Collecting Policy of the Jenks Memorial Collection

Two primary interests guide the collecting activities of the Jenks Memorial Collection. It seeks to secure and preserve materials relating to the Millerite Movement of the first half of the 19th century in America, all historical materials relating to the Advent Christian Church, the Evangelical Adventists, and materials of the other Adventist groups that developed from the movement. Because of the existence of other excellent historical societies and collections such as those sponsored by the Seventh-day Adventists and the Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith, the Jenks Collection does not seek to specialize in early historic and representative contemporary materials related to those specific groups.

The collection is interested in the widest variety of materials that document the growth and development of those groups related to the Millerite Movement, with an emphasis on those materials that support scholarly research. General works in church histories, Christian theology and ethics, journals and periodicals, books, pamphlets, photographs, charts, homiletical materials, slides, and tapes are collected if they provide a helpful context relating to the inception, growth, and present status of the groups this collection seeks to serve. These collecting policies apply equally to paper and three-dimensional/artifactual materials. The same collecting policy criteria are generally applied to both purchases and donations. The collection does not appraise or authenticate materials offered as gifts or proffered for any other purpose.

The Jenks Memorial Collection welcomes inquiries from potential donors, churches or organizations who have materials related to the collection.