Charles Butler Associates (CBA) Archives - Next Steps

In August of 2019, I met with Rodney Obien, Keene State Associate Professor, College Archivist and Head of Special Collections, and his Keene State College Master of Arts Degree in History of Archives students. They looked over the CBA collection and had these recommendations for how to donate the items. I was also invited to sit in on the classes if I was interested.

Archive Recommendations

1. Research institutions that might be interested in the history of airlines.
2. Keep collection intact. Offer to send copies of the items to other institutions that may only be interested in part of the collection.
3. Take care of the items until the donation can be made.
4. The institution most likely will want to organize the items in their own way.
5. If I wanted to do the organizing, it might be best to put the projects together with their associated drawings, clippings, press releases, etc.
6. They asked who owns the intellectual rights, intangible rights and design rights.
7. Keep the smaller items in archival plastic sleeves and folders. 
8. Put the oversized items in archival tubes.
9. They were concerned about the drawings made using the diazo process. It is best to separate them from the non-diazo materials using alkaline PH neutral paper.
10. Digitize what you can. Use a copy stand and a high end camera. Or use a planetary book scanner.
11. The students took an oral history from me. They suggested other family members should also be interviewed.
12. When contacting various institutions, get the best offer. What are they willing to do to promote the collection. Would they loan the collection to other museums for temporary exhibitions? Is a traveling exhibition a possibility?