The optional materials to be included would be up to the designated archival person but should be reviewed annually by the Executive Committee. It will be the chairperson's responsibility to receive material listed in the guidelines and transfer it once a year to the repository. As far as is possible, it will also be the responsibility of the chairperson to locate those documents relating to SVP history that appear to be missing. The Smithsonian Institutions Archives is open to the scholarly and general public. Material received by the Archives is placed in acid-free boxes and envelopes.
Accumulated material is reviewed and finding guides and aids are established.
A publication for the researcher, Guide to the Smithsonian Archives, is regularly published by the Smithsonian Institution Press. To protect the documents entrusted to its care, the Archives requires researchers to conform to certain search room procedures which generally requires identification and registration to use archives, acknowledgments of materials used, and adherence to rules for handling materials. Permission to quote from any document in its holdings is required. The Archives recognizes that many documents in its physical possession are not the literary property of the Institution, and the staff will endeavor to inform the researcher when permission to publish should be sought elsewhere. The Archives recognizes that some restrictions on access to records are necessary to protect personal privacy, legitimate proprietary right, or to maintain confidentiality.