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Basic Information Section

Title (required; DACS 2.3, CAAIS 1.4)

  • Other than “MIT,” acronyms and initialisms should be spelled out, e.g. Association of MIT Alumnae oral history, not AMITA oral history 
  • Titles should be in natural order, e.g. Shirley Ann Jackson personal archives, not Jackson, Shirley Ann personal archives (DACS 2.3.5)

  • For the initial accession of a new collection:

    • If the accession consists of one or two specific forms or items, list them individually, e.g. MIT Community Players scrapbooks (DACS 2.3.20)

    • If more than two forms or items are present, use “personal archives” for papers of faculty and other individuals; “records” for organizational records, including the records of specific administrators; or “collection” for assembled collections, usually from multiple sources.

    • Examples:

      • Paul L. Penfield, Jr. personal archives

      • MIT Chemical Society records

      • MIT Office of the Dean for Student Affairs records

      • Collection on Ellen Swallow Richards

  • For additions to existing collections:
    • If the accession consists of one or two specific forms or items, list them individually, e.g. Radar Training School class of 1942 photograph and notebook (DACS 2.3.20) 
    • If more than two forms or items are present, the title should identify the new accession as a transfer (for AC collections) or as an accrual (for MC collections) with the year and month of the donation included.
      • Examples:
        • Center for Environmental Health Sciences 2018 October transfer
        • MIT Collection on Student Life 2017 April accrual
  • For digital material transferred from physical media in existing collections:
    • The title should identify it as a digital media transfer with the year and month that you started the work
    • Example: Lisa Redfield Peattie papers 2019 September digital media transfer

Identifier (required; CAAIS 1.2) 

  • Identifiers are the accession numbers. The first text field contains the four digit fiscal year and the second text field contains the next three digit sequential number with leading zeros as needed, e.g. 2019-004

Accession Date (required)

  • The date when the accession arrived at DDC. If the arrival date is unknown, use the date when the accession record was created (the accession record creation date is the default for this field and should be updated if you know the arrival date).

Content Description (required; DACS 3.1, CAAIS 3.3)

  • A succinct description of the topics documented and types of materials in the accession. This should just be one chunk of text; avoid line breaks.

Condition Description (DACS 4.2.5, CAAIS 4.3.2)

  •  A description of preservation concerns regarding the accession. Use sparingly only to describe major preservation issues such as mold, e.g. Moldy materials in flagged folder in Box 2

Disposition Note (required; DACS 5.3.4 & 7.1.8, CAAIS 4.4.2)

  • A description of where materials from the accession were placed, including specific box numbers when applicable. If materials from the accession end up in more than one collection/location, this should be made clear in the description. This field should also be used to note any separated materials that were returned to the donor, transferred to another institution, or destroyed/recycled during the accessioning process. (Use the Deaccessions Section (fix link) to note any separations made after the materials went through the accessioning process and were made available to researchers.)
  • Examples:
    • Created new collection (MC-0123)
    • Added to AC-0123 as Boxes 5-6; approximately 1 cubic foot of publications determined out of scope and returned to donor
    • Added to Box 10 of MC-0456; duplicate material consisting of reprints and unmarked articles by others weeded and recycled
    • Created new series (Series 4: Alumni Association of New England); deleted 11 emails containing SSNs or credit card numbers

Provenance (required; DACS 5.2, CAAIS 2.1)

  • The source from which DDC acquired the materials and the method of acquisition, including specific software used to acquire digital content. There should be an Agent Record for any individuals named here as donors or facilitators of records transfers (“sources”) in the Agent Links (fix link) section. When the provenance is unknown, state “There is no documentation concerning the provenance of these materials.”
  • Examples:
    • Shipped to DDC by Jane Doe, Jr., daughter of Jane Doe, Sr.
    • Annual transfer of boxes sent to DDC by office manager Pam Beesly
    • Email ingested through ePADD and then transferred to DDC submission storage
    • Paper records packed and picked up by Kari Smith on November 1; digital files on external USB drive received from donor on November 7
    • Transferred using the Archives Transfer Tool

Inventory

  • Use to note the existence of a donor-provided inventory if applicable. Do not use this field to create preliminary inventories.
  • Examples
    • Excel folder list created by the donor is located in the digital control file and linked as an external document
    • Box inventory provided by the donor in paper form is in the physical control file

General Note

  • A catch-all note to be used sparingly for information that doesn’t fit in any other field

Acquisition Type (required; CAAIS 1.6)

  • Choose the appropriate option from the drop down menu
    • Deposit: Manuscript collections received without guarantee of a deed of gift in the near future
    • Gift: Most manuscript accessions received from individuals (including MIT faculty and alumni) or organizations that are not directly part of MIT’s administrative structure
    • Purchase: Manuscript collections purchased from a private seller
    • Transfer: MIT records received from academic departments and programs, administrative offices, and research labs and centers, which do not require a deed of gift
    • Found in Repository: Accessions for which the provenance is unknown, e.g. materials found when cleaning out a workspace or loose in the stacks

Resource Type (required)

  • Choose the appropriate option from the drop down menu
    • Collection: Purposefully assembled collections, often but not always from multiple sources, e.g. MIT Collection on Student Life
    • Papers: Collections of individuals (including MIT faculty), e.g. Gordon H. Pettengill personal archives
    • Publications: Accessions made up entirely of published works
    • Records: Collections of organizations or specific units and offices within larger organizations, including both those within and outside of MIT’s administrative structure, e.g. Office of the Treasurer records

Restrictions Apply? (required)

  • This box is checked by default since there are use restrictions on all collections

Publish?

