Linking material in ArchivesSpace

Owned by Emilie Hardman (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Apr 14, 2023 by Mary Haegert

Digital objects that represent manuscript materials may be created/linked in by creating individual digital objects and linking manually or by using the "Load via Spreadsheet" option.

Creating Digital Objects

  1. Log into ArchivesSpace
  2. Click "Create" from the top left menu and select "Digital Object"
  3. Fill in the following fields:
    1. Basic Information
      1. Title - Copy the exact title from the item record for which you are creating a digital object
      2. Identifier - Copy the identifier from the item record for which you are creating a digital object, adding the suffix "d"
      3. Publish - Click this box for materials that are not marked for restriction. Most Houghton digital objects can be published, but some have rights issues that require them left unpublished. This should be marked on the order tracking sheet.
    2. File Versions
      1. File URI - Copy in the URN created by running the DRS report through the DRS conversion template (DRS report instructions here)
      2. XLink Actuate Attribute - Select "OnRequest"
      3. XLink Show Attribute - Select "new"
      4. Publish - Click this box for materials that are not marked for restriction. Most Houghton digital objects can be published, but some have rights issues that require them left unpublished. This should be marked on the order tracking sheet.
  4. At the bottom of the page, select "Save Digital Object"

Manually Linking Digital Objects

  1. Log into ArchivesSpace 
  2. Search for the item record to which you wish to link a digital object
  3. At the bottom of the page in the "Instances" menu, select "Add Digital Object"
  4. Select "Browse" and search for the digital object you with to link (should have the same name as the item record)
  5. Select item and click "Link to Digital Objects" button

Load via Spreadsheet 

  1. Run DRS report through the DRS conversion template  (DRS report instructions here)
  2. Copy the data created in columns A-I
  3. Open the ArchivesSpace Digital Object Importing Template (H:\Imaging_and_Houghton\spreadsheets 2018-2019\Templates and Labels\aspace_import_excel_DO_template.xlsx)
  4. Paste data copied from DRS conversion template into cell C6
  5. Mark cells in column H "True" for publishable materials, and "False" for restricted materials
  6. Save spreadsheet using the EAD ID (data in column C) as new name 
  7. Log into ArchivesSpace
  8. Search for collection using EAD ID, i.e "hou02015" 
  9. Select the "edit" button on the search result for the correct collection
  10. Select "Load via Spreadsheet" in the third menu from the top of the collection edit page
  11. Click the "+Select File" button and select the spreadsheet saved with the EAD ID of the collection
  12. Select the "Add Digital Objects to Archival Objects" button and then the "Import from Spreadsheet" button