Legal Agreements

Types of legal agreements

Legal agreements may include certificates of gift (pre-2016), acknowledgement letters (pre-2017), deeds of gift, sale agreements, deaccession records, non-disclosure agreements, or any other formal agreement between material creators (or other sources) and Smith College that must be honored over time.

Filing legal agreements

Legal agreements, once they're signed and countersigned, should be filed alphabetically by collection (SSC) or source (MRBC, CA) name within the range for each repository in the secure SC workspace in 206.

Sophia Smith Collection legal agreements

• In addition to filing original legal agreements, agreements should be copied and a copy of the agreement should go into the donor file (see below)
• The legal agreement should also be scanned (if originally in paper form) and filed in the Collection Development directory in Google Team Drive
• Finally, the terms of the legal agreement (for acquisitions only -- not for deaccessions or other agreements) should be logged in the SSC Legal Agreements spreadsheet, also found in Google Drive.

Mortimer Rare Book Collection legal agreements

• MRBC source files are separated into two types: DONOR and VENDOR. (Booksellers and anyone else from whom we have purchased materials can be found in the Vendor category. Donors represent those who have given us materials, without financial compensation.)
• For collections purchases, file invoices, receipts, collection descriptions, W-9s, and Smith new supplier forms in the MRBC Vendor files.
• For collection donations, file original donor legal agreements (deeds of gift) and make a copy and file the copy in the MRBC Donor files.
• Scan donor and vendor legal agreements (if originally in paper form) and file them in the Collection Development directory in Google Team Drive.
• Log new donor legal agreements in the MRBC legal agreements spreadsheet, also found in Google Team Drive.

College Archives legal agreements

• In addition to filing the original legal agreement, the legal agreement should also be scanned (if originally in paper form) and filed in the Collection Development directory in Google Team Drive.

Donor (and Vendor) Files

What they are

• Donor (and Vendor) files exist in two places. Materials that come to us in digital form are filed in the Collection Development directory on the Google Team Drive. Materials that exist in physical form (as well as physical print-offs of legal agreements) are kept in the secure SC workspace in 206.
• Donor files are mostly records of donor communications and copies of legal agreements (usually sale agreements, deaccession records, or deeds of gift. Rarely, this may include non-disclosure agreements or discrete transfers of literary rights). Vendor files are mostly invoices, receipts, new supplier forms, W-9 forms, and collection descriptions.

Filing rules

• Donor (and Vendor) files should be labelled with the name of the collection (SSC) or source (MRBC). If the collection/source is created by a person, it should list surname first.
• A copy of each donor legal agreement should be placed in its own manila folder at the front of the red hanging file. (This is not necessary for Vendor files.)
• Communications (letters, notes from phone calls, notes from donor trips) are filed in reverse chronological order, newest communications first.
• Creator- or source-provided descriptions (biographies, inventories, collection descriptions, etc.) should be filed in Google Team Drive.