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| Table of Contents |
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Open ArchivesSpace
Go to https://arstaff.lib.harvard.edu
Log in with username and password
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If you plan to just begin your finding aid front matter but perhaps not finish it, you are only required to fill in the following fields in order to save:
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TITLEIDENTIFIERLEVEL OF DESCRIPTIONDATESEXTENTSEADID |
Houghton required data for collection level description
Below are listed the Houghton minimum requirements for publishing a finding aid. If you notice a field in ArchivesSpace that is not listed below, that field is optional and likely not used.
Basic Information
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TITLEThe title of your collection, ex. Elena Bonner papers (no punctuation) IDENTIFIERCall number, ex. MS Am 1234 (all in the first text box) LEVEL OF DESCRIPTIONSelect “Collection” from dropdown menu LANGUAGESelect from dropdown menu the language most prominently represented in your collection |
Dates
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LABELKeep “Creation” selected EXPRESSIONUse to describe the natural language expression of your date(s), ex. circa 1810-1892 (no end punctuation) TYPESelect from dropdown menu the type of date you are describing, ex. inclusive, bulk, single BEGINInput the numeric expression of your early date, ex. 1810 ENDInput the numeric expression of your late date, ex. 1892 |
Extents
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PORTIONKeep “Whole” selected NUMBERInput the numeric measurement of linear feet, ex. 7 TYPESelect “Linear Feet” from the dropdown menu CONTAINER SUMMARYInput the number of boxes, volumes, reels, ex. (14 document boxes) (use parentheses) |
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Finding Aid Data
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EADIDInput the eadid for your finding aid, ex. hou02365 FINDING AID TITLEInput the title for your finding aid include the creator (authorized format) at the beginning, ex. Bonner, Elena. Elena Bonner papers, circa 1910-1957 (MS Rus 1345): Guide. FINDING AID FILING TITLEDO NOT USE FOR THE TIME BEING FINDING AID DATEDate of finding aid creation DESCRIPTION RULESSelect “Describing Archives: A Content Standard” from the dropdown menu FINDING AID STATUSUnless you are completely finished select “In progress” from the dropdown menu |
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Agent Links
click “Add Agent Link”
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ROLESelect from the dropdown menu the role of the creator of your collection, ex. Creator or Source (if describing collector) AGENTSFirst “Browse” from the dropdown arrow (or simply search in the text box) to see if your agent is already in ArchivesSpace. Search in the text box on the upper left of the screen that pops up. If you do find your agent, check the box to the left of the name and click the blue “Link to Agents” button on the bottom left of the pop-up screen.
If you do not find your agent in the Browse screen (or via search in the text box) then select “Create” from dropdown arrow. Usually you’ll be selecting either “Person” “Family” or “Corporate Body.”
Fill in the Agent Record screen that pops up
SOURCESelect from dropdown menu where you are deriving the name from RULESSelect from dropdown menu the rules used to formulate the name of the agent NAME ORDERKeep “indirect” selected from the dropdown menu PRIMARY PART OF NAMEEnter the last name of your agent REST OF NAMEEnter the first name of your agent
If your creator has an authorized listing that includes dates, prefix, etc. please fill those data fields in as well.
Click the blue “Create and Link to Agent” button the bottom left of the Agent record. |
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Notes
Click “Add Note” on right
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. Select from the dropdown menu the type of note.
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Content for note goes in “Content” field; ignore “Multi-Part Note”
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field.
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ABSTRACTARRANGEMENTBIOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICALCONDITIONS GOVERNING ACCESSRestriction information, ex. Collection is open for research. (Punctuation for sentences is fine) CUSTODIAL HISTORYUse for provenance, ex. Donated from Beatrice Menz, 2012. IMMEDIATE SOURCE OF ACQUISITIONAccession information, ex. 2016M-20. Donated from Beatrice Menz in 2016 December. (Punctuation fine) LANGUAGE OF MATERIALSDescribe the languages represented in your collection, ex. Collection is in English, French, and German. (Punctuation for sentences is fine) PHYSICAL LOCATIONUse to record the physical location of the collection, ex. b, pf, Harvard Depository. PREFERRED CITATIONex. Elena Bonner Papers, circa 1910-2003 (MS Rus 1345). Houghton Library, Harvard University. PROCESSING INFORMATIONUse to describe who processed the collection, ex. Processed by Adrien Hilton, 2016 December.
Add “Sub Note” while in PROCESSING INFORMATION to record additional processing notations. PROCESSING INFORMATIONUse a separate processing information note to record the Aleph number. LABELAleph ID CONTENTNine-digit Aleph ID SCOPE AND CONTENTS |
Houghton required data for multilevel description
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You will likely create more detailed description for a collection. This can be a simple inventory or series outline all the way to a very detailed file or item level listing. In DACS this is referred to as multilevel description. Each unit of description below the resource record or collection level record is referred to as an archival object in ArchivesSpace.
There are several ways to create multilevel description for collections.
Manually adding each archival object record
This method works well for a very small collection, for adding one or two items to a collection, for creating your series structure.
Find your resource record, also known as the collection level record
Use either the Search All Records bar or Browse → Resources
Add Child
Once you have your resource record open, and in edit mode, you are ready to add your archival object. An archival object is any unit of description below your collection level, i.e. Series, File, Item, depending on how you have arranged the collection. Click “Add Child” above the collection title information in the file tree area. Make sure the blue highlighted portion is actually what you want to add the archival object to. A new Archival Object record opens. This is the record for the description of your component, whether that is a Series, a File, an Item, etc.
Minimum data required to save archival objects
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TITLE or DATELEVEL OF DESCRIPTION |
Houghton required data for series descriptions
If you are only describing the materials at the series level, additional fields should be used such as Extent and Scope and Content.
As with all multilevel description, it is assumed that lower levels of description inherit information from the collection level. Thus you only need to use fields when information differs from that at the collection level. For instance if the collection is predominantly in Russian but you have a series of material in English, you would create a language note at the series level for the English language materials.
The principle of inheritance applies to creator as well. Do not include the creator in your title if it is the same creator as the collection level. Also, do not use the title field for recording authorized names.
Basic Information
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TITLEThe title of your series, ex. Correspondence; Printed Ephemera; Photographs and Slides (no punctuation) IDENTIFIERRoman numeral indicator of your series, ex. I, II LEVEL OF DESCRIPTIONSelect ‘Series” from dropdown menu |
Dates
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LABELKeep “Creation” selected EXPRESSIONUse to describe the natural language expression of your series date(s), ex. circa 1990 March-2000 (no end punctuation) TYPESelect from dropdown menu the type of date you are describing, ex. inclusive, bulk, single BEGINInput the numeric expression of your early date, ex. 1990 ENDInput the numeric expression of your late date, ex. 2000 |
Houghton required data for file or item level descriptions
Basic Information
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TITLEThis is the title of the folder, ex. Correspondence with Martha Updike (no punctuation) LEVEL OF DESCRIPTIONSelect ‘File” from dropdown menu Generally speaking File is the most common unit of description. Unless you are genuinely describing a single item, use File. |
Dates
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Extents
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Instances
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