Dunbar, Hope

Archival Arrangement Writing Sample

George Fell Papers

I.

BACKGROUND

George B. Fell (UI 1938) was a conservationist and a leader in the natural areas movement, both
nationwide and in Illinois. After graduating from the UI, he served at Michigan state University,
was a conscientious objector during WWII, and was involved in the Ecologists Union. In 1950,
he founded The Nature Conservancy, and served as its Executive Director until 1958. From
1958-1994, he served as the Executive Director of the Natural Land Institute in Rockford. NLI
was involved in buying land, establishing conservation easements and advocating legislation
protecting natural lands. Fell also served as director of the Illinois Audubon Society from 196065 and founded other conservation related organizations. Throughout his career, he carried on
correspondence with other naturalists, including Charles Kendeigh, whose papers the University
Archives holds. Mr. Fell died in 1994, and is survived by his wife Barbara.
II.

WORK LOG AND TIME KEEPING

There will be a sign-in sheet for all people processing the collection to keep tabs on hours and
times. Please write your name, the date, and the time of arrival and departure. In addition, please
keep a general log with any notes, comments, thoughts, or ideas you have while going through
the materials. This will aid future scholars, as well as the archivists who will be maintaining the
collection into the future.
III.

ARRANGEMENT SCHEME

Below the instructions is a general outline for group, series, and subseries. Many of the noted
series will have subseries that will need to be determined during processing based on the
contents of the collection. The below is a general outline to follow as we determine the scope.
Unless specifically noted otherwise, correspondence will be arranged alphabetically based on the
composer of the document. Any correspondence without clear authorship should be placed at the
end of the series in a miscellaneous file. Any photographs should be inserted in a Mylar sheet, or
at least divided by a Mylar sheet. If any negatives are found, do not process and notify me.
Negatives have special preservation qualities and will need to be handled separately. Whenever
possible, and logical, original order should be maintained.
Duplicate documents should be pulled and set aside for staff review. Do not throw away any
materials; they must be reviewed by a staff member. Also, any documents that you believe
should be discarded should be set aside in a separate pile for staff review. Any questions for the
archivist that are not of immediate importance, aka would halt processing, should be emailed to
me at the end of the day. I will do my best to review your questions and provide instructions and
suggestions.

Whenever possible keep original undamaged folders containing papers

All old and new folders should be marked with a contents category in pencil. Examples
of categories include: address lists, cashbooks, correspondence, writing, travel, research,
meeting minutes, committee titles, or institutional names
Folders should not generally contain more than circa 30 sheets of paper or 10
photographs
Folders start over at (Folder 1) for each box; Boxes start over at (Box 1) for each group.
Boxes should never be overstuffed with items

Dunbar, Hope
Archival Arrangement Writing Sample

Each box should be clearly labeled with a temporary label clipped to the side with the
group, series, and subseries contained; permanent labels will be created further in the
process
Oversized items should be set aside. Note the original box and folder they were removed
from. These will be placed in a separate oversize category, but should always have a
reference to their original placement
Flag any records that have, or seem likely to have, confidential information, such as bank
statements, social security numbers, or medical records
Assess boxes for any type of mold, mildew, or smell issues
Remove rusted paperclips or staples as you move through the boxes

Indents below indicate Group, Series, and Subseries recommendations.

Correspondence
Personal
Correspondence (chronological)
Diaries
Photographs
Family
Correspondence
Diaries
Photographs
Organizations
Nature Conservancy
Executive Committee
Illinois Nature Conservancy
State Nature Preserve Files
Fish and Wildlife Surveys
Ecology Union
Correspondence Reports
Committee Minutes
Office of the Director
Newsletters
Natural Resources Council
Kendeighs Preliminary Inventory of Natural Areas
Ecological Associations Reference & Legislative Materials
Civilian Public Service
Legislative Research Files
International Research
Photographs
Natural Land Institute
Administrative
Correspondence
Land Acquisitions
Confidential Holdings
Photographs
Oversize