All collections will need to be described at the collection level for minimum level processing. 

Assigning a Collection Number

Depending on the creator of a collection, the collection will be assigned either an AC or MC series collection number. Always choose the next available collection number in the series. It should always be formatted as xC-0000.

AC series collections comprise the records of the Institute. Records of administration, departments, labs, and centers comprise the bulk of these collections. Groups funded by the Institute, including student groups, are also considered to be Institute records. MC collection numbers are used for everything else, including faculty papers, student papers, independent student groups, and outside organizations.

The collection number is used both as the Identifier and the EAD ID in ArchivesSpace.

Creating the Collection Title

Title is required for resource records at the collection level. At the collection level, the title is usually a concatenation of the creator name and a term describing the form of materials, whether general (personal archives, records) or specific (correspondence, diaries). In general, use "personal archives" for manuscript (MC) collections and "records" for MIT administrative material (AC collections).

Capitalize official name of a body or entity, or person, but not the document type. Separate elements with a comma and use a comma after first part of corporate body, but not between the last word in the office and the word "records."

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Office of the Provost records

  • Alice K. Hartley personal archives [creator plus type of material]

  • Oral history interview with Tim the Beaver [no single "creator" so use type of material plus topic]

  • Oral history interviews on Francis Otto Schmitt [collection of oral histories about one person]

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Office of Minority Education records

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Oral History Program, oral history interviews on ocean engineering

If there is a set of administrative records created by a person who has a distinct responsibility in a large office, include their name following the office title and before the word "records."

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Office of the Provost, Assistant Provost Walter Rosenblith records

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Office of the President, Paul E. Gray records

If the collection consists of specific forms of material use the more specific form name in the title such as: correspondence or diaries

  • Theodore Grover collection of autographs, signatures, and images of Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty members, administrators, and alumni
  • Holliday C. Heine student notes
  • John Smith diaries

Use the word “collection” to denote an assembled set of materials. If Distinctive Collections is the collector or assembler of the collection, use MIT Libraries as the creator.

  • Albert G. Ingalls pseudoscience collection  [pseudoscience materials collected by Ingalls]

  • Frank J. Lepreau collection on Klaus Liepmann [collection assembled by Lepreau about Liepmann]

  • MIT Libraries collection on student life

  • MIT Libraries collection of websites of student life

If a collection consists solely of an item with a defined title, retain the existing title.

  • The Log of the Dorian

Collection level titles also appear in other sections of the resource record — the Preferred Citation citation note and Finding Aid Title — the title of the collection should remain consistent across these fields.

Designating Resource Type

Each resource (collection record) should be assigned a resource type based on the nature of the materials being described. See Resource Types for more information.

Required Notes