The original schedule for the preparation of the Powell papers for research use foresaw the papers being assembled at Washington and Lee in 1991. They would have remained closed until arrangement and description were completed by the archivist and a full time assistant in 1996. This schedule was soon abandoned. For a myriad of reasons -- chiefly the delays in construction and in the publication of an authorized biography -- the papers were not substantially assembled in the archives until August 1993. Further, no one foresaw how prolific Justice Powell would remain for so long in his retirement. The bulk of these later papers were not transferred to the archives until December 1996. Finally, properly preserving the richness and complexity of the documentation within each of the 2,500 Supreme Court case files would have, in itself, made the original schedule impossible to meet.

The law school archives had not been idle during the three years that passed between its establishment and the arrival of a substantial body of the Powell Papers. The papers of U.S. Congressman M. Caldwell Butler, which had had come to the school in the late 1970's and early 1980's were processed, and opened for general research. Manuscript and archival materials discovered in closets and machine rooms of the law school were brought to the archives and prepared for research use. The Powell Archivist served on a university records management committee and conducted most of the record surveys authorized by that body. He drafted records schedules and guidelines for the university. In this process, the Powell Archives was given authority and responsibility for School of Law records past and present.

By 1994, it was apparent that one person, with a half time assistant, could not run what was now a multifaceted archival program; fulfill general law library teaching, reference and administrative duties; and complete highly refined arrangement and description of the Powell Papers within the originally schedule. By this time, about seventy percent of the papers had been delivered to the archives. They were stored in record cartons and preliminarily inventoried. A card index to the Supreme Court case files, which had been prepared by Justice Powell's secretary, facilitated highly accurate retrieval from that important series. With Justice Powell's permission (and within the access provisions previously established with him), the Archives declared the Powell Papers to be open to researchers in April 1994.

Processing continues while the number of visiting researchers increases. As processing proceeds, an evolving draft guide to the papers can be viewed online. In addition to the other advantages of delivering information about our collections through the medium of the World Wide Web, the Powell Archives need not wait until every folder has a settled, unique number before publicly offering a guide to these papers.