An archival object in ArchivesSpace is used to describe something that is part of a collection-level resource record. For example, a series within a collection, or a folder title, or an item within a folder. These are also called component records. They make up the listing of box contents normally found in an archival finding aid.

To create an archival object within a resource record in ArchivesSpace follow the instructions below. A general introduction to archival object / component record creation is available in the training video below, and additional help is at the ArchivesSpace Help Center (Atlassian / Confluence log in required).

Log in to the staff view of ArchivesSpace.

Navigate to the resource record for the collection in which this archival object will reside.

In Edit mode in the resource record, click the Add Child button

To populate the fields in the Archival Object template that pops up, complete these fields:

• Title
  • Enter the title of the series or folder title
  • Do not add ending punctuation to this line particularly if a date will be added in the Dates section
• Component Unique Identifier
  • Leave this field blank
• Level of Description
  • Choose Series, Sub-series, File, or Item
• Publish
  • This box is ticked to publish by default
• Restrictions Apply?
  • Tick the box if there are any restrictions on the materials described
• Repository Processing Note
  • Do not use this field -instead, create a Processing Note in the Notes section further down in the template
• Languages
  • Add languages if needed here, but remember that languages have already been specified in the resource record
• Dates
  • Label by default is Creation, meaning the date the item in hand was actually created
  • If describing a copy of an early item, such as a 1975 photocopy of an 1885 document, record 1975 as its creation date; you can add a second date expression with "Other" as the Label, or simply include content date information within the description or scope note
  • Expression: enter a date or date range only in these exact formats:
    • June 1
    • 1975
    • 1975 June
    • 1975 June 1
    • 1975 June 1-5
    • 1975 June - July
    • 1975-1976
    • 1975 June - 1976
    • approximately 1975 (not circa)
    • undated (not "n.d.", "no date" or "unknown")
  • Type: Select Bulk Dates, Inclusive Dates (for a range), or Single
  • Begin/End
    • Leave these fields blank, as they are for dates in machine-readable format: yyyy-mm-dd. OU Libraries uses an ArchivesSpace plug-in that automatically supplies this information.
• Extents
  • This section is optional for archival objects; use it if the information is helpful to patrons but remember that it must be updated if materials are added in the future
• Agent Links
  • Adding agents to archival objects is optional; remember that primary Agents may already be part of the resource record
• Accession Links
  • Adding accession links to archival objects is optional
• Subjects
  • Adding subjects to archival objects is optional
• Notes
  • Adding notes to archival objects is optional.
  • If desired, click the Add Note button and select the note type
  • For archival objects, common notes used are:
    • Scope and Contents: use this to add a scope note to a series, or to provide users with additional information that is too long for a folder title
    • Physical Description: use this to specify that non-paper special formats are present within a folder, such as compact discs, slides, or USB flash drives
    • Processing Information: use this to convey information about processing decisions by the archivist if needed; this can be published or unpublished
• External Documents
  • This section is optional for archival objects
• Rights Statements
  • This section is optional for archival objects; any rights communicated here should also be reflected in the collection's resource record
• Instances
  • To add a box or folder click Add Container Instance
  • To add a Digital Object, see Digital Objects in this LibGuide
  • Type: select Mixed Materials for most collections
  • Top Container: 
    • If the boxes are already attached to the resource record:
      • Click the down arrow on this field, select Browse
      • Choose the correct box number from the list
      • Click the Link button
      • Click the Save Archival Object button
    • Or, if the boxes are already attached to the resource record:
      • Start typing the number of the box in this field to select it from the list
      • Click the Save Archival Object button
    • If the boxes are not already attached to the resource record:
      • Click the down arrow on this field, select Create
      • Choose the Container Type from the list
      • Type in the box number in the Indicator field
      • Click the Create and Link button
      • Click the Save Archival Object button
      • Once a box has been created, do not repeat the creation steps each time something is added to the instance - just create it one time (or else you'll have duplicates)