Deaccessioning - smith-special-collections/sc-documentation GitHub Wiki

See the general staff page on the separation procedure for more information. Deaccessioning occurs during both processing and accessioning, however processing is typically more thorough than accessioning in this respect. See this page for more information on how detailed to be when deaccessioning. See the appendix “record value” for more information on how archivists determine what materials to retain and what to deaccession.

Materials that are often deaccessioned

  • Duplicates
  • Supplies and product manuals
  • Junk mail
  • Published books and audiovisual recordings not produced by the donor/creator or their employer
  • Recordings of media broadcasts that do not feature the donor/creator
  • Facsimiles of extant original materials, including book galleys
  • Third-party medical records (e.g., a doctor’s chart or a therapist’s notes about her patients)
  • Third-party educational records -- any evaluative material about a student within an official educational context (e.g., a teacher’s gradebook or graded, marked-up copies of her students’ work). FERPA should be used as a guideline even when dealing with non-Smith College records.
  • Third-party employment records (e.g., resumes or letters of recommendation not written by or about donor/creator)
  • Detailed personal financial records (e.g., receipts, bank statements, or tax returns)
  • Souvenirs and other memorabilia
  • Clippings from, or copies of, widely-distributed newspapers, magazines, and academic journals
  • Reproductions of materials from other archives

Documentation

  • Appraisal note
    • Use at the most immediately relevant level of description.
      • For example, if material was only separated from a single series, the appraisal note should be used at the series level.
    • Include the following information:
      • Types of material
        • It’s assumed that any duplicates will be deaccessioned, so you do not need to mention it
      • Disposition of material
      • Date(s) of separation (approximate)
      • Extent of material (approximate)
      • Optionally, provide specific examples of material that researchers may find useful to know existed

Separating materials

Set aside any material that you think should be deaccessioned. Keep duplicates in one pile, restricted materials (medical records, educational records, employment records) in another pile, and all other materials in a third pile. Make sure to check with your supervisor about deaccessions.

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