Returned Peace Corps Volunteers Collection: Personal Papers (#184)

An Inventory of Personal Papers
At the John F. Kennedy Library
National Archives and Records Administration

Administrative Information
Historical Note
Collection Overview
List of Countries
Country Descriptions


Administrative Information

Abstract
Manuscripts, documents, printed materials 1961-
Donations by private individuals documenting personal experiences while serving in the Peace Corps. Includes correspondence, journals, publications, sketches, memoirs, books, poems, project descriptions, and songs.

Access
Open.

Usage Restrictions
Consult with archivist to determine copyright holder.

Copyright
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excesses of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law. The copyright law extends its protection to unpublished works from the moment of creation in a tangible form. Direct your questions concerning copyright to the reference staff.

Provenance
Consult with archivist to determine individual provenance of each donation.

Extent
About 6000 items (31.5 feet)

Withdrawn Items 
Selected folders may contain withdrawal sheets where documents, in accordance with the donor's deed of gift, were removed from the collection. These include documents which may be used to injure or harass any living person.

All withdrawn documents have been placed under seal and upon request the Kennedy Library will review any material which has been closed for a period of not less than 2 years for the purpose of opening items which no longer require restrictions. Researchers should consult the reference staff to obtain the appropriate form(s).

Date Opened
1989 - present

Processed by
Catja Wielke
James M. Roth
Michael Desmond
Jaimie Quaglino

Encoded by
James M. Roth

Related Collections
Records of U.S. Peace Corps
John F. Kennedy President's Office Files
John F. Kennedy White House Central Subject File
Personal Papers of R. Sargent Shriver
Personal Papers of William Josephson
William Josephson Oral History Interview

Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection

Historical Note

The personal papers of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) constitute an artificial collection that was created when archivists at the John F. Kennedy Library began soliciting materials from RPCVs in 1989. Individual RPCVs have, over the course of time, donated materials concerning their personal experience in one of the more than seventy different countries where Peace Corps volunteers were—and still are today—active on tour of duty. These materials include items such as personal correspondence, diaries, reports, commentaries, publications, and newsclippings, as well as audiovisual materials such as photographs, slides, video footage, and audio cassettes.

Each donor has signed a separate deed of gift, so there is no general copyright rule that applies to the entire collection. For information about individual copyright, researchers who wish to publish from these materials are asked to check with the reference archivist.


Collection Overview

This collection has a unique organization because it is an artificial collection that is even now being expanded; additional materials still come in on a regular basis. Because the available materials have arrived separately, the collection was processed in larger portions at a time, which were then attached to the initial collection as appendices.

While the physical collection remains unchanged, a 2001 makeover of the finding aid was designed to incorporate these appendices into the main body of the finding aid, rather than maintaining them as separate increments. The finding aid now begins with a section called "General," which points the researcher to information about the Peace Corps that is not related to any country in particular. Then the finding aid is arranged by country, date of service, and finally by the donors’ last names in alphabetical order.



List of Countries