  • For accession records, make sure this box is not checked

Access Restrictions?

  • Check this box if there are access restrictions

Access Restrictions Note (required; DACS 4.1)

  •  For MIT records, note any restrictions based on the Institute Records Access Statement. For manuscript collections, note any restrictions based on the donor agreement for new collections or the access note in the finding aid for existing collections. If the access restrictions for the accession differ from those of the collection into which it is placed, the access restriction statement should reflect the accession, not the collection. If the accession is not restricted, use the statement “Materials are open.”
  • Consult the Archivist for Collections if you think there is a compelling reason to impose restrictions not specified in the Institute Records Access Policy or deed of gift, e.g. privacy concerns. Note that this field should only be used to describe intellectual limits on access, not restrictions based on physical condition or technical requirements.
  • Examples:
    • Materials in Boxes 10-15 are closed for 75 years from the date of their creation due to the presence of student academic files. All other materials are open for research use.

    • All materials are restricted for 20 years from the date of their creation in accordance with MIT’s Institute Records Access Policy. Additionally, select folders are closed for 75 years due to the presence of personnel information; these restrictions are noted in the folder list for Series 2 and on the relevant boxes and folders.

    • Emails are restricted for 10 years in accordance with the donor agreement. All other materials are open for research use.

Use Restrictions? (required)

  • This box is checked by default since there are use restrictions on all collections

Use Restrictions Note (required; DACS 4.4)

  • Use the following statement for archival accessions (AC collections):
    • “Access to collections in the Department of Distinctive Collections is not authorization to publish. Separate written application for permission to publish must be made to Distinctive Collections. Copyright of some items in this collection may be held by respective creators, not by the creating office.”
  • Use the following statement for manuscript accessions (MC collections):
    • “Access to collections in the Department of Distinctive Collections is not authorization to publish. Separate written application for permission to publish must be made to Distinctive Collections. Copyright of some items in this collection may be held by respective creators, not by the donor(s) of the collection.”

Dates Section (DACS 2.4, CAAIS 3.1)

  • Add new date by clicking the “Add Date” button.

Label (required)

  • This is set to Creation by default

Expression

  • Used only for dates or date spans spelled out in full year/month (and in rare cases day) form, e.g. 2009 September-2010 February, or if using “circa” to indicate uncertainty about dates, e.g. circa 2000-2010. This field is not used if the single date or date range is a simple YYYY or YYYY-YYYY format.

Type (required)

  • Choose the appropriate option from the drop down menu
    • Bulk Dates: Creation dates applicable to the majority of materials in the accession, excluding any outliers on either end
    • Inclusive Dates: Creation dates applicable to all materials in the accession, including outliers on either end
    • Single: Use if there is only one creation date for all materials in the accession

Begin (required)

  • Numerical value of earliest (or only) creation date in the accession in YYYY, YYYY-MM, or YYYY-MM-DD format

End

  • Numerical value of latest creation date in the accession in YYYY, YYYY-MM, or YYYY-MM-DD format

Certainty

  • Choose “Approximate” from the drop down menu if dates are uncertain for any reason

Extents Section (DACS 2.5, CAAIS 3.2)

  • Add new extent by clicking the “Add Extent” button

Portion (required)

  • Select “Whole” if the accession is entirely analog or entirely digital. If it’s a hybrid accession, select “Part” and enter analog and digital extents separately.

Number (required)

  • For analog materials, a numeric value for the number of cubic feet (for single items or anything less than one manuscript box in extent, use numeric value 0.1). For digital materials, a numeric value for the storage space in megabytes, gigabytes, or terabytes. 

Type (required)

  • Choose one of the following from the drop down menu:
    • Cubic Feet
    • Megabytes
    • Gigabytes
    • Terabytes

Container Summary (required)

  • For analog materials, used to describe the containers that the materials were initially housed in when they arrived at DDC. For digital materials, used to describe the size of the accession in digital files; also use to call out specific digital formats that may require special accessioning procedures. Text in the Container Summary field should be in parentheses.
  • Examples:
    • (2 record cartons and 1 legal manuscript box)
    • (5 audiocassettes)
    • (1 manila folder)
    • (12,345 digital files)
    • (2,429 digital files; 253,374 emails)
    • (3 record cartons, including 30 floppy disks)

Agent Links Section (CAAIS 2.1)

