Colorado Mountain History Collection Development Plan
The Colorado Mountain History Collection (CMHC) is a non-circulating collection of documents, objects, and ephemera relating to the history of Lake County and surrounding areas to aid in research. The Lake County Public Library (LCPL), as holder of these items, regularly assesses the collection to determine if they fit the guidelines of our collection.
What materials CMHC will intake: Photographs, Ephemera (Letters, Correspondence, Pamphlets, etc), Select High School Annuals, Oral Histories, Books Pertaining to local Colorado Mountain History, Business Ledgers, etc. We will keep a maximum of 2 additional items, beyond what is on the shelves, in storage if they are not easily replaced or easily found elsewhere.
Purchasing: CMHC searches out books and items that relate to Lake County and the surrounding areas that are available for purchase. Self published books will be looked at on a case by case basis.
Donations Criteria
a: Item is directly related to Leadville or Lake County.
b: Item pertains to one of our surrounding counties, (ie: Park, Summit, Eagle, Pitkin, Gunnison, or Chaffee).
c: Item relates to mining or mountain expansion in Colorado.
d: Item is Colorado related but not our specific region. This may not be admitted to the collection.
e: Item is completely unrelated to Colorado or the Colorado mountains. This would not be admitted into our collection.
Donations Procedure: Items must be donated unconditionally and will not be returned.
Digitization:
CMHC receives items such as photographs, ledgers, newspaper clippings that we make a priority to digitize and accessible through our website, and to also ensure the originals are well preserved and not overly handled.
Deaccessioning: When an item is found to not fit our selection criteria and is in good condition, we try to find a more appropriate collection outside of CMHC. If the item is deteriorating or in poor condition and cannot be repaired, we will properly dispose of it.
Currently digitally available items are: