The Acadian Archives / Archives acadiennes at the University of Maine at Fort Kent was created to assist the people of the Upper Saint John River Valley to document, preserve, and celebrate their history, culture, and way of life. Anyone wishing to assist in this work by donating materials to the Archives is encouraged to contact the Director at the Archives offices.
Donating materials accomplishes several important goals:
- PRESERVATION: Our archival materials are kept in our state-of-the-art, climate-controlled storage area. Safety copies are made of most audio and video tapes, many photographs, and some paper documents.
- EDUCATION: Due to the Acadian Archives' regional focus and small size, each donation—no matter how modest—plays a vital role in documenting and explaining the Valley's history and culture.
- ACCESS: Unless restrictions are imposed by the donor, most materials are made available for consultation by scholars, community members, and others. Selected materials may also be available in electronic form via the Archives' public-access scanned-image database.
What Do We Collect?
The Archives follows guidelines in deciding which donations to accept. Briefly, we collect audio/visual documentation and manuscript materials relevant to the history, folklore, and folklife of the Saint John Valley. We also maintain a small library of reference books and other publications.
We do NOT collect artifacts (tools, textiles, clothing, machinery, etc.), nor do we collect materials unrelated to the history or culture of the Saint John Valley. However, we would be happy to help you locate a museum or historical society that would appreciate such donations. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you're unsure whether a donation would be appropriate.
How Do I Make a Donation?
The donation process is simple and painless. However, it does involve legal transfer of property, and certain formalities have to be observed. Before you contact the Archives, make sure you are the legal owner of the materials in question. If others were involved in their creation or collection, make sure that they also agree to the donation. If you are not the legal owner but would like to bring a possible donation to our attention, please contact the Archives Director before talking to the potential donor.
There are four steps to making a donation:
- Contact the Archives by telephone or personal visit to describe the materials briefly. (You may, if you prefer, contact us by mail, however we will still need to discuss the materials with you.)
- A mutually convenient time and place will be arranged for examining the physical materials. While this usually takes place at the Archives, we can travel to see the materials where they are being stored, if necessary.
- If the materials fit our collecting mandate, the Archives Director will discuss the details of donating with the legal owners. The Director may temporarily take possession of the materials for the purpose of preparing a deed of gift.
- The deed of gift will be signed and any restrictions on the materials noted. The Archives will then take possession of the materials, or a time and place will be set for their transfer to Archives custody.
Role of the Donor
There is one more, very important step to the donation process in which the donor plays a vital role. Before the materials can be made available to the public, they must be "accessioned." During this process, Archives staff sort through and arrange the materials, mark them for identification, make safety copies, and prepare inventories and other finding aids. To do this carefully takes a lot of time, and we count on your patience during this important period. From time to time, we may contact you for information about the history of the materials, which we need to complete the cataloging.
We like to think of our donors as our colleagues and a donation as only the beginning of what we hope will be a long and fruitful collaboration. If you have any questions about the donation process or about what materials we collect, please don't hesitate to contact the Archives Director at (207) 834-7535 or write to her at Acadian Archives/Archives acadiennes, University of Maine at Fort Kent, 23 University Drive, Fort Kent ME 04743.