How to Prepare a Digital Kirksville Local-History Collection for Donation to an Archive

Do not walk into an archive with an unlabeled hard drive and assume the institution will take it.

A useful digital donation starts with a conversation.

Different repositories collect different subjects, have different technical capabilities and may want the original arrangement preserved before you reorganize anything.

Choose the repository before repackaging

Possible destinations for Kirksville-related material include institutions such as Truman Special Collections & University Archives, the State Historical Society of Missouri and local historical organizations.

Contact the repository first.

Ask whether the collection fits its scope.

Describe:

• subject;
• date range;
• size;
• file formats;
• physical originals;
• born-digital material;
• photographs;
• websites;
• privacy issues;
• rights.

Do not split a coherent collection across several institutions before discussing repository fit.

Preserve original arrangement

Original filenames and folders can contain evidence.

Before cleaning anything up, preserve:

• original folder structure;
• original filenames;
• source media;
• file timestamps;
• original metadata.

Create a working or transfer copy for cleanup.

Do not destructively reorganize the only copy.

Build a machine-readable inventory

A CSV, TSV or similarly portable table can include:

• item or folder ID;
• path;
• filename;
• format;
• file size;
• date;
• creator;
• description;
• rights;
• restrictions;
• related physical item;
• checksum.

The inventory gives the repository a map before staff open thousands of files.

Add a collection README

Explain the collection at the collection level.

Include:

• title;
• creator;
• date range;
• geographic scope;
• organizational or family history;
• how files were created;
• digitization methods;
• folder logic;
• abbreviations;
• known gaps;
• software dependencies;
• rights contact;
• privacy notes.

Do not make an archivist reverse-engineer decades of personal folder habits.

Document provenance

For important groups of material, record:

• who created the original;
• who held it;
• who digitized it;
• when it was acquired;
• whether the digital file is original or scan;
• whether it was edited.

If an image or document came from another repository, record the source and item identifier.

Do not present another archive's downloaded copy as an original you own.

Separate originals from derivatives

Label whether a file is:

• born-digital original;
• preservation master;
• edited derivative;
• OCR;
• transcript;
• thumbnail;
• web copy.

Do not flatten everything into one folder called final.

Review rights

Donation of a file does not automatically mean the donor owns the copyright.

Record what is known about:

• copyright owner;
• donor rights;
• permissions;
• licenses;
• restrictions;
• unknown rights.

The repository's deed-of-gift process governs what is actually transferred.

Do not promise rights you do not own.

Flag privacy and restrictions

Historical collections may contain:

• information about living people;
• medical data;
• financial data;
• minors;
• confidential organization records;
• private correspondence.

Do not automatically delete everything sensitive.

Discuss restrictions with the repository.

The institution may prefer to preserve material under controlled access rather than destroy historical context.

Remove active security secrets

Before transfer, look for:

• passwords;
• API keys;
• active tokens;
• SSH private keys;
• current account credentials.

Historical relevance does not justify casually handing over active access to modern systems.

If a credential is itself historically significant, discuss secure restricted handling.

Keep originals and avoid blind mass conversion

Do not convert every file just because one format looks more archival.

Keep original files.

Add preservation or access derivatives when appropriate and when the receiving repository agrees.

Repository-specific requirements should control final packaging.

Generate checksums

Checksums help verify that files did not change during transfer.

A SHA-256 manifest can provide file-level fixity.

Generate the manifest after the transfer package is stable.

The repository can then compare received files against the donor's manifest.

Package without destroying provenance

A transfer copy might include folders such as:

• 00_README;
• 01_INVENTORY;
• 02_MASTERS;
• 03_DERIVATIVES;
• 04_METADATA;
• 05_TRANSCRIPTS;
• 06_WEB_ARCHIVES;
• 07_RIGHTS_RESTRICTIONS;
• 08_CHECKSUMS.

That is an example, not a universal archival standard.

Do not rearrange the original source collection destructively just to match it.

Keep physical originals in the conversation

If digital files came from physical photographs, letters or albums, tell the repository:

• whether originals still exist;
• who owns them;
• whether they are included;
• how digital IDs relate to physical items.

Do not discard physical originals because scans exist.

Treat the USB drive as delivery media

A flash drive or portable disk is not an archive by itself.

It is a transport mechanism.

A repository that accepts the collection will normally ingest the files into its own preservation systems.

Keep your donor copy until the transfer and accession are confirmed.

Read the deed of gift

Understand:

• ownership transfer;
• copyright or license;
• restrictions;
• duplicate/disposal policy;
• donor access;
• future additions.

If tax valuation matters, use independent qualified advice rather than asking the receiving archive to assign the value.

Verify the transfer

Before deleting anything:

• repository confirms receipt;
• deed is complete;
• restrictions are understood;
• files were successfully transferred;
• checksum verification is complete if used;
• contact information is recorded.

A donation is complete when both sides understand what was transferred and under what terms.

For building the collection before donation, see How to Build a Searchable Digital Archive of Your Kirksville Family History.

For digitizing photographs, see How to Digitize and Preserve Old Kirksville Family Photographs.