As a Family Medicine organization, your role in preserving the history of Family Medicine is important. The Center for the History of Family Medicine (CHFM) actively collects, organizes, preserves and provides access to the records of the following organizations which have designated CHFM as the repository of their records of enduring historical value: the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), the American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation (AAFP/F), the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM), the Association of Departments of Family Medicine (ADFM), the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors (AFMRD), the North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG), and the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM). CHFM also seeks and welcomes the records of other Family Medicine organizations. The History Center is administered by the AAFP Foundation and is located on the fourth floor of the AAFP headquarters building in Leawood, Kansas, just outside of Kansas City, Missouri.
Your Family Medicine organization is an integral part of the history of Family Medicine. While there are many similarities among the various organizations, each has a specific, unique mission and story to tell. It is vital that the documents and artifacts relating to your organization's establishment, daily operations, special programs, annual events, and important decisions be preserved. The Center for the History of Family Medicine provides an ideal environment for your materials. It maintains a secure, climate-controlled environment for preservation and provides specialized care by professional staff trained in archival and museum methodology.
CHFM recommends that your records be considered for transfer to us when they are no longer used on a regular basis (usually after 3-5 years). Materials of permanent historical value that should be preserved include administrative, fiscal, historical and legal records. When in doubt, contact History Center staff for an appraisal of your records. This can be done in person, over the phone or by e-mail.
Guidelines for the Transfer of Materials from Family Medicine Organizations
Examples of an organization's records appropriate for CHFM include, but are not limited to the following:
- Annual reports
- Architectural records & photographs
- Artifacts (medical equipment and utensils, doctor's bags and lab coats, badges, pins from annual meetings, souvenirs from meetings or special events, etc.
- Awards & certificates
- By-laws & revisions
- Correspondence
- Directories & handbooks
- Electronic media, including CD-ROMs, containing special projects or publications
- Financial statements
- Histories
- Incorporation records
- Legal documents, including contracts, testimonies, & correspondence
- Materials relating to staff business or functions (anniversary, holiday and retirement parties) such as newsletters, all-staff agendas and minutes, photographs, invitations, etc.
- Meeting programs
- Membership Directories
- Minutes & agendas of meetings (boards, committees, task forces, etc.)
- Monographs
- Newsletters, publications, pamphlets, & brochures
- Organizational charts & staff directories
- Photographs and negatives
- Policy manuals
- Press releases
- Reports of special projects
- Special bulletins
- Speeches & presentations
- Subject files relating to projects such as: planning documents, significant correspondence, grant proposals, program budgets & program evaluations
- Surveys
- Three-dimensional objects
- Video & audio recordings
- White papers
Procedures for Transferring Your Organization's Records
- Contact the History Center staff first. CHFM staff will evaluate your material to determine if it is appropriate to include in the Center's collections.
- Pack the material neatly in strong boxes with lids. Seal the boxes completely with packing tape. (Folders should be placed in the boxes with labels showing). Never "cram" material in a box. If necessary, use multiple boxes. If the last box is not full, wad up tissue paper or newspaper to fill the remaining space so materials don't fall out of the folders. The best kind of box to use is a 15" x 12" x 10" records storage carton that has handles and a lid. If at all possible, use the same size boxes because they will stack much more efficiently and are easier to mail or ship if necessary.
- Include a listing of folder titles or items in each box and keep one for yourself.
- Provide identification for unmarked items, such as photographs, artifacts or medical instruments. In the case of unidentified photographs, do not mark on the back of the photographs. Instead, write the description of the photograph on a separate piece of paper and place each paper behind the photograph it describes. Alternatively, label images with a Post-It note on the back of each one. For photographs of many people, photocopy the image and write the name of each person directly on the photocopy. (Please note: photographic negatives are just as important, if not more so, than the photographs because the best possible copies can be made from the original negative. If they are available, please send negatives to us along with the photographs.)
- If material is at AAFP/F headquarters in Leawood, Kansas, transfer it to us in any of the following ways:
- Call the Help Line and place a request for the boxes to be delivered to the History Center (AAFP Foundation offices on the 4th floor)
- Deliver the boxes to us in person. For security purposes, please do not make deliveries without telling the History Center staff that you are coming.
- If you have a small number of folders to transfer to CHFM, call us and we will come and pick them up.
- If material is coming from outside the metro Kansas City area, ship your donation by using a reliable carrier. If some material is fragile, have these items professionally packaged and request tracking and/or insurance. If you have any questions, please contact the History Center.
Copyright © 2011 American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation
Contact Us | Privacy Policy | AAFP | Site Map
Find us on Facebook 
Follow us on Twitter 
Join us on LinkedIn
Donations
Guidelines for the Donation of Personal & Professional Papers
Guidelines for the Transfer of Materials from AAFP Constituent Chapters
Guidelines for the Transfer of Materials from Family Medicine Organizations
WHY DONATE TO THE AAFP FOUNDATION?
Supporting your Foundation means you believe in the power of family medicine and in the importance of helping others.
"Your support of the AAFP Foundation has a tremendous effect…the Foundation funds Academy programs such as Tar Wars that directly impact kids and the public health.”
Jeffrey J. Cain, MD, FAAFP
