LibGuides: Preservation and Maintenance of Church Collections: Donating your Collections

Making the Choice to Donate

This choice is a personal choice and, realistically, only you and your religious community can answer this question. Some places of worship are able to maintain an accessible library and history collection on their own or with a group of other congregations.

When considering donating your collections, ask the following:

How did I obtain this material?
- Is this material owned or created by me? Do I have a right to donate this material or should I consult with others in the donation process?
What information does the bulk of this information cover?
- It is generally advised not to separate collections. The information contained in the bulk of the collection may help you determine where to donate your materials.
Does my denomination have a regional, national, or global archival facility?
Does my denomination have specific rules on where their materials should be donated once they are no longer in use? Do these rules pertain only to church records or do they pertain to other historical information?
Can my congregation/group reasonably maintain this collection?
- Are we able to meet basic preservation standards? Do we have the appropriate space? Are volunteers available? Can we afford to take in new materials and/or stay up-to-date with best practices in managing our materials?
Where would these materials be the most safe and the most used?

Donating your Personal or Family Records to a Repository
This guide from the Society of American Archivists gives guidelines for donating personal collections.
Donating your Organization's Records to a Repository
This guide from the Society of American Archivists gives guidelines for donating organizational collections. Church records fall under this category.
Guide to Deeds of Gift
This guide explains the Deed of Gift that most institutions will require you to sign. This legal agreement might look intimidating, but it is designed to protect both the wishes of the donor and the use of the material by the institution accepting the material.

Donating to the Free Will Baptist Historical Collection

We currently collect materials pertaining to the Original Free Will Baptist Church and to the history of the University of Mount Olive. Below are some examples of materials currently in our collection.

Moye Library is a safe, secure space for the storage of historical materials. Our collections are indexed in the international library catalog, Worldcat Discovery, and are discoverable internationally. Our collections are available to students, faculty, community members, and researchers by appointment. A limited number of materials are digitized and available online.

If you would like to donate your materials to the Free Will Baptist Historical Collection or to the University Archives or if you have questions about the donation process, please contact our Curator, Gary Barefoot using the information below or the contact box on the left of this guide page.

Gary Barefoot

Phone: 919-658-7827

Email: gbarefoot@umo.edu

Examples of Current Collection Materials

Image of 4 men in bible college quartet in 1950

Picture of Bible College Quartet, 1950

We have materials relating to the history of the University of Mount Olive in our Alumni Archives collection in addition to collections related to religious education within the Church.

Macedonia Original Free Will Baptist Church Plate

Commemorative Plate depicting Macedonia Original Free Will Baptist Church

We hold a unique collection of commemorative plates from various churches.

Picture of Reverend J.C. Moye

This is Reverend J.C. Moye. Moye Library is named for Reverend Moye and his wife. Our collection contains informational files on ministers, images, and biographical information, in addition to collections of handwritten, typed, and recorded sermons, notes, and preaching materials.

Picture of General Conference Meeting, 1934

Our collection contains minutes and documents from the General Conference in addition to other conferences associated with the Original Free Will Baptist denomination.

"The Baptist Review," January 30, 1905

Our collection contains a variety of historical religious newspapers dating to the 19th century.

First Free Will Baptist Church of Durham, NC

Our collection includes church information files, pictures, church records, meeting minutes, and other materials pertaining to the history of individual congregations.