Workflow for Accessioning MRBC Material - smith-special-collections/sc-documentation GitHub Wiki

All MRBC acquisitions go through the following workflow:

  1. MRBC curator acquires new material and reviews it.

    • For purchases, she sends the Administrative Assistant the invoice and the Administrative Assistant completes the purchase.
    • For donations, the curator works with the donor to sign a deed of gift, which is complete when countersigned by the Special Collections Director.

  2. Curator places the new material on the accession shelf, along with either a copy of the invoice and any bookseller’s description present, or the deed of gift and any correspondence with the donor.

  3. The staff member accessioning new acquisitions uploads the corresponding documentation (invoice, bookseller's description, or deed of gift) to the shared drive.

  4. For manuscript collections, complete the remainder of the Accessioning Checklist at this point.

  5. For purchases that include published books or codices, individual accession records are created, following Accession Record Metadata Requirements. Accession numbers are assigned sequentially in ASpace. There should be a 1:1 ratio for an accession record and bibliographic record. Some of this work may be appropriate to assign to students under the staff member’s close supervision.

  6. For gifts that include multiple codices, the staff member responsible for accessioning creates a "parent" accession record following the Metadata Requirements for Accession Records and describes the gift in bulk. Each book or codex will then receive an individual accession record and link the "parent" accession record in the Related accession sub-record field. Each book or codex will inherit the "parent" accession number with an additional 4th identifier component.

  7. The book is marked with the following information on the top right verso of the final printed page:

    • Accession number (e.g. #2019-M-0002-0003)
    • Name of source of acquisition (e.g., donor, bookseller, artist). For donations, write “g.” in front of the name. Donors who are alumnae should also have the year of their graduation at the end. (ABC Bookseller) ; (g. Minnie Mouse, 1928)
    • The book is also marked with the MRBC security markings. (See documentation for this in Team Drive/Technical Services/Processing.)
    • The book is placed in additional housing or support if needed (e.g. binder’s boards, container, cotton tape).

  8. The book is placed on the cataloging shelf, along with the supporting materials from the curator.