I. Records

All meetings and yearly meeting committees keep records of their minutes and proceedings. The historic value of these records cannot be stressed too strongly, and in preparing them the clerk should be aware of the significance they may have in the future. Records should be clear and contain sufficient detail to be intelligible many years later. They should be typed on acid-free paper and kept in suitable books. Advice on record-keeping for the guidance of meetings and committees is available from the Records Committee of the yearly meeting.

The Records Committee is the authorized caretaker of all noncurrent records originating within the area of the New York Yearly Meeting. These should be placed on deposit in the Friends’ Historical Library at Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Copies of these records are also available at several public libraries in the area of the yearly meeting. There they may be consulted, subject to the regulations of the Records Committee.

Records of a meeting may be returned on loan to that meeting only on written request of its clerk or its trustees. Permanent surrender of official records that have been deposited in the Friends’ Historical Library at Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, can be made only on approval of the yearly meeting.