One of the purposes of the Department of Archives and History is to provide care and maintain custody of official archives and materials bearing upon the history of the state and of the territory (Ala. Code, 41-6-2 [1975]). At times, materials may be deacessioned, or removed from the custody of the department, if the donor requests the return of the materials or if the materials are determined to be unrelated to the purpose and collections of the department. This may occur to materials held within the permanent collections of the department and within the non-accessioned/temporary reference collections of the department. The Registration Section is responsible for maintaining records documenting the removal of objects/collections from the department's custody. This series consists of records documenting the release of legal and physical custody of a collection from the department to the original donor, the donor's family, or another institution. Typical records in this series include a document transferring custody of the collection and related correspondence. Information in this series includes the name of the donor; date of original transfer; date of release of custody; and signatures of the registrar, the individual receiving the collection, and the director.
