For American Archives Month this October, Wheaton Archives & Special Collections features archivist Paul Ericksen’s behind-the-scenes look at the recent donation of SIM International’s historical records, one of the largest collections the Archives has ever received. Matching the uniqueness of archival material, the donation and accessioning process can present particular challenges, especially for a collection of SIM International’s scale and complexity.
Documents often tell stories of long-ago events. Archivists, on the other hand, usually don’t see the acquisition of a collection that spans most of their career. In 1984 – this really is a forty-year-long archival story – the Billy Graham Center Archives was asked to come to SIM International’s Toronto office to consult with the mission about the future of its in-house archives. Although the mission had already accumulated a substantial collection of archival materials, SIM was looking to the future to ensure that the materials documenting the mission’s history were preserved for its own and researchers’ use.
