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Historic Record Keeping Practices

Beginning in July 1, 2006, the Manuscript Section has made accession records in MARC format for all curatorial departments. The previous database, HMA (Houghton Manuscript Accessions, an Access database created for the Manuscript Department ca. 1999 from the original MARC-based BibBase), was frozen at that time. (Bonnie Salt completed a project to create MARC records for all earlier materials appearing only in HMA.) Until approximately 2006, the Harvard Theatre Collection maintained separate accessioning practices and files.

In recent years accessioning became a backlog-preventive measure. Since April 1, 2011, preliminary box lists for accessioned collections were posted to OASIS (pending curatorial review). Legacy box lists in Word and other formats were occasionally converted to EAD and uploaded into OASIS or ingested into ArchivesSpace.

Until June 30, 2017 every item, collection, or collection accrual entering Houghton received a MARC accession record; collections of approximately two or more boxes may have received a box list in EAD. Both of these records were derivative of the rules for full, standards-compliant Houghton cataloging of single items and collections.

 

Philosophy

 

Quality processing does not require extensive arrangement, description, or preservation... Quality processing finds the most appropriate amount of work to perform to make a collection usable. High-quality processing may just as easily refer to a concise finding aid describing a collection that was skillfully arranged to the series level, as it might refer to a meticulously organized, extensively described collection. In other words, quality in archival processing is not measured by intensity or level of detail. Quality may be measured by how effectively a processed collection serves its user base and how wisely a processor spent a repository's resources to achieve this.

 

For those archival processors troubled by efficient processing techniques, remember that a processor's craft lies in analysis and decision-making. A skilled archival processor weighs many criteria to determine how much description, organization, or preservation is truly necessary. A skilled archival processor flexibly applies the most appropriate arrangement, description, or preservation technique from an arsenal of possibilities. A skilled archival processor asks "What are the costs?" and "What are the benefits?" for almost every processing action. A skilled archival processor finds the most efficient way to achieve sufficient intellectual mastery and adequate physical control over the materials. In some ways, streamlined processing is more difficult than traditional processing, because streamlined processing decisions require planning, flexibility, creative compromises, and innovative shortcuts to "get the most bang for the buck." In sum, the efficient processing techniques described in this manual do not devalue your work or your collections. They empower you to make complicated, informed choices about the work you perform so that you may surface more of your institution's important research material to its users. You may still take pride in all that you accomplish and all the researchers you serve when you use efficient processing techniques.
-- Guidelines for Efficient Archival Processing in the University of California Libraries

 

In 2005,  Mark Greene and Dennis

Philosophy

Accessioning is a core archival function. It is the means by which a repository establishes legal and physical custody of archival material and, in many cases, begins to describe the material in a database or catalog in order to make it known to researchers. Good accessioning practices form the foundation for all further processes undertaken by a repository. It is of the utmost importance.

In 2005, Mark Greene and Dennis Meissner published their article "More Product, Less Process," which ", known as MPLP. They called on the archival profession to account for its enormous backlog of inaccessible material. The article stirred many to adopt a new paradigm that included backlog-reductive processing measures. However, in addition to the positive reception and subsequent change in values by the profession, the article has been grossly misinterpreted as implementation of a fixed set of rules or processes. In fact, it is a philosophy. A philosophy that champions access to all materials. Implementing MPLP does not mean adopting minimal processing practices but rather employing analysis and decision-making to programmatically determine how much to arrange, describe, and preserve all collections within any given repository. It takes what was once a one-size-fits-all approach to processing and inserts archival judgement, agility, and strategy. Building on MPLP, Christine Weideman coined the phrase "Accessioning as Processing." This method of accessioning has been adopted as one strategy for backlog reduction. The goal is to provide baseline level access to collections as they are accessioned. Accessioning archivists are in an advantageous position to capture important documentation information related to a collection's arrangement, condition, and content. While accessioning, and with a minimum of additional effort, a collection can receive collection level description, basic rehousing, and even some preliminary intellectual arrangement and description at the series or file level. In this way, collections never enter into a backlog or processing queue. Future user needs may then dictate whether more description is warranted.

