Deposits should be for five years and may be renewed upon written request. Deposited materials will not be processed. No materials are to be permanently donated to the BCPM without a Deed of Gift. Declassification of materials will be in accordance with state and federal laws. Congress has legislated that House committee records have restricted access for 30 years and Senate committee records for 20 years.
Case files are a controversial part of any congressional collection.
Most materials in case files are protected by federal privacy legislation and should be sealed for 75 years from date of closing. Furthermore, access to them prior to the death of the applicants probably violates federal privacy legislation. Deaccession of such materials is strongly recommended. A Separation Sheet should be filled out and filed for all materials removed from a collection. A Separation Sheet should be filled out and filed for all materials removed from a collection.