UAA and American University Archives – Opportunity for USAID Alumni

American University Archives offer an opportunity for USAID alumni to find a home for personal memorabilia of their USAID service. We have often been asked by UAA retirees what could be done with these materials currently stored in boxes in their basements. We now have an answer!
The American University Library has a very impressive archival program. Several years ago the AU Library Archives created a Peace Corps Community Archive in which the Library collects, preserves, and makes available materials that were created and acquired by Peace Corps Volunteers. In collaboration with the USAID Alumni Association, the AU Archives are now offering a similar program for USAID alumni. This program is not intended to collect official USAID documents which are best donated to USAID’s Development Experience Clearinghouse (DEC). Rather, as is spelled out in detail in the information posted on the UAA website, American University is looking for “personal materials created and acquired by USAID alumni during their assignments, such as correspondence, diaries, film, photographs, memoranda, reports, scrapbooks, newspaper articles, host country documentation, presidential or other VIP visit schedules and documentation, and sound recordings …” and much more.

Please click here to review the information provided on the UAA website and follow up with the American University Archives if you are interested in this opportunity to preserve your valuable memorabilia in a manner which will make them easily available for students and researchers of development and culture in current and future generations.

Where to Place your USAID Archives:  Leslie Nellis, the assistant librarian managing the Peace Corps archive at American University also manages the new USAID archive. John Pielemeier advises that, in early December, he drove his boxes over to the back loading dock of the AU library where he met Leslie, who seemed quite interested in both archives. She told John he might be the first USAID officer to give materials; so please be the second. Videos or photos were not discussed. Ms. Nellis can be contacted at:

Leslie Nellis
Associate Archivist for Digital Initiatives and Records Management
American University Library
archives@american.edu

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