Collections Policy

A comprehensive collections policy governs the work of the Archives. Click on a topic below to view its full policy statement. (The government records portion of our collection is also subject to the town's Municipal Records Retention Policy.)

Purpose

The New London Town Archives serves as the repository for town records and manuscript materials documenting the history of New London, New Hampshire.

Mission

The mission of the Archives is to collect records and materials related to the government, landscape, events, and people of New London; to preserve, organize, and provide access to the collection; to assist researchers in use of the collection; to answer requests for historical information; to compile and publish town histories; and to assist town administrators and committees in preserving the town’s historical resources.

Management

The New London Town Archives is operated by the Town History & Archives Committee on behalf of the town of New London, New Hampshire. Committee members are appointed to 3-year, staggered terms by the Board of Selectmen.

Acquisitions

Relevant materials may be acquired by gift, bequest, purchase, transfer, or any other transaction that passes legal title of the materials to the New London Town Archives and Town of New London, New Hampshire. In rare cases, the Archives may hold materials on deposit (i.e. without title) provided that access to such records is unrestricted.

Deaccessions

Duplicate or irrelevant ephemera, manuscript or reference materials may be deaccessioned after review by the Town Archives Committee. Such deaccessioned materials will not be returned to donors unless so instructed at the time of gift; proceeds from sale of such materials will pass to the Town of New London.​ The disposition of all town records is governed by the town's Municipal Records Retention Policy (adopted November 2021) and its records retention schedule.

Reproduction

The Archives reserves the right to reproduce materials by mechanical, electronic, or photographic means for security, conservation, or research purposes.

Material Types

The Archives will accept relevant materials in any medium, including textual records; photographs and other visual records; maps, plans, and architectural drawings; and sound recordings and oral history tapes. Digital materials will be accepted in freely accessible file formats (e.g. PDF, TXT, CSV, JPG, TIFF, M4V, MP3).​

Borrowing

The Archives may borrow materials from individuals, organizations, or other repositories on a short-term basis for research or reproduction.

Loans

Original materials in the collection will not be loaned; they may be reproduced at the discretion of the archivist. Exceptions must be granted by the Town History & Archives Committee (and by the Board of Selectmen for all town records).

Access

Unrestricted archival materials (in original or facsimile form) may be accessed with staff supervision unless the materials are deemed fragile.