Archiving the history of economics.

Unlike scholars in many other disciplines, economists show little organized concern for preserving disciplinary archives. Consider the contrast between the community of mathematicians and the community of economists: the American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America have embarked on a joint project to preserve official archives and to advise individuals and groups about the preservation of personal and organization-related papers: these two large organizations have recognized that mathematicians' "personal papers and the records of mathematical institutions and organizations are a source for an understanding of history." Generally, donors are asked to sign an agreement that gives property of the papers to the repository; rarely do repositories accept collections on loan or deposit. Before signing such an agreement, one should become familiar with the repository's policies on availability and publication of the papers. Most repositories are willing to attempt to address any concerns one may have, such as a desire to restrict part of the collection to protect the privacy of others.