The Archives Department of the Sandor Teszler Library seeks to complement the library's educational mission of supporting the programs of Wofford College. Wofford's historic association with the United Methodist Church and its designation by the South Carolina Annual Conference as one of its records depositories adds the responsibility for collecting materials relating to the history of South Carolina Methodism.
As a way of supporting the college and South Carolina Methodism, the archives will:
A. Appraise, collect, arrange, describe, preserve, and make available records of historical, legal, fiscal, and administrative value to Wofford College and the South Carolina Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.
B. Provide adequate facilities for the retention and preservation of such records.
C. Provide information services that will assist the operation of the college and the church.
D. Serve as a resource to stimulate creative teaching and learning.
E. Encourage research and scholarship by making available and promoting the use of its collections by members of the campus community, the church community, and the community at large.
F. Promote knowledge and understanding of the origins, programs, and goals of the college and the Methodist Church in the state.
The archives will attempt to obtain a complete collection of the college's publications. These include, but are not limited to, the minutes of the trustees, faculty, and major academic and administrative committee, college catalogues and bulletins, the publications of the Communications, Development, Admissions, and Athletics Offices, minutes of the alumni association, and student publications such as newspapers, yearbooks, and literary magazines. Records should document the development of college policy as well as faculty and administrative involvement in those activities.
The archives will seek to collect a representative sample of student life by acquiring the minutes of student government, materials relating to other student organizations, and photographic records of student life. The role of athletics being an important one in the history of the college, the archives will continue to add to its collection of materials relating to the various athletic teams. Likewise, the archives will continue to document the artistic life of the campus by collecting records of student musical, artistic, and theatrical works. The archives will attempt to document the academic life of the students by collecting honors course papers, Interim projects, and other appropriate materials.
The archives also seeks to obtain the papers of the officers of the college, particularly those of the Presidents of the College and the Dean of the College. Books and articles about the college, its faculty and staff members, students, and alumni are also appropriate parts of the collection. Likewise, the publications of these persons are appropriate for the collection.
While the archives does not seek to serve as a museum, significant artifacts of the college (and the church) will be collected.
The archives will seek to collect the official records and publications of the South Carolina Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church and its predecessor annual conferences. This includes the church newspaper, The Advocate, and the journals and minutes of the Conference.
The archives will also seek to collect records and materials that tell the history of conference agencies and their programs and policies. This specifically includes the minutes of the conference councils, boards, commissions, and committees, and their reports to the Annual Conference. This also includes the publications of conference agencies, such as newsletters. Records that document the formulation of policy are preferable to those that deal with routine administrative matters.
The study of the local church being an important one, the archives will seek to collect all published histories of individual churches. The archives will also maintain the records of discontinued or abandoned Methodist churches in the South Carolina Conference. We encourage local churches to maintain the records of their baptisms and marriages, and of their official boards and committees.
The archives will also collect monographs and articles about the history of Methodism in South Carolina, as well as biographical materials relating to South Carolina Methodist bishops, ministers, and lay leaders.