Library Technical Services

Accessioning Manuscript Collections (LTS Procedure #78)

Scope:  This is the procedure that RMC staff use to accession a new manuscript or archival collection. The purpose of accessioning is to get an initial sense of what is in the collection, make preliminary decisions on retention and level of processing, and create records of its existence and origin (the accession folder and preliminary catalog record) that will allow us to track it until it can be processed. Appraisal, accessioning in Voyager, and distribution of material are commonly done by the curator or the Technical Services Archivist.

Contact: Margaret Nichols

Unit: RMC

Date last reviewed: 01/08/08

Date of next review: January 2008

A. Initial Appraisal and Accessioning

1. Receive the collection.

2. Appraise the collection; make a preliminary list to enter in the 541 field of the holdings record in Voyager. Number the containers in the collection (e.g. box 1, box 2, etc.) and write the collection name and accession number on them.

3. Create an accession folder with the collection name on it. Include any correspondence and information relating to the collection or its acquisition.

4. Search Voyager for a record. If the collection or item was a purchase, a record may have been created when it was ordered.

5. Enter a record for the collection, or update the existing record, in Voyager. This includes a (preliminary) statement of the extent of the collection (in cubic ft. or number of items), and a brief description of its scope and content.

6. In the 541 field, assign an accession number to the collection. In the 583 field, record any actions taken so far with it (received, acknowledged, etc.).

7. Print out the Voyager record for the accession folder. Write the Voyager bib id on the accession folder.

8. Fill out an accession form: Name of the collection, date received, immediate source, brief note of scope, volume, dates, condition (e.g. dirty or contaminated), restrictions on access or use, priority for processing, the level of processing needed, and conservation treatment or special housing needed. Also, note any special instructions based on the significance of the documents, the proposed arrangement of the collection, whether a finding aid should be prepared, any non-archival/published material that can be transferred elsewhere or discarded, and whether the collection can be stored at the Annex. Place the form in the accession folder.

9. If the collection is a gift, write an acknowledgment letter to the donor; send a copy to Library External Relations, and file a copy in the accession folder and another in the chronological file in the RMC front office. Have the donor sign a memo of understanding. Archival collections: have the donor office fill out a transfer report. Give the memo/report to staff to put in the accession folder.

10. Give the accession folder to the processing Collections Assistant (put it in the In box on her desk) or the Technical Services Archivist. Make sure the collection number or Voyager bib id is on each of the boxes/folders in the collection.

11. The processing Collections Assistant or the Technical Services Archivist will create a Voyager holdings record. Once the stacks Collections Assistant has assigned box locations, she will create item records for the boxes in Voyager.

12. For a Human Sexuality collection, the Human Sexuality Curator’s student assistant will add the new collection to the list of manuscripts in the Human Sexuality Collection guide.

B. Distribution of Material, Rehousing, and Preliminary Processing

1. Distribute any unwanted material as appropriate. Some may be discarded. Identify items (usually publications) to be kept in RMC or the Library but separated from the collection; these may need to be listed by staff before they are separated and the list made part of the collection's guide.

2. Assign a collection number, or give the collection to the processing Collections Assistant with the Voyager bib id on all of its boxes or folders and a note, "Needs collection. number."

3. Note down what material (if any) can be sent to the Annex and what should be kept here.

4. Technical services staff rehouse the material according to instructions in the curator's notes. This may include some refoldering and shifting of material. Staff handle the items designated to be separated from the collection (list them if required, and pass them on to an RMC book cataloger).

5. Consult the Technical Services Archivist about the proper housing for visual materials.

6. As you go, compile at least a preliminary box list. Put a copy of the list in the accession folder.

7. The stacks Collections Assistant finds a temporary location for the boxes while they await processing, and makes a note in the Voyager holdings record giving the temporary location (for example, 852 $x “on north wall,” “on K-107,” etc.). Or the temporary location of an individual box may be input on the item record for it, followed by “t.l.”

8. At the end of each month, the processing Collections Assistant prints out the Voyager records for the accessions that month (both new collections and additions). The University Archivist and the Head of the LTS Special Materials Unit proofread the printouts; they are then returned to the Collections Assistant or to those who created the records so they can make any needed corrections to the records in Voyager.