The goal at Houghton Library since 2011 has been to provide access to all newly-accessioned material. At a minimum a collection received All collections and items receive a MARC record. Collections larger than 2 linear feet received , and most collections receive additional description in a finding aid. Collections were still designated as unprocessed. Beginning in July, 2017 all collections will receive collection level finding aids, MARC records, and if larger than 2 linear feet series or file level finding aids. Collections will be marked as minimally processed.

 

Workflows

New Collection (Gift)

Material donated to Houghton for which we have no related gifts or purchases

  • Collection materials comes to Houghton/HD via the collecting curator

  • Collecting curator fills out web form

  • Accessioning archivist creates accession record in ArchivesSpace

  • Accessioning archivist spawns accession record into resource record in ArchivesSpace

  • Accessioning archivist assigns call number

  • Accessioning archivist creates baseline level access to collection

  • Accessioning archivist creates event record in ArchivesSpace; marks collection as minimally processed

  • Accessioning archivist exports MARCxml and ingests into Aleph

 

New Collection (Purchase)

Material purchased by Houghton for which we have no related gifts or purchases

  • Collection materials comes to Houghton/HD via the collecting curator

  • Collecting curator fills out web form

  • Acquisitions creates stub MARC record in Aleph

  • Accessioning archivist exports MARCxml from Aleph and imports into ArchivesSpace accession record

  • Accessioning archivist spawns accession record into resource record in ArchivesSpace

  • Accessioning archivist assigns call number

  • Accessioning archivist creates baseline level access to collection

  • Accessioning archivist creates event record in ArchivesSpace; marks collection as minimally processed

  • Accessioning archivist updates Aleph record

 

Accrual to a Processed Collection (Gift)

Material donated to Houghton for which we have a related collection that has been described in a finding aid

  • Collection materials comes to Houghton/HD via the collecting curator

  • Collecting curator fills out web form

  • Accessioning archivist creates accession record in ArchivesSpace

  • Accessioning archivist links accession record to related resource record in ArchivesSpace

  • Accessioning archivist adds accrual as series to related resource record

  • Accessioning archivist updates existing Aleph record

 

Accrual to an Unprocessed Collection (Gift)

Material donated to Houghton for which we have related collection(s) that have not been described in a finding aid

  • Collection materials come to Houghton/HD via the collecting curator

  • Collecting curator fills out web form

  • Accessioning archivist creates accession record in ArchivesSpace

  • Accessioning archivist spawns accession record into resource record

  • Accessioning archivist assigns call number

  • Accessioning archivist finds all related unprocessed accessions

  • Accessioning archivist exports MARCxml for all accession records in Aleph and imports them into accession records in ArchivesSpace

  • Accessioning archivist links all accession records to related resource record in ArchivesSpace

  • Accessioning archivist describes each accession as a series in resource record

  • Accessioning archivist, in conjunction with end processing, assigns new and consecutive box numbers to collection

  • Accessioning archivist updates existing Aleph record

  • Accessioning archivist cleans old accession records in Aleph, transferring necessary information, alerting Associate Library for Technical Services about consolidation

 

Accrual to a Processed Collection (Purchase)

Material purchased by Houghton for which we have a related collection that has been described in a finding aid

 

  • Collection materials comes to Houghton/HD via the collecting curator

  • Collecting curator fills out web form

  • Acquisitions links invoice to appropriate Aleph record

  • Accessioning archivist creates accession record in ArchivesSpace

  • Accessioning archivist links accession record to related resource record in ArchivesSpace

  • Accessioning archivist adds accrual as series to related resource record

  • Accessioning archivist updates existing Aleph record

 

Accrual to an Unprocessed Collection (Purchase)

Material purchased by Houghton for which we have related collection(s) that have not been described in a finding aid

  • Collection materials come to Houghton/HD via the collecting curator

  • Collecting curator fills out web form

  • Acquisitions links invoice to appropriate Aleph record

  • Accessioning archivist creates accession record in ArchivesSpace

  • Accessioning archivist spawns accession record into resource record

  • Accessioning archivist assigns call number

  • Accessioning archivist finds all related unprocessed accessions

  • Accessioning archivist exports MARCxml for all accession records in Aleph and imports them into accession records in ArchivesSpace

