Archival Processing

Accession records are created in ArchivesSpace.

The term "accession" refers to materials physically and legally transferred to a repository as a unit at a single time; or to take legal and physical custody of a group of records or other materials and to formally document their receipt. The accession record documents this transfer.

Creating an accession record is the first step to gaining intellectual control over acquired collections. It gathers basic information about the collection, supplemented by documents in the Administrative File. Follow these general guidelines:

• Create an accession record in ArchivesSpace as soon as the collection arrives at your library.
• Fill out one accession record for each group of materials received at a time.
• Later additions to a collection receive a separate new accession record. Link related accessions together in ArchivesSpace using the "Related Accessions" field in the Accession Record.
• The accession year corresponds to the OU fiscal year: July 1 through June 30.
• The Accession Identifier consists of four parts. Example: WHC-21-M-76:
  • Library Code:  BAS, CLT, HOS, NIC, WHC, SRC
  • Fiscal Year: two-digits (example: 21) starts July 1, ends June 30
  • M (a legacy designation for Manuscripts)
  • Accession Number (example: 76, indicating it is the 76th accession of the year)

For each Accession Record in ArchivesSpace complete these elements:

• Collection Title
• Accession Identifier
• Accession Date
• Publish (untick this box so it is unpublished)
• Disposition (optional; you can state where the accession went, such as filed into an existing collection box and folder)
• Content Description
• Condition Description
• Inventory (did an inventory come with the collection?)
• Provenance
• Retention Rule (for University Archives only)
• General Note (any additional information goes here)
• Acquisition Type
• Resource Type
• Access Restrictions (from deed of gift)
• Use Restrictions (from deed of gift)
• Languages
  • most commonly this is set to: Language: English, and Script: Latin
• Dates
• Extents
• Agent Links (donor name)
• Related Resources (link to completed collection when processed)
• Component Links (link to completed components when processed, particularly if this is an addition)
• External Documents (deed of gift, donor inventories)
  • Title: enter the file name of the deed of gift (example: JoeSmith_deed.pdf)
  • Location: enter the file path where the deed is stored
  • Publish: untick this box so it is unpublished
• Instances
  • Add locations for each instance
  • Remember that accession record instances exist separately from resource record instances
• Deaccessions (optional, see Deaccessioning instructions)
• Collection Management
  • Processing Priority
  • Processing Total Extent (fill in when processing completed)
  • Processing Status (until processed use new or in-progress; then set status to completed when done)
• Classifications (choose a Collecting Initiative if applicable)
• Events
  • Add a "Processed" Event record (Do not use Processing Completed) when the collection is processed and the finding aid is in ArchivesSpace
  • Add a "Cataloged" Event record when a MARC record has been created for the collection in the public catalog
• User Defined (do not use this field)