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Once the survey has been completed, the archivist writes a processing proposal. The archivist then meets with his or her team leader and the Senior Archivist to discuss the proposal. No refoldering or rearrangement of the collection should take place until after this meeting. The proposal will include a lot of description of the collection which should be reused (and added to, if necessary) for the front matter of the finding aid. Gathering more information upfront and thinking critically about the collection from the outset should result in less structural change throughout processing.
Generally, the Processing Proposal includes:
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- a short biographical or historical note, including information relevant to any arrangement decisions;
- a description of the collection's size, the various accessions, and any weeding opportunities;
- a list of the kinds and quantity of materials found in the collection (including electronic records);
- mention of significant processing or other problems;
- provenance information and description of any existing order;
- potential issues with restrictions or closures based on donor wishes or material types
- apparent research strengths of the collection and expected documentation that is lacking.
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an archivist gathers all the collection materials as outlined in the Beginning Checklist for Processing, she or he will begin to survey the collection and create a processing plan to determine the work to be done.