Processing is a task requiring intellectual work and craftsmanship. It is often more of an art than a science. The processor serves as an intermediary between the creators of the papers and their users. To process a collection means to arrange the papers in some logical way and then to describe the papers’ arrangement, their contents, and their research potential so that researchers and staff members can find specific material when it is needed.
The line between when accessioning stops and processing begins can be blurry. For detailed instructions on packing and transferring material see the Acquisitions/Accessioning [LINK] [another link to digital version] documentation. For the purposes of this manual, processing begins once a gift agreement is signed (for personal archives), material is transferred to the Archives, and an accession record is started.
Processing tenets and philosophy
Plan before taking action and be transparent about decisions.
Ideal level of processing is not the same for all collections or even within collections.
Only do enough work to make collections useful and intelligible to the researcher.
The research value of the collection, both to the researcher and the reference staff, is one of the main factors in determining the appropriate level of work.
It is unlikely that there will ever be time to reprocess collections, therefore we should assume that the present work will be all that is done on the collection. Extra work on one collection detracts from the work that can be done on others, and our aim is to make all our holdings accessible.
All processing work must be carefully planned and coordinated.
Processing is best carried out as a team effort.
The Processing Manual will be used and constantly revised in the Institute Archives. Comments from anyone who reads and uses this manual are welcome.
Respect the confidentiality of records and respect the rights both of patrons and donors. You may see confidential or sensitive documents; they must not be discussed outside the Archives.
Self-care is important and we value the labor that goes into processing collections. Take breaks, talk to others, and ask for and give feedback.
This is your processing manual. It is not intended to tell you exactly what to do and exactly when to do it. Rather it is meant to serve as a reference guide to some specific adaptations of general archival theories and techniques used at MIT.
If you are not familiar with basic principles of arrangement and description, you should consult the publications listed in the Recommended Reading [LINK]. You should thoroughly understand concepts such as provenance [LINK] and respect des fonds [LINK]. Within the context of this preparation, this manual will explain how to process archival and manuscript collections at MIT. Please read this manual thoroughly and ask questions before you begin to process a collection.
Thank you - acknowledgment of past efforts
This updated Processing Manual builds on previous IASC manuals including the original 1981 Processing Manual for the Institute Archives and Special Collections, M.I.T. Libraries by Karen T. Lynch and Helen W. Samuels (née Slotkin) with the assistance of Deborah A. Cozort, Mary Jane McCavitt, and Rowland Aertker and the 2008 manual by Elizabeth Andrews.
The manual has also been heavily influenced by the presentation “Your Backlog is an Opportunity” from MARAC Fall 2008 by Daniel Santamaria and the book Extensible Processing for Archives and Special Collections: Reducing Processing Backlogs, also by Daniel Santamaria (published by ALA Neal-Schuman in 2014).
