Adding to an existing collection (two options) (legacy) - smith-special-collections/sc-documentation GitHub Wiki

LEGACY PROCESS, FOR REFERENCE ONLY

Evaluate material to decide whether adding as standalone series/file or integrating into existing collection organization. Sometimes a new accession will have material which can belong in several different sections of an existing collection. For example, it might have letters that would be added to an existing Correspondence series and photographs which would be added to an existing Photographs series. In this case you will follow the workflow to Integrate the accession into an existing collection. Other times, new accessions do not logically integrate into the collection’s preexisting intellectual organization. For example, you might add a new accession to a collection that consists only of meeting minutes; in this case you would not divide the accession into multiple series or files, but add it to an existing collection as a standalone series or file.

Adding to an existing collection as a standalone series or file

Rehouse materials (if necessary)

See this page for more information on rehousing (replacing folders, replacing boxes, etc.)

Describe accession

Create archival object(s) in the ArchivesSpace resource record following standard practices for description.

Container control

Create container profiles (type of box), give containers barcodes, and shelve the containers. For more information on container control see this page.

Enter the following information from the accession record to new archival object:

If you are creating a new series, add this information to the series level. If you are only creating a new file, add this information to the file level.

Identifier → Component Unique Identifier (CUI)
- Only add this information if you are adding a new series and if other series in the collection also use accession numbers as their CUIs
- Example: “Accession 2023-S-0001”
Content Description → Scope and Content note
Disposition → Appraisal note
- Only add this note if there is any information about material not being retained
- Example, archival object: “Clippings and cards were discarded during accessioning.”
Provenance → Immediate Source of Acquisition note
- If the accession is a standalone series or a single archival object and the source is not the same as the rest of the collection, create an Immediate Source of Acquisition note on the archival object.
- If the source is the same as the rest of the collection, update the Collection level Immediate source of Acquisition note to include new date
- Example: “Donated by Martha Tolles, 2015.”
Agent Links (source)
- If the source is not the same as the rest of the collection, then create a matching Agent Link on the archival object
Agent Links (creator)
- If the creator is not the same as the rest of the collection, then create a matching Agent Link on the archival object

Update parent level(s)

The following collection level subrecords or parent archival object(s) may need to be updated:

Scope and Content note
- If the addition is substantial (judgment call) and includes material not indicated in the existing note, then update the following levels:
  - Parent archival object(s) (if added to one or more existing series)
  - Collection level
Date subrecords
- Use the date calculator to generate new inclusive dates and delete old date subrecord. Update the following levels:
  - Parent archival object(s) (if added to one or more existing series)
  - Collection level
Extent subrecords
- Use the extent calculator to generate new extent (if the generator displays “NO PROFILE,” you need to add all missing container profiles first). Then delete the old extent subrecord that is in linear feet (some resource records have digital extents that should not be deleted). Do not update the extent record if you only used a shared boxes. Update the following levels:
  - Collection level
Add or update an existing Processing Information note identifying who accessioned the material and when
- Levels to update
  - Archival object (if a standalone series)
  - Collection level (if multiple series)
- Examples
  - Archival object: “Accessioned by Claire Clusin, 2023.”
  - Collection level: “Accession 2023-S-0001 was accessioned by Claire Clusin, 2023.”

Publish the addition and add an event to the accession record

Make sure to publish all the archival object(s) you added and the notes you added or updated. You can do this by using the “publish all” function at the appropriate level. For example, if you added a new series, you can publish all on the series level archival object. Use caution when publishing all at the collection level, as there may be intentionally unpublished description. Once everything else is complete, add an accession event to the accession record and change the status of the Airtable record to “complete.”

Integrating an accession into an existing collection