  • Accessioning archivist links all accession records to related resource record in ArchivesSpace

  • Accessioning archivist describes each accession as a series in resource record

  • Accessioning archivist, in conjunction with end processing, assigns new and consecutive box numbers to collection

  • Accessioning archivist updates existing Aleph record

  • Accessioning archivist cleans old accession records in Aleph, transferring necessary information, alerting Associate Library for Technical Services about consolidation and clean-up with invoices

Single Item (Gift)

Single item donated to Houghton that will be individually cataloged in Aleph
 

  • Item comes to Houghton/HD via the collecting curator

  • Collecting curator fills out web form

  • Accessioning archivist creates accession record in ArchivesSpace

  • Accessioning archivist assigns call number

  • Accessioning archivist routes item to manuscript cataloger

Single Item (Purchase)

Single item purchased by Houghton that will be individually cataloged in Aleph

  • Item comes to Houghton/HD via the collecting curator

  • Collecting curator fills out web form

  • Acquisitions creates stub MARC record in Aleph

  • Accessioning archivist exports MARCxml from Aleph and imports into ArchivesSpace accession record

  • Accessioning archivist assigns call number

  • Accessioning archivist routes item to manuscript cataloger

Catchall (Gift)

Single item donated to Houghton that will be incorporated into an existing catchall finding aid

  • Item comes to Houghton/HD via the collecting curator

  • Collecting curator fills out web form

  • Accessioning archivist creates accession record in ArchivesSpace

  • Accessioning archivist describes item in finding aid

Catchall (Purchase)

Single item purchased by Houghton that will be incorporated into an existing catchall finding aid

 

  • Item comes to Houghton/HD via the collecting curator

  • Collecting curator fills out web form

  • Acquisitions links invoice to appropriate Aleph record

  • Accessioning archivist creates accession record in ArchivesSpace

Description

Accession record

Resource record

Bibliographic record

Documents

Acquisitions Web Form (for editing)

Acquisitions Web Form (for curators to fill out)

 

The elements in these records are a subset of the rules for full, standards-compliant Houghton cataloging of single items and collections. Collections are designated as minimally processed but as often as possible are open for research. 


Info
titleWhat is baseline level access?

What is "good enough" description provided at the point of accessioning is a matter of judgment and will vary depending on the size, scope, and complexity of the collection. Finding the "golden minimum" for accessioning as processing is performing the minimum amount of work necessary to make the collection usable. Collections that are well organized (intellectually and/or physically) into discernible series are good candidates for finding aids with series level description. Collections that lack any discernible order should not be over-handled but rather described as holistically as possible, usually by describing the contents of a box as well as can be understood without much handling. Small collections or collections with less research value may only need a collection level description. Donor lists and dealer inventories, if not overly labor-intensive to convert, may be used as a basis for description and cited as such.


Historic Record-Keeping Practices


Expand

Beginning in July 1, 2006, the Manuscript Section made accession records in MARC format for all curatorial departments. The previous accessions database, HMA (Houghton Manuscript Accessions, an Access database created for the Manuscript Department circa 1999 from the original MARC-based product, BibBase), was frozen at that time. (Cataloger Bonnie Salt completed a project to create MARC records for all earlier materials appearing only in HMA.) Until approximately 2006, the Harvard Theatre Collection maintained separate accessioning practices and files.

Accessioning then became a backlog-preventive measure. Beginning April 1, 2011, "preliminary box lists" for accessioned collections were posted to OASIS (pending curatorial review). Legacy box lists in Word and other formats were occasionally converted to EAD and uploaded into OASIS or, later, ingested into ArchivesSpace.

Until June 30, 2017 every item, collection, or collection accrual entering Houghton received a MARC accession record; collections of approximately two or more boxes usually received a box list in EAD. Both of these records were derivative of the rules for full, standards-compliant Houghton cataloging of single items and collections.

As of July 1, 2017, accessioning was tracked in ArchivesSpace by creating an accession record for all incoming material, whether a single item, collection, or accrual to a collection. All collections then received collection-level finding aids, MARC records, and, if larger than 2 linear feet, series- or file-level finding aids. Collections were described as minimally processed and were generally open to research.