Donate to the SMSC

The Southern Maryland Studies Center (SMSC) collects, preserves and provides access to materials that document the history and culture of Southern Maryland, an area encompassing Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary's Counties, together with the southern portions of Anne Arundel and Prince George's Counties.

How to Donate

If you wish to donate records of organizations or individuals for inclusion in the archives, please contact the SMSC at SMSC@csmd.edu to discuss the materials and process. Staff will work with donors to identify what should be preserved.

All materials that are accepted for review must be accompanied by a completed and signed Deed of Gift form (provided by SMSC staff).

The donated materials will be evaluated prior to inclusion in the SMSC archives. Those that are accepted for inclusion in the archives will be accessioned, processed, and preserved, while those that are not accepted for accession will be disposed of or returned according to the donor’s instructions included in the deed of gift.

Donations or gifts to SMSC are considered personal property and are governed by the College of Southern Maryland Board of Trustees’ policies FIS:820, FIS:823, and FIS:824.

Collection Processing and Preservation

All materials are evaluated, described, housed in archival-quality storage containers and stored in a cool, dry and temperature-stable environment for continuous preservation. 

The processing, accession and preservation of donated archival collections are time consuming and expensive activities.  For this reason, donors are encouraged to contribute to cover the costs generated by their donated collections through monetary donations that can be made to:

• The Southern Maryland Studies Center Fund: donations to this fund are immediately available to the SMSC to use for its collections.
• The Robert Ware Straus Fund: this fund was established in 2002 to provide continuous funding for the SMSC.
  
  

What to Donate

Records of Local Businesses and Organizations

Architectural records, articles of incorporation, charters, correspondence, bylaws, reports, memoranda, meeting minutes and other materials, organizational charts, policy and procedure manuals, subject files, publications (generated by the organization), fund-raising materials, speeches, photographs, newspaper clippings about the organization, press releases and public relations material.

Records of Individuals

Correspondence, diaries, speeches, scrapbooks, autobiographical sketches, professional files, photographs, films, audio and video tapes.