ACCESS TO THE NAZARENE ARCHIVES
The Nazarene Archives welcomes all who are pursuing serious research in any branch of the church’s life, or on broader religious movements in which Nazarenes participate (such as the modern missionary movement, revivalism, women’s history, evangelicalism and fundamentalism, the Christian Holiness Association, and other broad topics). Our researchers include authors, those working on church projects (such as congregational and district histories or exhibits), masters and doctoral students, genealogists, and writers for church publications. Term papers for graduate and undergraduate classwork is permitted when (1) the students already have mastered the available secondary resources, and (2) the projects will provide a product available to the public. The Archives staff will work with research seminars of graduate or undergraduate students when the criteria stated above are met.
Some collections held by the Nazarene Archives are closed or restricted from public access or use. Restricted materials fit one of the following criteria: (1) preservation considerations due to a document’s deterioration, such as brittleness (in most cases, materials in this class are microfilmed and a microfilm copy is generally available in lieu of the original document), (2) copyright considerations, (3) the confidentiality required of morals cases, (4) office files less than fifteen years old, and (5) the collections of current general superintendents and living general superintendents emeriti. In addition, donors of private collections may stipulate temporary restrictions of varying length.
The Nazarene Archives is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Copying services for documents, photographs, and audio recordings are provided at cost. The archives has no research staff but responds to questions that can be answered in a brief letter. Larger requests may require a visit by the researcher or the hiring of an assistant. Often, the Archives manager can recommend a research assistant.