The Collaborating Institutions

The Rockefeller Archive Center (RAC) and the Smithsonian Institution Archives (SIA) bring substantial assets and advantages to this project. Fundamentally, they are well-established, stable institutions, with responsibilities for the management of records that go well beyond cataloging of historical manuscripts: both are entrusted with the strategic management of a broad range of institutional records from founding documents to nearly current files.

The Smithsonian Institution Archives
SIA's advantages are numerous, and include its role in managing the records of an organization with multiple functions. SIA is closely allied with the Smithsonian's Office of the Chief Information Officer, whose mandate is to ensure that technical plans and policies, and an information system architecture and infrastructure are in place to support information technology life-cycle management. The SIA itself is well into preservation of the Institution's web sites, crafting a comprehensive electronic records life-cycle policy, and has studies underway regarding operation of an electronic records repository. Finally, the SIA recently appointed a skilled information-technology manager to spearhead its electronic records program.

The Rockefeller Archive Center
The RAC is in the unique position of managing the archives of fifteen active but independent philanthropic and nonproft organizations, as well as The Rockefeller University. The Center’s role has made it a source of archival- and records-related expertise for the philanthropic and non-profit communities. However, the RAC has found that the collaborative approaches used for over a quarter-century to identify and transfer archival records need to be revised in order to meet the realities of the digital era. To that end, it has collaborated with several of its depositors in establishing frameworks for newly adopted databases, and it is including electronic records storage capability in its plans for an expanded archival storage facility.