The Park Seed Company Corporate Archive comprises physical holdings, digital files, and digitized images of some physical holdings. Parts of the archive are made publicly available on the Internet to advance the study of Park Seed Company, history, horticulture, sociology, business, women’s studies, and related academic topics. The image and text files on the Park Seed Company Corporate Archives-related website(s) are made available for noncommercial, educational, and personal use only (see Permission to Use below).

This archive specifically reflects the history of the Geo. W. Park Seed Company, Inc., founded in 1868 by George Watt Park in Libonia, PA, and the history of Wayside Gardens, formed in 1916 by Jan Jacob Gruellemans in Mentor, Ohio (purchased by Park Seed in 1975). The archive may also contain artifacts and images related to other company-related brands and product lines; e.g., Cooks Gardens, Park’s Gardens, Countryside, and Park’s Landscapes. The bulk of the holdings are mailorder gardening catalogs and photographs. The archive also contains additional items of interest, such as memos, business records, customer letters, memorabilia, family documents, videos, and books. Donations of additional items are always welcome.

Users requiring access to physical holdings must complete a User Request Form in writing, indicating the topic, how the materials will be used, and the intended publication medium for the finished work. This form must be submitted to the Park Seed Archive administration in the Marketing Department, which is responsible for granting or denying access to the archive.

By filling out a User Request Form, users agree to comply with this Archive Access Policy. The Park Seed Company Corporate Archive retains the right to deny requests that conflict with the business interests of the Park Seed Company, pose the risk of violating federal or state statutes, or interfere with the archives’ ability to adequately service the internal needs of the corporation. Archive records may not be used if there are legal provisions that prevent their use, if they are subject to secrecy regulations, or if agreements to the contrary have been made with owners of records on loan or with previous owners (e.g., estates, family archives, reports of experiences, privately owned records).

Permission to access the archive is non-transferable and pertains only to the topic of the research as indicated in the User Request Form. If the topic of research changes, a new User Request Form must be submitted. If users wish to involve assistants or authorized representatives, each of these persons must be registered separately.

Archive users shall observe the copyrights and personal privacy rights pertaining to the archival materials used as well as legitimate third-party interests. Additionally, archive users are responsible for conforming to libel, slander, and any other applicable statutes. The archive user alone shall be liable for infringing upon said rights, and agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Geo. W. Park Seed Company, Inc. and any of its related entities, their officers, employees, and agents from any and all claims resulting from the use of the archive materials provided. This liability clause shall come into effect as soon as the user accesses the archive materials.

The Park Seed Company endeavors to label and identify all archive records precisely; however, it does not assume any liability for the consequences arising from an error when presenting records and reproductions.

Reproducing (i.e., photocopying, photographing, faxing) archival materials requires permission from the Park Seed Archive administration. Copies must be paid for by the requester. Copies may be used only in conjunction with the purpose indicated on the User Request Form. Copies may not be distributed to third parties without prior written permission from the Park Seed Archive administration in the Marketing Department.

As a rule, physical archival materials (as opposed to digital resources) shall be used at the Park Seed Company national headquarters only. Any exceptions to this policy must be made in writing, authorized by the Park Seed Company Chief Executive Officer. Any costs associated with offsite use (e.g., insurance, shipping) must be paid for by the user.

All archival materials are to be handled with extreme care. In particular, they may not be bent, torn, written on, or defaced in any way. All instructions from Park Seed personnel must be followed.

Personal technological aids (e.g., computers, cameras, dictation machines) may be used at Park Seed headquarters with the permission of the Archive administration.

There are no monetary charges for using the Park Seed Corporate Archive. Users who want to print or make photocopies of publicly available materials may do so at their own expense.

Users are required to provide, free of charge, a copy of all published work resulting from access to the archive, including unpublished papers. Ideally, publications should be made available on the author’s website and include a link to www.parkseed.com.