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Donations
Ruby Chilton (far right) and friends in the early 1890s. Ruby was the daughter of the first president of North Texas, Joshua C. Chilton.
In addition to receiving materials generated by the university, the University Archives accepts donations of records created by persons in the north central Texas area, in order to preserve the region's valuable historical record and to offer new opportunities for research.
What types of material does the Archives accept?
Some examples of material the Archives in interested in would include:
Family letters
Diaries or journals
Scrapbooks
Business correspondence
Business ledgers or record books
Ephemera, such as flyers, calendars, schedules, posters, menus, business cards
Photographs and photograph albums
Reminiscences, oral histories, or memoirs
Speeches
Organizational newsletters or newspapers, brochures
Who decides to accept a donation?
The archivist decides whether or not to accept a collection based on several factors, including the historical significance of the records, whether the collection would relate to other collections already in the Archives, the format of the materials, and the volume of the collection.
Will all the donated material be kept?
The archivist reserves the right to dispose of any part of the collection that is not considered valuable for historical research.
Will donors need to sign a contract?
Donors will be required to sign a university gift form, releasing their ownership of the materials to the university.
Can a donor claim a tax deduction?
If the donor wishes to claim a tax deduction for their collection, they will need to determine a monetary value on their own. The archivist cannot appraise collections.
If you wish to discuss donating your collection to the UNT Archives, please call (940) 565-2766 and ask for the archivist. The Collection Development Policy for the UNT Archives follows.
