Departmental administration, 1929-2000

Departmental administration records document administrative functions of the department, including collections management, fundraising, and special projects. Of interest are department meeting notes and a five–year plan written in 1973. This series also includes bequest files and other object–related files that contain more general, administrative information about object transactions.

General correspondence files document the professional interactions between curators and donors, trustees, contributors, researchers, and colleagues. These files contain requests for Museum publications and photographs, and correspondence about objects, conservation techniques, and grant funding. Some correspondence was moved to the Objects series as appropriate.

The "Director" files are a useful resource in this series, providing information on personnel changes and important department activities. Departmental reports and "Affairs and Plans" files supplement the "Director" files with information on accessions, exhibitions and significant work of the department.