet, February 2015

I. DEFINITIONS

College records include, but are not limited to the correspondence, official printed materials, minutes, reports, committee files, audio/visual recordings, financial records, and/or associated papers generated or received by the various administrative and academic offices of the college in the conduct of official business.

Archives are the non-current records of individuals, organizations, institutions, and governments that have permanent historical or administrative value. The Central Piedmont Archives serves as the final repository for the permanently valuable records of Central Piedmont Community College. Its primary purpose is to identify, collect, and preserve such records, and to make them available to Central Piedmont administrators, faculty, staff, students, and other interested parties. The Central Piedmont Archives does not collect or include any official student records.

II. PURPOSE

These archives procedures are to ensure the collection, preservation, and long-term availability of official college records and related material.

The Central Piedmont Archives, a division of Library Services, has responsibility for ensuring the preservation of historically significant materials that reflect the college's origins, development, activities, and achievements of its officers, staff, faculty, students, and alumni. It is authorized to appraise, collect, preserve, organize, describe, and make accessible college records and related material of enduring value.

III. PROCEDURES

A. RECORD CREATORS' RESPONSIBILITIES

1. The individual in charge of each administrative office or academic department determines when records cease to have current administrative value, that is, when they are no longer accessed on a regular basis for the transaction of current business. The archivist, in cooperation with the record creator(s), will thereupon determine which of these records have permanent value to the college, and shall arrange their organized transfer to the Central Piedmont Archives. Other materials relating to the college, but not produced by it, may also be considered for inclusion in the archives.

2. When employees leave the college or have a significant change made to their duties and responsibilities, Human Resources staff will contact the archives. The archivist may then contact the employee to discuss transfer of their non-current records.

B. ARCHIVES' RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Central Piedmont records will be evaluated for their potential permanent value by the archivist and the record creator(s). This value is determined by considering the role of the creator(s), type of records, and content of the records.

2. The archivist shall consult with the appropriate administrative officers regarding any special conditions of access that may be placed on any category of records. It is understood that in the absence of specific restrictions, all materials transferred to the Central Piedmont Archives will be made available to researchers on a non-discriminatory basis.

3. The archivist will preserve the records of the Board of Trustees that are transferred to the archivist by the secretary of the Board of Trustees. Records with no specific restrictions will be made available to researchers on a non-discriminatory basis.

4. The Central Piedmont Archives may also preserve papers of faculty members, administrative officers, members of the Board of Trustees, alumnae, students or student groups, or employees as supplemental to these official records.