Peace Resource Center Awarded National Certification for Archives Management

Endorsement Covers Areas of Mission, Vision and Governance The Peace Resource Center at Wilmington College received bronze level national certification for practices relating to its archives, making it one of only 14 archives and museums in Ohio to undergo such scrutiny. PICTURED: From the left, PRC director Dr. Tanya Maus and student workers Maraya Wahl and Ellyse Herr display the PRC's newly awarded certifications. Its certification in the area of mission, vision and governance represents meeting a level of quality set through the Standards and Excellence Program for History Organizations (StEPS), which is administered by the American Association of State and Local History (AASLH). PRC director Dr. Tanya Maus explained that, over the past year and under her guidance, the center’s student interns and workers have engaged in online courses covering archives practices and, in turn, have implemented these practices at the center. “They collaborated to create a collections management policy that defines the scope of the PRC’s considerable archives and library, and established best practices in terms of collection management and care,” she said, noting they also developed a first-ever disaster plan for the PRC’s archives, which is considered a necessary component of archives management. “Working through the StEPS program, the students have become aware of the hands-on technical and professional practices necessary to both preserve and provide historical knowledge to our campus, local, regional national and international communities,” Maus added. Not satisfied to rest on the laurels of the bronze certification, she said the PRC would build upon that success and work on achieving the next level in the StEPS program and, ultimately, silver and gold level certification in all categories offered by the AASLH. The PRC is the home of the unique archive, “The Barbara Reynolds Papers,” and the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Memorial Collection. Scholars throughout the world have visited the PRC to utilize this vast collection of materials for their research on the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Peace Resource Center’s non-violence, social justice and global peace programming, as well as a priceless archive and collection of historical documents, makes it a unique “hands-on” space that promotes and affirms peace as a core value of the Wilmington College mission.