  • All records should have a minimum of one agent record linked for the creator and one agent record linked for the source, but some accessions may have multiple creators or sources. If the source or creator is not known, choose the “Unknown” agent. Add a new agent by clicking the Add Agent button (this must be repeated when adding another agent).
    • Role: Choose either “Creator” or “Source”
    • Agents: Choose from the available agent records or create your own. Instructions for creating agent records can be found in the Appendix. (fix link)

Related Resources Section

  • Connects the accession to its related resource by linking to an existing resource record or creating a new resource record. This step is especially important for new collections because ArchivesSpace serves as the master list for collection IDs. Accession records can also be linked to multiple resource records, e.g. if materials are placed into several different assembled collections.
    • Link to an existing resource record if a transfer or accrual: Click Add Related Resource and use the search function to find the existing resource record by collection IDs or collection title
    • To create a new resource record if one does not already exist, spawn a resource record from the current accession record.
      • Go to the top of the accession record, save the record, and then click Spawn and choose Resource. 
      • Complete the required fields to create a minimal resource record. See the Description section in the processing manual for guidance on how to enter the field below
        • Collection identifier (collection ID) - find the next one sequentially (either AC or MC collection) by browsing Resources in ArchivesSpace
        • Level of description: collection
        • Title
        • Language
        • Extent
        • Dates
        • Add top containers instances at the box level (can be placeholders without barcodes)

External Documents Section (CAAIS 4.5)

The Digital Control Files are organized by collection ID and in One Drive under in the DDC Digital Control Files folder at this link https://mitprod.sharepoint.com/sites/libraries/ddc/. File names for documents in these folders contain the accession number they pertain to followed by the type of document, e.g. 2019-006_donor_correspondence.pdf. If multiple accessions are associated with a particular collection, there will be subfolders for each accession number within the folder for the collection ID.

  • Link to the following types of documents from the Digital Control Files:
    • Transfer form (for MIT records)
    • Donor agreement form (for one-off manuscript donations)
    • Deed of gift form (for larger and/or more complex manuscript donations)
    • Email correspondence with the donor
    • DDC email correspondence about the accession
    • Inventories from the donor
    • Surveys or processing plans created by DDC staff
    • Notes and photographs from site visits to a donor’s home or office
  • Add a new external document by clicking the Add External Document button
    • Title: Name of the document or collection of documents without the underscores or file extension
      • Examples:
        • 2019-006 donor correspondence (if linking to specific document)
        • 2018-023 documentation (if linking to subfolder for the accession that contains all of the relevant documentation)
    • Location: Select the folder or document which you want to link to and click the copy link button at the top of the page, you can then paste in the link to the location field in ArchivesSpace
    • Publish?: Leave unchecked

Instances Section

This section is only required for accessions when it contains digital material. The instance allows us to track the location of the digital files through the accessioning and processing procedures. For digital materials, this is the “archivalstore” where the preservation files are located.

  • Type: Use the instance type appropriate for the instance (Textual Materials for email correspondence, etc.). If there is a mix, use Mixed Materials.
  • Top Container: Click the down arrow at the end of the input field and select “create”
    • Container type: choose “archivalstore”
    • Indicator: choose the package name that was created in the digital transfer steps (for instance 2017_082acc)
    • Click “Add location” and choose the location where the files are stored at present:
      • DIG, Submission [directory: unspecified] - general submission area
      • DIG, Submission [directory: Transfer] - the Archivematica transfer folder within the submission folder
      • DIG, Ingest [directory: amTransferBacklog] - the folder where files are stored when in the Archivematica Transfer Backlog
      • DIG, AIPStoreA [directory: unspecified] - the digital preservation storage area where the files will be stored once processed through Archivematica
    • Click “Create and Link to Top Container”
  •  As you move through the digital processing workflow, you should update the location of the container.   
    • When updating the location once the material is stored in digital preservation storage (i.e. AIPStoreA), change the indicator field to match the name of its base folder in storage, this will be a combination of [AIP name]-[UUID]. The UUID can be found by looking at the archival storage tab in Archivematica or by going to the folder in AIPStoreA.
      • For example: 2020_030acc-be76a2c3-52aa-4bd1-a232-081a1dc83d65
    • For materials that were processed as an Archival Information Collection (AIC), you will need to do two things:
      • edit your original container to reflect information about the AIC using the guidance described above (this container should only be linked to the accession record).
        • One slight change is that in front of the information in the indicator field you should also add, “AIC#” with no spaces for example: AIC#2020_036acc-e919211d-af15-4d6c-972e-343274b25c11
      • Add containers for each AIP within the AIC, this should follow the guidance above. For instance one of the container indicators should be something like “2020_036_001-8a39848f-4d8d-4b8c-ab62-baa3d0e605a5” and so on.

Deaccessions Section

 

This section is only required if materials from the accession were returned to a donor, transferred to another institution, or destroyed/recycled after they went through the accessioning procedures, requiring the alteration of finding aids or other public description. This section is not required if materials are weeded or found to be out of scope during accessioning; these separations can be noted in the Disposition Note in the Basic Information section. Multiple deaccessions can be recorded for a single accession record.



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Archives Processing Manual.