n.materials physically and officially transferred to a repository as a unit at a single timeHam 1993, 18In general, new acquisitions should add substantive documentation, rather than simply provide more information about subjects that already are well-documented in a repository's holdings.Ham 1993, 48Some repositories will recognize the donors of an exceptional acquisition with a formal opening of the papers or an exhibit drawn from the acquisition.the process of seeking and receiving materials from any source by transfer, donation, or purchaseHam 1993, 2Acquisition. The process of acquiring records from any source by transfer, donation, or purchase, or the body of records so acquired.Ham 1993, 18The policy should establish guidelines for setting priorities and levels of acquisition activity, stipulating conditions governing acquisition and retention, and stating what limitations or conditions the institution may impose on those collections that are within the scope of the policy.Ham 1993, 37Field collecting has a venerable history in this country. Throughout most of the nineteenth and well into the twentieth century, this method of acquisition was the primary means of saving the nation’s archival treasures. Field collecting was the preserve of both institutional collectors, such as the Library of Congress, and private collectors—whether would-be historians gathering their own research material or amateur scholars with a passion for acquisition in their area of expertise.
Notes
The term often is used in plural form in the second sense, yet still denotes the same meaning.
