Communicating with donors when the collection is processed

Print Finding Aid Draft For Donor Review

We like to communicate with living donors once we have completed a collection. Depending on the scope of the collection, and who the donor is (the papers' author, or a family member, etc.) we generally ask the donor for feedback on our biographical notes. In some cases, asking for direct feedback is unnecessary or inappropriate - and a general letter announcing that the collection has been processed and made available online is enough. See below for examples of each. Discuss which option is the correct one for your collection with Kelcy and/or the curators.

For living donors of personal or family papers, follow the below instructions for printing a finding aid using ArchivesSpace QA. Print out the front matter only, including biography and scope and content notes, for review. Draft a letter or email to be reviewed by a curator, requesting corrections and/or clarifications (while explaining that the information serves as a summary/guide with highlights, and is not intended to be comprehensive). Include any questions you may have about portions of the collection. Explain that we would like to make the finding aid available as soon as possible, and will plan to post it as is in two weeks if we have not had a response. (Corrections can still be made after that time.)

If the terms of the DOG designate that materials (e.g., duplicates or unwanted items) are to be returned to the donor, and there are only a few items, mention in your letter that such items are enclosed, as per the agreement. For larger quantities,, or if contacting the donor by email,  state the types of materials (e.g., clippings, duplicates, plaques) and quantity, and ask that the donor contact you to discuss mailing arrangements (include your e-mail and phone number). In most cases, it will be necessary to specify a deadline by which we will return all such materials if we have received no response.

If contacting the donor by mail, verify their address. If the address on file is outdated, check with the Administrative Assistant to the Directors to see if the Library's mailing list has a recent address. If not, check the web for any listings, and call  or email to verify that you have the correct person. After obtaining the correct address, submit the draft  letter/email to a curator for editing. Once the copy is approved, either send it as an email with the draft front matter attached or print on Schlesinger Library stationery, and enclose it with the draft front matter (and any enclosures) in a large manila envelope, affixing the Library mailing label.

Place the envelope in the "to be metered" tray on table before the mailboxes on the first floor.

If the changes suggested by the donor seem extensive (or inaccurate), consult Kelcy or a curator. Substantial changes/additions in the finding aid should be submitted to Kelcy for review, before posting the finding aid.

Generating a PDF from ArchivesSpace QA

You can upload an EAD finding aid to ArchivesSpace QA (https://aspace-qa.lib.harvard.edu/) and then use the system to generate a PDF.  The staff side PDF is not formatted in the same way the HAD PDF is.  While all data exports, the PDFs have a lot of white space, making them quite long, and feature several formatting issues, including numbering lists and inserting large headings before notes attached to folders.   

Uploading an EAD document into ArchivesSpace: 

1. Under create dropdown, select Background Job, then Import Data

2. Select EAD from the Import type dropdown

3. Click green Add file button, then browse for you finding aid

4. Click Blue Queue Job button

5. A page indicating that the job has been queued, then eventually running, will appear

• If your job fails and you can't troubleshoot the problem in your EAD, ask Johanna for help

6. Once the job has successfully run, click the green refresh button

Generate PDF:

1. Repeat step 1 from the upload instructions, but select Print to PDF instead of Import Data
2. Search for your finding aid (you can use the eadid #)
3. Click blue Queue Job button
4. Once job has finished running, click the refresh page button
5. Click the Download PDF link under the file section of the page
   

Converting a PDF to Microsoft Word:

1. Open PDF in Adobe Pro
2. Select Tools
3. Select Export PDF
4. Select Microsoft Word
5. Select folder to export to
6. Name file, then save
7. Create new Word document containing the biographical/history note and scope and content note and send copy to donor

Replacing a Resource Record with a new EAD document:

If you make changes to the EAD version of you finding aid want to reimport it, you will first have to delete the existing resource.

1. Search for resource in ArchivesSpace (recommended search on EADid)
2. Open the resource in the view mode (you can also select edit, but records take longer to load in edit mode)
3. Click the red Delete button
   
   
   
4. Confirm the deletion in the dialog box that appears 

5. Repeat steps under uploading and EAD document

Note on Digital Object Records:

If there are digital objects attached to a resource or archival object record, the digital objects won't be deleted as part of the deletion process.  Digital object records can only be deleted by opening a record and deleting the record--there is no bulk delete option. 

If you delete a resource with digital objects without deleting the digital object records, then reingest the EAD with <dao>s in it, ArchivesSpace will create new digital object records for the digital content.  The records will have different identifiers, but will otherwise be duplicates of the existing digital object records.  The original digital object records will not be attached to a resource/archival object record, while the newly created digital object records will be attached to the records that were associated with in the EAD finding aid.

The data in ArchivesSpace QA is test data only, so the existence of duplicate digital object records can be overlooked.  Just be aware that if you are searching for digital object record records, you will get one or more duplicate results.

Final Finding Aid Donor Copy and Letter

Upon completion of the project, draft an email or  letter to the donor that will accompany their copy of the finding aid. Refer to any changes you may have made in response to donor's suggestions. Submit your draft to curators for review. Follow steps above for materials to be returned, address verification, printing letter, and mailing (or sending email).

EXAMPLES OF LETTERS TO DONORS. One asks for feedback on the finding aid, one does not.