Ownership
All Archive records are property of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and may not be destroyed or removed from the library except for purposes of digitization or copy for display in exhibits.
Creation and maintenance
Each UT Health Science Center department head is responsible for the creation and maintenance of records that document the activities under their jurisdiction and transfer of inactive records of archival value to the Archives. Archival records are kept in their original order; staff should be diligent about preserving the order and integrity of current files. Departments should contact the Archivist whenever historic records are no longer needed in the office or origin before files are dismantled or transferred elsewhere.
The University Archives contain publications, papers, photographs, and other records that document the history of the university itself. A secondary area of interest includes records documenting the history of medicine in San Antonio and South Texas. Included in the collection are publications of or about the university, correspondence of key officials, printing materials produced by an office or department of the university, minutes of meetings, bound dissertations and theses by graduate students (one copy), student yearbooks, archived school catalogs, manuscripts and personal papers of prominent San Antonio physicians, records about the history of medicine in San Antonio and South Texas, photographs, oral histories, some artifacts, etc. Records of the university which have historical value or archival value but no longer have administrative, fiscal, or legal value to their originating offices are transferred to the University Archives. Records are maintained permanently there and become the property of the Archives.
Archival materials will be collected according to the following policies:
UT Health Science Center Archives
Manuscripts
Personal papers of prominent individuals associated with the Health Science Center or the history of medicine in San Antonio or South Texas.
Archives or other institutions relating to the history of medicine in San Antonio or Texas
Photographs
Photographs relating to the Health Science Center or to the history of medicine in San Antonio or South Texas will be actively solicited. However, unidentified portraits of individuals will not ordinarily be accepted.
Oral History
Oral history interviews with prominent members of the Health Science Center community, the Bexar County health sciences community, and the South Texas area will be recorded as possible. The personal papers of those individuals will also be solicited.
Memorabilia
Artifacts related to the history of the Health Science Center or to the history of medicine will be accepted selectively but not actively solicited.
Duplicates
Duplicate copies or archival materials will not ordinarily be retained. Exceptions are made for published materials likely to have high reference use (student yearbooks, for example).
Health Science Center administrative and office personnel are requested to contact the Records Management Officer of the university before disposing of inactive records or sending non-current material to storage if they feel the records contain information of historic value. Records marked on the Health Science Center Records Retention Schedule with an I in the Archival column must automatically be sent to the Archives, not destroyed or sent to the Warehouse. Those marked with an O should be reviewed by the archivist to determine their value to the Archives. Prior to transferring records to the archives a Transfer Request Form must be completed and approved.
When records are transferred to the Archives, contents of each records box must be listed on a transfer list by the office from which the records are being transferred using the Archives Transfer List form. The records should also be listed on the Disposition Log for the office with "Archives" listed as the method of disposition.
The Records Management Officer provides the transfer list to the Archives when records are transferred and maintains a listing of records transferred. The Request for Transfer of Records to University Archives should be completed by the Department Head. Records transferred to the Archives become property of the Archives.
Professional archival standards will be followed in the care and management of the archival collections.
Access
Access to the Archives will be provided to Health Science Center personnel, area health professionals, and visiting scholars. Restrictions may be imposed on sensitive records or series of records, particularly those covered by FERPA or HIPAA regulations, to protect privacy rights.
Archival records may be viewed by appointment only Monday - Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm in the P. I. Nixon Reading Room on the 5th floor of the Briscoe Library. Visitors planning to arrive after 4:30 pm should contact archival staff ahead of time to ensure materials are ready for use as materials will not be retrieved at that time. Users should be prepared to show proper identification (university ID card or a government issued ID). Purses, briefcases, and folders must be placed in designated areas. Only paper, pencils, laptop computers, and digital cameras may be brought into the reading room. Cotton gloves will be provided by archival staff for handling of very rare materials.
The University Archives provides a reference service for the Health Science Center community and researchers and a repository for the preservation of historically important university records. Fill out this form to request photos or documents from the University Archives. Archival staff will photocopy and/or digitize materials for users. There is no charge for UT Health Science Center personnel. Non-UT Health Science Center users will be charged $25.00 per picture digitized. Fees may be charged for digitization of other materials, depending on the purpose and the amount of materials requested.
For more information about the University Archives, contact us at (210) 450-8260 or at specialcollections@uthscsa.edu.