Data Entry Guidelines

Owned by chris spraker
Last updated: Jun 24, 2022

Introduction


Accession Records


Resource Records


Top Containers

According to the ArchivesSpace user manual: 

A top container is the highest level container in which an archival object is held. Sometimes it may be the only container; other times it may be the external container, which then holds additional containers (for example, a box that holds folders that can also be tracked in ArchivesSpace).

A top container record provides a mechanism for linking many archival objects to the same container, thereby increasing efficiency and providing the ability to perform bulk operations on these containers. For example, if you move Box 1 in a collection to a new location, using top containers enables you to update that location once, rather than for each archival object in the box as required in past versions of ArchivesSpace.

Top containers are usually created in the context of a material description record (accession, resource, or resource component), but may also be created separately. This may be helpful for managing containers shared across accessions or resources, such as an oversize box that holds oversize items from many resources.

Top containers can be linked to existing resource records and/or components using the Instances feature. Please refer to the Managing Top Containers section of the ArchivesSpace User Manual for instructions on how to create and manage top containers in the system. Please also note that the current version of ArchivesSpace allows users to perform bulk operations with top containers, a feature that was not available when the system initially launched at Harvard. 

Also see:

Digital Objects

Digital object records are for both born-digital and digitized materials. They can be linked to existing resource records using the Instances feature. Please refer to the Managing Digital Objects section of the ArchivesSpace User Manual for instructions on how to create and manage digital objects in the system. Please note that while no official best practice guidance currently exists for managing Digital Objects in ArchiveSpace at Harvard, LTS recommends against linking more than one digital object record to any one resource component whenever possible. 

Also see:

In addition, please note the following:

Minimal Data Requirements

The only required elements to save a digital object record are title and identifier.

  • Title is an open text field. It be transcribed from the object, or inherited from a component record, or provided by the repository. The title of the digital object as a whole may be the same as that of the resource or resource component record to which the digital object record is linked. However, it can be different than what is in the linked resource record.
  • Identifier is also and open text field. This is a unique identifier for the digital object as a whole and has to be present for a METS record to be exported.
    • It is a common practice (but not required) for the identifier to be the same as the linked resource/component, with a "d" added to the end (i.e., law00139c00038 → law00139c00038d)

Adding a URI

Adding a URI links the digital object record to an associated content file. To do this, click on the "Add File Version" button in the Digital Objects module. The only required field for each occasion of a File Version is File URI, which is an open-text field. Please note that if you add a URI to a digital object record, you will need to click "Publish" in the File Version sub-record for the link to display in the PUI.

Subject & Agent Records

For current guidance on working with Agent and Subject Records in ArchivesSpace at Harvard, see:  

Locations, Events, & Classifications


Extents


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