Muriel, What we do with corporate records like these (and I have them for lumber companies, etc.) is to carefully describe each ledger or item, especially commenting on the information they contain. Frankly I get very few researchers that ever look at these records unless we can make them explainable for others. For example, if a record contains not only the name of the individual but their address, age, how long they've lived there, etc. Some records, while important to show the transaction of business (posting ledgers for example) provide poor information about a person or business. What I'm trying to say is that records either tell you the history of a person or organization or business, but if they don't, they may be quick candidates for disposal. You really have to stop and analyze what information is available and whether it is worth preserving. To give you an idea, I've been given thousands of cancelled checks of a defunct lumber company. Traditionally we don't save these; several individuals thought we should make an alphabetical index of all the payees (clearly they are payroll checks) however except for the date, amount of money, name of payee, and lumber company logo, there's nothing on these checks - no indication of hours worked, occupation of the payee, etc. I believe they are probably payroll checks but they cover from the 1940s to the 1970s, periods covered by the phone books, city directories, etc. For me their future use and usefulness is quite low, they are good candidates for disposal despite some pleas alleging their "genealogical" importance. I shall keep some of them for displays. There is also the question of completeness. Looking at your list, I don't see any annual reports, reports to the comptroller of the currency, or paper files. I assume that the index to loans corresponds to a loan number and there would have been backup files for those such as copies of mortgages, liens, background/credit checks, and the like. I pose these questions to help you think about the balance between the bank records as artifacts and as usable research resources. Dean Dean DeBolt University Librarian, Special Collections John C. Pace Library, University of West Florida 11000 University Parkway Pensacola, FL 32514-5750 850-474-2213 [log in to unmask] ________________________________ From: Archives & Archivists [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Muriel Jackson Sent: Tuesday, August 22, 2006 12:38 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Bank Records August 22, 2006 Is there anyone with a Bank Collection who could offer some good advice? I have a series of bank records that were donated in 1998. Included are Check Registers 1892-1923 Farm Loans books 1931-1943 Rent Book 1896-1899 Indexes to loans 1884-1920 Bank Draft books 1886-1916 Register Transfer 1900-1926 Ledger and Journal Books I am not sure how this should be handled. Should I retain all of the items in the collection are some things duplicating information. Several co-workers have offered advice as to what could be done with the entire collection. But I don't want to trash them and I do not have the funds for microfilming. Unfortunately the bindings and covers on the book have redroot occurring so they are very messy. Any help would be appreciated. Muriel M. Jackson Archivist/Genealogy Librarian Middle Georgia Archives/Genealogical & Historical Room 1180 Washngton Ave. Macon, GA 31201 (478) 744-0820 Phone (478) 744-0839 Fax [log in to unmask] A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List sponsored by the Society of American Archivists, www.archivists.org. For the terms of participation, please refer to http://www.archivists.org/listservs/arch_listserv_terms.asp. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to [log in to unmask] In body of message: SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname *or*: UNSUB ARCHIVES To post a message, send e-mail to [log in to unmask] Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <[log in to unmask]> A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List sponsored by the Society of American Archivists, www.archivists.org. For the terms of participation, please refer to http://www.archivists.org/listservs/arch_listserv_terms.asp. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to [log in to unmask] In body of message: SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname *or*: UNSUB ARCHIVES To post a message, send e-mail to [log in to unmask] Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <[log in to unmask]>