The Mable R. Walter Arboretum Collection contains materials regarding the creation and programming of the arboretum and the Japanese Garden. Items range in date from 1971 to 1992. Materials include: correspondence, program brochures, blueprints, meeting minutes, donor lists, receipts, black and white and color photographs, and black and white negatives. This collection provides some basic information about the operations involved with the creation of the Arboretum and specifically the Japanese Garden. The correspondence and meeting minutes may provide background information for researchers interested in the steps taken to create the Arboretum. It also provides a detailed list of donors to the arboretum and the type of flower or plant that was donated. The photographs are excellent resources to see how the Arboretum has grown over time. Missing from this collection is a distinct history of the Arboretum as well as information regarding the various gardens across campus. The information in this collection is not complete and this limits the informational use of the collection. The Mabel R. Walter Arboretum Collection will have three main series: Japanese Garden, Arboretum, and Audio/Visual. This arrangement is proposed by the processing archivist, the original order of these items was alphabetical by the folder title. This previous arrangement limited the use of the materials because the original folder titles did not provide enough description to be properly arranged alphabetically (every folder began with “Arboretum”). This new arrangement will allow items of similar subjects to be housed together and make it easier to find resources within the collection. The first series, Japanese Garden, will include materials related to the Arboretum’s Japanese Garden. There will be two sub-series: Correspondence and Development. Many of the records in this series include correspondence between arboretum committee members and potential donors and donor organizations. There are also records from the planning and construction of the garden as well as some newspaper articles and press releases. Some materials are duplicated and these duplicates can be discarded during processing. Other items such as construction quotes may be considered for removal for sensitive information. The second series, Arboretum, will contain materials related to the broader arboretum as a whole. Two sub-series will be included: Administrative, and Programming. The items in this series will include materials regarding the operation of the Arboretum, information about its donors as well as the annual programming related to the Arboretum. Many materials, especially program brochures, are in duplicate and triplicate copies, which can be disposed of. Meeting minutes and memorandum from Arboretum committee members are also included. The third series, Audio/Visual, will include all the photographs and negatives found in this collection, including those that have been transferred from folders in other parts of the collection. They will be arranged topically within the series and any photograph that was transferred will include a copy of the transfer sheet with the original photograph. Some photographs will require basic preservation work to prevent further damage.