Below are the Houghton Library 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 Tab

TITLE

The title of your collection, ex. Elena Bonner papers; Houghton Library collection of sheet music; Jack Sweeney correspondence with Sylvia Plath (no punctuation)

IDENTIFIER

Call number, ex. MS Am 1234 (all in the first text box)

LEVEL OF DESCRIPTION

Select “Collection” from dropdown menu

LANGUAGE

Select from dropdown menu the language most prominently represented in your collection. If more than one language is present, use the NOTE -- LANGUAGE OF MATERIAL to record all.  

Dates Tab

LABEL

Keep “Creation” selected

EXPRESSION

Use to describe the natural language expression of your date(s), ex. circa 

1810-1892, undated; 1980s-2000s (no end punctuation)

TYPE

Select from dropdown menu the type of date you are describing, ex. inclusive, 

bulk, single (use inclusive for undated)

BEGIN

Input the numeric expression of your early date, ex. 1810

END

Input the numeric expression of your late date, ex. 1892

Extents Tab

PORTION

Keep “Whole” selected

NUMBER

Input the numeric measurement of linear feet, ex. 7

TYPE

Select “linear feet” from the dropdown menu

CONTAINER SUMMARY

Input the number of boxes, volumes, reels, ex. (14 document boxes) (use parentheses)

Finding Aid Data Tab

EADID

Input the eadid for your finding aid, ex. hou02365

eadid’s are assigned using the Google Sheet

FINDING AID TITLE

Input the title for your finding aid include the creator (authorized format) at the beginning, ex.    

FINDING AID FILING TITLE

DO NOT USE

FINDING AID DATE

Date of finding aid creation

DESCRIPTION RULES

Select “Describing Archives: A Content Standard” from the dropdown menu

FINDING AID STATUS

Unless you are completely finished select “In progress” from the dropdown menu

Agent Links Tab

click “Add Agent Link”

ROLE

Select from the dropdown menu the role of the creator of your collection, ex. 

Creator (if describing creator) or Source (if describing collector)

AGENTS

First “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 drop down arrow. 

Usually you’ll be selecting either “Person” “Family” or “Corporate Body.”

See the ArchivesSpace Best Practices spreadsheet for more detail regarding creating agent records.

Fill in the Agent Record screen that pops up

DATES OF EXISTENCE

If the authorized version of your agent includes dates in the name, fill in the dates sub-record with birth and death dates.

SOURCE

Select from dropdown menu where you are deriving the name from,

Example: Library of Congress Name Authority File

RULES

Select from dropdown menu the rules used to formulate the name of the agent.

Example: Resource Description and Access, or local rules

NAME ORDER

Keep “indirect” selected from the dropdown menu

PRIMARY PART OF NAME

Enter the last name of your agent

REST OF NAME

Enter the first name of your agent

If your creator has an authorized listing that includes prefix, etc. please fill those data fields in as well.

Click the “Publish” button

Click the blue “Create and Link to Agent” button the bottom left of the Agent record.

Notes Tab

Click “Add Note” on right

Select from the dropdown menu the type of note.

Content for note goes in “Content” field; ignore “Multi-Part Note” fields 

ABSTRACT

A short summary of the collection, usually includes the creator name and types of 

formats found. 

ARRANGEMENT

A summary of the intellectual arrangement of the collection, if series are present, 

these are described here. Also noted here is the level of processing. 

Ex. Collection is arranged into the following three series: I. Correspondence; II. Compositions; III: Printed Ephemera. 

Ex. Collection has not been arranged. Materials are arranged as they were received from the donor/dealer.

BIOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICAL

A statement about the creator of the materials. 

CONDITIONS GOVERNING ACCESS

Restriction information, state when a collection is open in addition to possible restrictions. See additional explanation and examples: Collections Governing Access Statements.

Ex. There are no restrictions on physical access to this material. Collection is open for research.  (Punctuation for sentences is fine)

Ex. This collection/a portion of this collection is shelved offsite at the Harvard Depository. Retrieval requires advance notice. Readers should check with Houghton Public Services staff to determine what material is offsite and retrieval policies and times.

Ex. This collection/a portion of this collection is closed for processing/end processing, YYYY.*

There are 11 Houghton Library approved access statements when material is restricted. See below for a listing.

* All collections in processing or end processing (or a portion there-of) must have this conditions governing access note in the collection-level notes, in the Alma holdings record, and at any lower levels (series, file) as appropriate. 

CUSTODIAL HISTORY

Only use in cases where there is information regarding known ownership or transactions prior to the collection coming to Houghton Library. Information about how the collection came to Houghton are included only in the Immediate Source of Acquisition note. 

Ex. The materials that make up this collection were found by John Smith when he inherited Ann Hall’s house after her death. Smith organized the materials and brought them together as a collection for sale via a dealer.

IMMEDIATE SOURCE OF ACQUISITION

Accession information, ex. 2016M-20. Donated from Beatrice Menz in 2016 December. (Punctuation fine)

See here for more detailed information about the inclusion of provenance information, including dealer names: Provenance Description Guidelines.

LANGUAGE OF MATERIALS

Describe the languages represented in your collection, ex. Collection is in English, 

French, and German. (Punctuation for sentences is fine)

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND TECHNICAL ACCESS

Describe any limitations on access due to technical reasons. This applies to A/V and born-digital material at the moment. 

Language to use: Special equipment or surrogate required; consult Houghton staff.

PHYSICAL LOCATION

Use to record the physical location of the collection if the collection is at Harvard Depository.

If collection is onsite, locations are associated to Top Containers. Nothing is needed in this field - DO NOT USE.

PREFERRED CITATION

All words except articles are capitalized.

Example: Elena Bonner Papers, circa 1910-2003 (MS Rus 1345). Houghton Library, Harvard University.

PROCESSING INFORMATION

Use 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, ex. Collection was received in no discernible order. The archivist put all materials into new folders and boxes. 

For minimally processed collections: This collection was processed to a basic level with minimal rehousing, organization, and preservation.

Processing information notes must be included for for description edited for inclusivity, diversity, or other related reasons. See Processing Information Notes for Edited Description for the template and further details.

PROCESSING INFORMATION

Use a separate processing information note to record the Alma number.

LABEL

"Alma ID"

CONTENT

Record the Alma MMS ID

SCOPE AND CONTENTS

Description of the materials within the collection, including: significant themes or topics covered, formats present, mention significant people or organizations that are represented in the collection. 

If your collection will not have multi-level description, container information must be added at the collection level and locations linked. 

Container instances should not be added to the collection level if they are attached to lower levels. If there will be no lower-level description, please follow the below instructions for the Instances Tab.

For directions for linking locations to top containers, see: Linking Locations to Top Containers

Instance Tab

Instances are the place for entering box and folder information AND linking to box information.

For each new BOX in your collection:

Click “Add Container Instance”

TYPE

Select “Mixed Materials” (Always use Mixed Materials)

TOP CONTAINER

In the arrow dropdown select “Create”

In new Top Container window

CONTAINER TYPE

Select “Box”

INDICATOR

Input the box number, 1, 2, 3 etc…

If linking to an already created Top Container

(This would likely never be the case with top containers attached at the collection level - check with Head, Manuscript Section before proceeding)

 Click “Add Container Instance”

TYPE

Select “Mixed Materials” (Always use Mixed Materials)

TOP CONTAINER 

Rather than “Create” you can start typing 1 in the field for Top Container and your Box 1 will appear in blue, you can click on that to link it.