Archives and manuscript repositories need to determine and enforce realistic collecting policies in order to create cohesive collections for research use and keep the size of their holdings within reasonable bounds, but this is difficult to accomplish because of constituency pressures and the impulse to compete with other institutions. The experience of an old and important regional repository, the Western Reserve Historical Society, particularly its Cleveland Regional Ethnic Archives Program begun in 1971, is the central focus of this article. The author describes how the society's collecting policy was defined and examines the evolution of collecting practice within the bounds of that policy. The successful implementation of the original policy has depended especially on three factors: good working relations with ethnic group leaders, selectivity within the scope of the policy, and cooperation among repositories.

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