Archiving (Saving Club history)

Archiving Guidelines for FUSA Clubs & Student Communities

SAVE YOUR HISTORY! FUSA Clubs can leave a long-lasting legacy by archiving with the University. By archiving your materials, your Club will never be forgotten!

A guide to archiving your Club materials can be found below.

What to send to the Flinders University Archives:

Send digital or analog (print) materials – the Archives collects both! But please contact the Manager, University Records & Archives about transfer options first.

Send the following kinds of items to the Archives:

• Constitutions, charters, and by-laws
• Minutes and reports of meetings and committees
• Membership lists
• Organisational histories
• Publications and publicity material: newsletters, brochures, event programs and booklets
• Officers’ files: correspondence and memoranda (incoming and outgoing) and subject files concerning projects, activities, and functions
• Scrapbooks (only if containing significant organisation events/involvements)
• Audio-visuals: photographs, films, and video tapes

Do not send:

• Duplicate and blank forms
• Detailed financial records, cancelled cheques, bank statements, and receipts
• Plaques and trophies
• Multiple copies of anything

How to send your records to the Archives:

1. Don’t reorganise your material. Send it to us in the same way you kept it.
2. Contact Archives & Records Management to discuss transfer options (central.records@flinders.edu.au).
3. Contact Archives staff (archives@flinders.edu.au) for boxes and practical tips.
4. Complete a transfer form and a brief inventory that identifies the records.
5. Contact Archives staff (archives@flinders.edu.au) to arrange a time to transfer materials.

We can also advise you about transferring digital items.

How to document history as you make it

The best way to save your history is to document your activities as they happen:

1. Keep minutes when you have meetings.
2. Save copies of publications and event flyers.
3. Label your materials with full names, dates, and descriptions of events or circumstances.
4. Keep your records together in one central place.
5. Develop a straightforward filing system that works for you.
6. Store your records away from dampness, excessive heat, and direct sunlight.
7. Develop a routine of transferring inactive records to the University Archives at the end of the year, or after specific periods of time. Another good time to send materials is when your leadership changes.
8. Don’t forget your non-paper documents. Save those flash drives, DVDs, memorabilia, photographs, posters, and tapes, as well as traditional paper documents.
9. When in doubt, don’t throw it out! Contact Archives staff at archives@flinders.edu.au