See also: Collections vs. Single Item Manuscripts
The most important change in Technical Services recently has been our use of ArchivesSpace to create finding aids, and the physical separation of single items from collection material in the stacks. Single items are still cataloged and shelved sequentially as they always were, though they reside in separate ranges. But collection material (mostly in boxes) are given call numbers without prefixes, and are stored according to a shelf numbering system enumerated in ArchivesSpace, which includes ranges, bays, and shelves that are physically labeled. Thus, single items are located first by their prefix, and then sequentially. All of the retrieval information resides in the call number. But for manuscript collections retrieval depends on the particular Building, Floor level, range, bay and shelf number, which gets printed on the call slip. Returning this material to its exact location is crucial to the ability to locate the items. Taking the time to understand how to locate items using ArchivesSpace and AEON is a smart thing to do.
A "single item" manuscript is often a volume or small number of sheets. It will not have a finding aid. Anything that has a finding aid in ArchivesSpace is a "collection". The term "single item" seems to be a Houghton invention. It is up to the curators and members of Technical Services to decide whether a given thing is a collection or a single item. The criteria is not always predictable. Single items are shelved sequentially in a few locations mostly based on physical dimensions, which are choices in Alma. Any additional location notes can be added to the 852 field, such as '$$z Shelved with....". In the case of a framed item hanging in an office, "$$x Hung in G131" uses the hidden note "x". A framed item hung in the stacks would not need to have a hidden note.
(*for detailed information, see ArchivesSpace)
I. Navigating the current system
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Understanding manuscript call numbers
Shelving categories at Houghton and Harvard Theatre Collection (single items and legacy collections)
Shelving categories at Houghton and Harvard Theatre Collection (IN DETAIL
Anchor shelving categories shelving categories
Shelving categories at Houghton and Harvard Theatre Collection (single items and legacy collections)
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*note: manuscript collections were categorized in this way prior to ArchivesSpace, and were interfiled with single items. New box and volume labels are being generated for all such pre-existing collections with call numbers that OMIT the prefixes, f, b, pf, etc. Incoming collections are now being shelved separately in newly established ranges. This is known as CONTAINER MANAGEMENT. A project, and now a regular feature of the end processing work flow.
MS = upright storage less than 28 cm. height (also called GEN)
(distinct shelving area in Houghton and HTC): mostly upright volumes; occasional upright document box.*
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bMS = boxed manuscript, flat storage, less than 13.5 cm. tall
(separate shelving area of Houghton sub-basement only): standard-size flat manuscript boxes
bMS = boxed manuscript, flat storage, less than 13.5 cm. tall
(shelved at HD): standard-size flat manuscript boxes.
bMS = boxed manuscript, upright document box, taller than 13.5 cm, height limited by HD specifications.
(shelved at HD): all sizes of upright document box and Paige boxes.
dbMS = was used ONLY in HTC indicating ranges full of exclusively regular height document boxes (NO LONGER USED because it just duplicates other ranges that can accept different boxes of the same height, like Paige boxes).
bMS = boxed manuscript, flat storage, less than 13.5 cm. tall
(distinct shelving area of HTC, lower level): standard-size flat manuscript boxes; upright document boxes, & pfMS boxes of all sizes--all shelved together on continually adjusted shelving)
pfMS = flat box, less than 13.5 cm. tall, but wider and longer than standard size flat box
(in a separate pf area of Houghton): several different pf sizes all shelved together
pfMS = flat box, less than 13.5 cm. tall, but wider and longer than standard size flat box
(shelved in bMS area of Harvard Theatre Collection): several different pf sizes all shelved together with the standard-size flat box.
pfMS = large volumes, over 28 cm., that must be stored flat, but are not in a box are also shelved in the pf area of Houghton along with boxed pf items.
pfMS = large volumes, over 28 cm., stored upright on bottom shelves (only in HTC stacks).
There are other places in the library where some items are shelved, but this is indicated by a word or phrase that follows the call number. See below.
PFC = PF Cabinets on basement. This is storage for oversize items. There are 2 flat files, small black and large white.(lots of Typ stored here, but other things as well).
PFD = Case Range-half drawer (HTC flat files in Pusey). Folder labels read "pfMS" with "drawer" several spaces from end of call number.
PPF = Case Range-full drawer (HTC flat files in Pusey). Folder labels read "pfMS" with "drawer" several spaces from end of call number.
TRC = Most manuscript items in the Theodore Roosevelt collection area of the Houghton stacks. [This is being phased out. Collections are now shelved like everything else].
zMS = anything in the z closet now has this prefix.
Anchor in detail in detail
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Shelving categories at Houghton and Harvard Theatre Collection (IN DETAIL)
The "AS" category in Alma links to an ArchivesSpace record that reveals the location within the stacks. The main shelf locations in ArchvesSpace are divided as follows:
P1 = Pusey, level one (former Houghton TS workspaces and Theatre stacks and Case Ranges)
P2 = Pusey, level two (Located in the "south" region of Pusey. Part of the Houghton Stacks that is connected to Lamont Library via a ramp)
P2,N = Pusey, level two, North (Located across a public corridor from P2. Once reserved exclusively for Theatre Collection material)
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This location can be made to print onto a call slip. Consult a supervisor or Public Service Staff for most recent instructions on how to do that.
The following call number indicators no longer apply to all manuscripts, but mainly to single items. Library and shelf locations for single items are not as explicit as they are in ArchivesSpace. They follow a sequential shelving system, guided by labels at the end of each range. Collections are shelved in separate locations from single items since the advent of ArchivesSpace. The call number system is the same for collections, but the "prefix" is dropped as a size and location indicator. Single item cataloging retains the original way of cataloging, as below:
UPRIGHT STORAGE INDICATOR: MS (GEN in Alma)
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For collection material, use the ArchivesSpace Containers tab. To print locations on the AEON Slip click Import Container and Citation, save, then print.
