Internal transfer protocol

Internal transfers are instances where papers, records, or artifacts are transferred from one custodial unit (manuscripts, archives, and Warren) to another post-accession. Items separated prior to accession do not require internal transfer procedures or documentation. Also, books pulled from archival or manuscript collections for item-level cataloging do not require a transfer form, but should be noted in an Items Separated element in the finding aid.

Internal transfers are typically initiated by the accessioning archivist after materials have been acquired and accessioned, or by the processing archivist at the point of processing.

The Internal Transfer Agreement form lives in:

N:\Administration_CHoM\Policies_and_Policy_Development\Accessioning\Accessions_Current

Transferring material between Manuscripts and Institutional Archives

It is common for institutional records of Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, and the Harvard School of Public Health to be mixed in with the personal papers of faculty and should be evaluated for transfer to the Archives. There are two common scenarios/courses of action:

Manuscripts > Archives

Scenario 1: Manuscript collection contains the correspondence file of an HMS department head. The Department Head did not leave the records with the school, but took that correspondence file with him when he retired and fifteen years later, has donated the correspondence to the Center along with his research records, writings, and publications. Because these records capture the history of a department’s activities, and generated as a part of routine Harvard Medical School operations (and not the career and work of the individual who served as the Department Head), they should be transferred to Archives. Please consult either the Collections Services Archivist (CSA) or the Records Manager for guidance. An Internal Transfer Agreement should be completed and filed in both sets of control files to document the transfer.

Scenario 2: Manuscript collection contains random chunks of correspondence, Harvard Medical School policies, departmental contact lists, and meeting minutes for a department in which the collection’s creator worked for twenty-five years. These records are interfiled with a larger subject file covering topics of interest, correspondence with colleagues around the globe, clippings, and reprints. In this case, it is likely that the creator simply cherry picked items of interest to retain when she left Harvard, embedding those references/resources/records of service with records generated as a result of multiple professional appointments, activities, etc. In this case, the Harvard Medical School records should remain with the collection. Processors should not go through these subject files and remove Harvard records.

Archvies > Manuscripts

Scenario: Less frequently then the scenarios above, a group of papers of an individual faculty member or administrator may be present among departmental records. In these cases, first consult with the CSA and/or Records Manager to verify that these are personal papers and not university records. Next, consult with the relevant Accessioning Archivist (public health vs. non-public health) to determine whether the creator of the papers or their descendants can be contacted to either reclaim the property or donate the papers to the Center. Assuming the papers end up being donated to the Center or determined to be abandoned property, an Internal Transfer Agreement should be completed and filed in both sets of control files to document the transfer.

Transferring objects to the Warren Anatomical Museum

Collections acquired by the Center are frequently accompanied by objects designed, manufactured, or utilized by collection creators as a product of research, professional, or teaching activities. These objects offer insight into the technical approaches utilized by an individual or research team and can inform our understanding of both historic and contemporary practices -- as well as fuel new knowledge -- through instrumentation, specimens, and cultural objects. Processors should be alert to special handling procedures for objects found in collections and pay descriptive attention to three-dimensional works that offer synergies between the lives of creators, the history of Harvard Medical School, the Harvard School of Public Health, and the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, those who used or manufactured the objects, and resulting intellectual outputs.

Items acquired by the Warren are governed by a separate collections development plan maintained and implemented by the Curator; not all objects acquired with a collection are appropriate for transfer. When you encounter objects in a manuscript collection or archival series, adhere to the below guidelines.

If you find objects or specimens (such as microscope slides, instruments, models, packaged products, tissue samples, etc.), contact the Curator for an object consult. The Curator will determine if the object(s) should be transferred to the Warren. Consult the Curator every time you find a new group of objects or proceed using a consult schedule established by the Curator.
If the objects will be transferred, separate them from the collection and insert a printed “Transferred to the Warren Anatomical Museum” sheet in the folder or box the object was removed from, listing the number and types of items transferred, and creation dates of those items if known.
Items not appropriate for transfer should remain with the collection. Consult the Collections Services Archivist about how to update processing plans to accommodate objects or to discuss reappraisal and/or deaccessioning.
Photocopy related records in the folder an object was kept in to ensure context is maintained (such as correspondence, design notes, etc.). Photocopied records should directly relate to the object(s). If a microscope slide or other object is not accompanied by any documentation, prepare a short summary of how the object relates or may relate to the work of the collection creator that can go in the Museum’s object file and catalog record. Keep photocopied or written documentation with the object removed.
Keep separated objects in the stacks with the manuscript or archival collection until processing is complete. (Do not bring objects to the Curator “one at a time.”) Objects will be accessioned to the Warren as a single group transferred from a collection.
Object handing:
1. Always use nitrile gloves when handling microscope slides
2. If microscope slides (or other objects) are in their original housing (wood boxes, metal boxes, etc.), do not remove them from their boxes; keep them in their original containers
3. If you find single broken microscope slides, sleeve them in unbuffered negative sleeves and then put them in open-top archival accordion folders. Continue to file broken microscope slides in the accordion folder until it has reached its 2” expansion capacity. Insert a sheet of archival bond paper on both sides of the object for additional protection, as accordion folders are made with buffered paper
4. Groups of unbroken, loose microscope slides can be placed in open-top archival accordion folders without sleeves. Insert a sheet of archival bond paper on both ends of the folder for additional protection
5. Store instruments, models, or other objects in records center cartons until they are transferred
When processing is complete, set up a formal transfer meeting with the Curator. The Curator will provide you with an accession number to refer to in the finding aid. Post meeting, the Curator will prepare an Internal Transfer Agreement for the CSA to sign. The CSA will file the copy of the transfer form with the control file for the collection.
Post accession, the Curator will catalog the objects transferred as time permits. When cataloging is complete, the Curator will provide the CSA with catalog numbers for revising the finding aid.
Processors should record information about the transfer in the finding aid, employing the <processinfo> and <separatedmaterial> tags.