Archives Collection Development Policy
Mission
The mission of the 8th Circuit Court Archives is to collect, organize, preserve and make available materials related to the history of the federal courts in the Circuit.
Location
The U.S. Courts Library - 8th Circuit is the repository of the Court Archives. The Collection is located in the headquarters library's Archives and Rare Books Room on the 22nd floor of the Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. Courthouse in St. Louis, Missouri.
The 8th Circuit may elect to collect historic materials on the courts and judges of their respective jurisdictions.
History
Chief U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Richard S. Arnold designated the library as the future official repository of the Court Archives for the Court of Appeals. In 1998, the Circuit Executive transferred custody of the Court of Appeals Archives to the St. Louis headquarters library. The library moved into the new Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. Courthouse in August, 2000, and the Court Archives Collection was placed in the library's Archives and Rare Book Room.
Scope of Policy
This collection development policy governs the Court Archives in the U.S. Courts Library 8th Circuit. While courts in the 8th Circuit may wish to collect historic materials, they are not bound to this policy.
Scope of Collection
The Court Archives will collect materials documenting the history of the federal Circuit, Court of Appeals, Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, District and Bankruptcy courts and staff in the legal jurisdictional boundaries of the United States 8th Circuit. These materials may be created by, received by, or be about the federal courts and staff in this jurisdiction.
States, or judicial districts, falling under the jurisdiction of the 8th Circuit have varied over time since the Circuit's establishment in 1837. For this history, see the web site of the Federal Judicial Center History Office. The current structure of the Eighth Circuit was established in 1929 as the seven states of Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
Formats Collected
Materials may be collected in any format. Current formats include paper, newspaper, books, video recordings, audio recordings, CD-ROMs, photographs, portraits, architectural drawings, maps, and memorabilia.
For more information contact the library at 314-244-2665 or library8th@ca8.uscourts.gov
Materials Not Collected
The Court Archives does not serve as a repository for 8th Circuit federal case records. The clerks' offices of the 8th Circuit maintain the case records and deposit non-current, official court records with the National Archives and Records Administration.
The Court Archives also does not serve as a repository for collections of judges' papers. These are more appropriately placed in manuscript repositories. For information on likely repositories, contact the Archives Librarian.
A U.S. Courts library may choose to not acquire items for the Archives which require preservation care (supplies, techniques, or environmental control) not available in the respective library. In such cases, the items may more appropriately be deposited in a local archival institution providing such preservation care.
Access
The following persons may access the Court Archives: 8th Circuit federal court staff; national federal court staff; researchers and members of the public granted access permission by the Circuit Librarian or his designee.
Restricted Materials
Some materials may be restricted due to security or privacy concerns. These materials may only be accessed according to the individual item's restricted access policy.