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Processing Procedure

This page outlines the standard steps for expedited processing of archival collections.

1. Setup & Organization

  • Update Processing Tracker: Record the initiation of processing for the collection in the tracker.
  • Set up Working and Master Files in Team Drive: Establish folders for the collection’s working and final master files. Add copies of the AO loader template and Collection-level Description Template named with the collection’s identifier to the working file.
  • Open a Processing Log Document: Create a document within the working file to capture decisions and observations as you work with the collection. 

2. Surveying Materials

  • Curator/Archivist Consultation: If applicable, meet with the curator or archivist who appraised or acquired the content to gain insights, and communicate regarding the staging and movement of materials. 
  • Considerations: In examining the materials, consider the following:
    • Existing housing
    • Content restrictions
    • Conservation concerns
    • Original order
    • Material types found
    • Consultations or handoffs necessary for special formats
    • Presence of multiple creators
    • Non-archival material that might be weeded
    • Donor obligations
    • Local processing priorities

3. Strategy

  • Develop a Processing Strategy:  Given the preceding, formulate a plan for how the collection will be indexed in alignment with Archives’ processing level framework. Most material will be described at the file level.
  • Consult Existing Resources: Examine existing indexes, inventories, or other descriptions which might inform processing. Evaluate vendor descriptions with a critical eye.

4. Staging Materials

  • Accessions and Location Registers: Consult these to ascertain the extent and location of all collection components. Oversized and rich-media formats may be shelved apart from other portions of a collection.
  • Grouping Content: Often, boxes with similar content may be grouped for processing. Use judgment and consider original order.

5. Physical Processing and Inventory Creation

  • Sequencing: House, describe, and arrange. This preserves patterns seen in aggregations of materials and expedites processing by limiting the number of times content must be handled. Process the collection in a linear fashion, box by box, describing and rehousing as you go.
  • Rehouse Material: Rehouse and stabilize material according to Preservation Processing Guidelines.
  • Multi-level Finding Aids:
    • Folder content where natural groupings occur.
    • Mark folders from left to right: Identifier, Title, Date(s).
    • Identifiers: see Identifier Style Guide. Mark folders with the collection ID only during initial description. Box or file numbers can be added after final arrangement.
    • Forming Titles:
      • Formal titles should be transcribed
      • Devised titles should include the name of the creator or collector and the nature of the materials being described. Use Getty AAT terminology for material types when forming titles.
      • DCRM(MSS) may be applied as an adjunct to DACS. Consult DCRM(MSS) for advice on titles where specificity is desirable (local guide).
    • Dates: Include both date expressions and structured dates. Consult DCRM(MSS) for advice on expressing conjectural dates.
  • Transfer Data to ArchivesSpace AO Inventory Loader Spreadsheet:
    • Add identifiers, titles, and dates as well as container data. Folder level scope and content, and restrictions are also important. See AO loader input guide for full instructions.
    • Apply child-level form/genre tags for rich media (UNDA repository).
    • If developing the inventory in an offline spreadsheet, back up progress to the collection’s working file at the end of the day.
  • Tracking Extant Numbers:
    • In some cases, it may be necessary to track extant box or filing numbers during processing (e.g., donor/vendor supplied transfer inventories, joint processing projects).
    • A temporary “old box number” column may be added to the inventory spreadsheet while processing but deleted from the final loaded version.
    • Utilize Processing notes or Other Finding Aid notes to explain complex numbering situations.

6. Arrangement

  • Method: Once the inventory is complete, make a copy of the spreadsheet. Rearrange file descriptions within the copied sheet to model the desired final arrangement. 
  • Hierarchies: Prefer flatter hierarchies and avoid extensive development of series and subseries. HL has adopted an expedited method which is rich in description, but low in arrangement. Rely instead on the search capabilities of the archival management system to facilitate discovery of like material in the aggregate.
  • Arrange: Physically arrange the collection to mirror the devised arrangement. 
  • Mark: Complete folder identifiers and assign container information in spreadsheet.
  • Collocate: Group like files to facilitate service. 
  • New Accessions to Existing Collections:
    • Generally, do not interfile new accessions within existing collections.
    • Instead, add new inventory to the end of a finding aid, or in some cases, the most appropriate existing series.
    • Exceptions exist, and can include the integration of very small accessions, or additions to hanging files or topical artificial collections.

7. Resource Description

For new collections, compile a new resource-level description. When processing new accretions to existing collections, consider how the elements below may need to be edited at the resource level to adequately represent the expanded collection.

Collections will be described in finding aids written in accordance with Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS). The following elements should be included:

  • Reference Code: Each finding aid requires a unique ID, created by the archivist in accordance with the repository’s system and DACS 2.1.
  • Name and Location of Repository: Required by DACS 2.2 and automatically supplied by ArchivesSpace.
  • Title: The collection title will be devised by the archivist following the rules of DACS 2.3.
  • Date: The inclusive date range of the collection will be devised by the archivist from the collection itself by following the rules of DACS 2.4.
  • Extent: Calculated by the archivist in cubic feet following the rules of DACS 2.5.
  • Name of Creator(s): If known, the name of any creators will be devised by the archivist from any vendor or donor paperwork or from the collection itself. Use the Library of Congress Name Authority form if established. If not established, format name in accordance with RDA and DACS 2.6.
  • Scope and Content: Following the rules of DACS 3.1, the archivist will write a scope and content note for each finding aid based on the collection materials themselves. If desired, apply the Local Scope and Contents formula.
  • Conditions Governing Access: Any conditions on user’s access, following DACS 4.1, will be devised by the archivist in conjunction with curators’ discretion, professional and institutional policies, or donor’s requirements. Possible restrictions include personally identifiable information, fragility, as well as financial, student, or University records.
  • Language and Scripts: Required by DACS 4.5, will be devised by the archivist from the collection materials.
  • Description Rules: DACS.
  • Level of Description: Required by ArchivesSpace and derived by the archivist from the collection, following the guidelines set in DACS Chapter 1.
  • Arrangement: The archivist will write a note describing the system of arrangement used on the collection in accordance with DACS 3.2.
  • Conditions Governing Use and Reproduction: Required in each finding aid by Hesburgh Library Policy, following DACS 4.4. Standard language is provided in the description template.
  • Other Finding Aid: Not published, indicate OCLC number for MARC version of record. Format: (OCoLC)123456789
  • Immediate Source of Acquisition: Written by the archivist following DACS 5.2. (For RBSC: Unless the donor explicitly requests public acknowledgement in the deed of gift, this note is suppressed.)
  • Access Points: Including subject headings, geographic terms, form/genre terms, and authorities will be derived from the collection by the archivist through subject analysis of the collection. Terms should be taken from the LCSH, LCNA, and AAT controlled vocabularies. See local guidance on agents and subjects.