Guidelines for Donations
Botna Valley Genealogical Society -- BVGS
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The Botna Valley Genealogical Society (BVGS) appreciates the donations of research materials which make up a large part of our collection.  To assure that donations will be useful to our researchers, we have established the following guidelines which will be administered by the Board of our organization.

The BVGS will accept materials that:
  • Are useful to researchers.  They must be readable and help researchers find names, dates, and places.
  • Add new information to the BVGS's collection and fit in available space.
  • Do not violate current privacy and copyright laws.

The BVGS readily accepts the following:  (Periodically we will weed out irrelevant materials due to new technology.)

  • Genealogy "how to" books
  • Iowa county history books
  • Family histories with genealogical information*
  • Current genealogical periodicals (within limits)
  • Cemetery records
  • Census records
  • Church records, histories, and directories
  • Court, probate, & vital records
  • Plat books
  • School yearbooks (Pottawattamie County except Council Bluffs)
  • Directories such as city directories and phone books prior to 1930
  • Newspapers from the county on microfilm
  • Genealogy reference CD's
  • Financial donations gratefully accepted

     *Written works, such as family histories, should be in a clear, readable format.  They should include a title, the author's name, and the publication date.

On a limited basis, the BVGS accepts the following:  (Please contact the Board before bringing in the following types of materials.)

  • Local histories
  • Indexes to records
  • Passenger lists
  • Naturalization records
  • Military records
  • Newspaper extracts
  • Land records
  • Maps
  • Well organized collections of genealogical and research materials such as our "Members' Pedigree" books
  • Personal journals from Pottawattamie County excluding Council Bluffs
  • Memorabilia (very limited basis)
  • Loose photographs identified if possible with names and dates to help find family members.  Know who from or where found.  (If family not found in, say two years, we will pass on to a museum unless the person bringing them in wants them returned.)
  • Copy of family information from Bibles, but not actual Bibles
  • Other

Adopted November 2003