Record Services Group

"The Record Services Group of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (Quakers) oversees the collection, preservation, and future use of the records of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and its constituent quarterly, monthly, and preparative meetings."

Guidelines for the Care of Records of Yearly Meeting Committees and Working Groups

Topics covered

Why keep records
What records to keep
Where the records go
Confidentiality and restrictions
Procedures for depositing records
Questions

The following guidelines have been prepared by the Records Services Group to simplify for all concerned the process of recording the activities of each part of the Yearly Meeting.


Why keep records

Friends have traditionally kept meticulous records of their activities to preserve accountability to other Friends for actions taken in our collective name and to uphold the truth of our actions to the world. In addition, records serve important historical and legal functions. The

  • Document the history of the organization

  • Establish legal rights for the organization, other bodies, and individuals

Provide source material for the general institutional, personal and social history of the time

What records to keep

The volume and range of records to be kept will depend upon the structure and activities of the organization. At a minimum, each standing committee and working group should keep the following records:

  • Annual reports

  • Minutes of all meetings

  • Summary financial records of any accounts not covered by the yearly meeting's general accounts

  • Key correspondence explaining the decisions and actions of the group and affecting the rights of others

  • Files of material about the group and its work (news clippings, etc.)

  • Any materials that help document what the group did and why or that otherwise fulfill the goals of keeping records

  • Groups with larger programs may also generate a significant quantity or records such as:

  • Personnel files

  • Case files

  • Property records

  • Staff correspondence files


Where the records go

The Quaker Collection of Haverford College Library and the Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College are joint repositories for Philadelphia yearly Meeting. Records generated since reunification in 1955 are deposited at Swarthmore, with the exception of the records of the Indian, Outreach, Bookstore and Publications Committees and their successors.


Confidentiality and restrictions

The Records Services Group has developed a policy for restricting for a period of 75 years certain categories of records that would affect the privacy rights of individuals. Records covered by this policy include clerks' correspondence, personnel files, social service case files, donor files, student files, medical records, etc. Groups can suggest additional categories of records for which restrictions may be suitable. No group should refrain from maintaining or depositing records for fear of confidentiality issues. For further information, contact the Clerk of the Records Services Group or staff of the appropriate repository.


Procedures for depositing records

Procedures for depositing records will depend upon the size of the program managed by a working group or standing committee. The following procedures are intended for volunteer-driven bodies with a limited volume of records. The clerks and staff of working groups overseeing large, staffed programs should work with the appropriate repository and the Businesss Manager of the Yearly meeting to ensure approprite management of their records. Most standing committees and working groups will use the following steps:

Continuously:

  • Maintain a set of official minutes, annual reports, financial reports, etc., separate from the files of any individual. When possible, it is idea to keep this official set on acid-free paper.

  • Assure that all other appropriate records are maintained.

Annually:

  • Send the official set of minutes, annual report, financial report, etc. to the Administrative Secretary, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. Such records will be retained at the Yearly Meeting office for three years before being transferred to the Archives.

  • In the case of working groups, forward a copy of the cover letter for the annual transmission of basic records o the clerk of the standing committee overseeing the working group.

Whenver there is a change of clerks:

  • Send to the appropriate repository all records in the outgoing clerk's possession that should form part of the permanent records of the group. (Photocopies can be produced as needed for use by the incoming clerk.)

  • Forward a copy of the transmittal letter to the clerk of the overseeing standing committee.


Questions

Staff of the repositories serve as liaisons to the Records Services Group and are happy to assist monthly meetings in the preservation of their records. Click on their names for more information, including hours of service, telephone numbers, and staff listings

  • Haverford College, Quaker Collection

    • An on-line guide to finding aids for the archives of the minutes of the Yearly Meeting sessions and the records of Yearly Meeting committees is in the process of being developed. While incomplete, the link to these finding aids is:

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