Sorting and arranging

After the completion of a processing plan and a meeting with Kelcy Shepherd and Mark Vassar, the archivist will begin to sort and arrange the collection.

Sorting

If material is foldered, first sort folders into cartons by series. If material is not (or not completely) foldered, you may need to use  "the pile method," sorting loose material into series or subseries groupings before foldering. If your collection is large, or if you think you would benefit from more table space, arrange to use the large tables on the 3rd floor of the library.

Fasteners

While rearranging folders to reflect desired order, remove hardware (paper clips, rubber bands, string) and replace with acid-free paper "slings" (kept in cabinet on 3rd floor) to keep materials together. When pages have existing numbers or distinctive paper to differentiate them, paper inserts are not necessary. If staples indicate rust, always remove them. They should also be removed from materials that appear to be under duress.

Refoldering

Be sure to "square" the folders using the appropriate crease (along the bottom edge) for the thickness of the folder and sharpen the second crease with a bone folder.

Flagging

Flagging of individual materials may occur during sorting/arranging, during refoldering, or during description. Each collection may lend itself to a different set of procedures, depending on how the collection material arrived at the library and what kinds of actions you plan to take to it. Flagging conventions must be consistent across the department so that end-processors can easily work with collections from different archivists.

Special cases

Some kinds of collections may present more challenges than others.

For examples of family papers arrangement, see Elizabeth Blodgett Hall Papers, Stark family Papers.

For examples of papers with literary content (poems, drafts, writings), see Dorothy West Papers, Honor Moore Papers, Jean Valentine Papers.

For examples of collections with legal papers, see NOW LDEF Records, Catherine MacKinnon Papers.