Physical Control
Gaining physical control of materials can be broad or granular and the level to which a repository decides to fulfill this function is highly dependent on time and resources. Regardless of time and resources, establishing and tracking the location of materials should happen as soon as possible upon a collection’s arrival.
Below are questions that repository can ask and actions that can be taken to answer those questions.
| Questions | Actions |
| Did what arrived at the repository match what was expected? | * Check the materials as a whole or, if time permits, individually examine boxes, folders, and their contents. |
| Can the materials easily be found after they have arrived? | * Label boxes and track a temporary shelving location, or, if time and resources permit, rehouse materials into archival boxes and folders, labeling, barcoding, and shelving the material in a permanent location. * Record location information in a spreadsheet, database, or other system that is easily accessible by all staff. * If time and resources permit, perform basic processing activities during accessioning so that the materials can be easily used in the reading room almost immediately and there is less confusion about the status or location of the accession for both repository staff and users. |
| Are there major preservation concerns? | * Review materials for obvious deterioration and preservation concerns that could affect neighboring items over time. * For items that may require conservation treatment, consult with the Weissman Preservation Center to stabilize the collection for long term storage. |
| Is the collection solely paper? Or are there audiovisual items or storage media with born-digital materials that need different considerations or workflows? | * As born-digital materials on storage media are at high preservation risk due to the ongoing obsolescence of media types and recovery equipment, as well as the potential for damage or loss of the storage media themselves, taking prompt action to find, identify, inventory, and recover born-digital materials on storage media during accessioning is critical. |
| Is there any additional information that could help with description? | * Add notes gathered from donors, transferring offices, or acquisitions staff while packing or arranging the materials for transfer, which could help technical services staff determine the original order of the records and how they may have been created or used by the creator. |
Intellectual Control
Accession Record
An accession record should be created for every collection or addition to a collection acquired by a repository. This:
- Ensures that legal and physical transfer of materials is complete.
- Forms the basis of a collection management system, which is a place where staff can see their holdings, what they acquired and when, where its located, and other characteristics including size, condition, access restrictions, etc.
- Provides the first iteration of a publicly accessible description for the collection.
An accession record is the foundation for later archival description. Any information gathered during the acquisitions process, whether from donors, transferring offices, or collections/curatorial staff, which could impact or assist archival description should be shared with technical services staff so the materials can be accurately described and made accessible to users.
Accession records are created and maintained in a variety of systems at Harvard University libraries, including Alma, ArchivesSpace, Microsoft Excel and Access, and some repositories use analog systems like cards and accession books. Independent of where and how the accession records are kept, it is critical that the records are standards-compliant and easily exchanged or interoperable with other systems for discovery and access. DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard) provides a set of required data elements for a single-level description such as an accession record.
- Reference Code Element (2.1)
- Name and Location of Repository Element (2.2)
- Title Element (2.3)
- Date Element (2.4)
- Extent Element (2.5)
- Name of Creator(s) Element (2.6) (if known)
- Scope and Content Element (3.1)
- Conditions Governing Access Element (4.1)
- Languages and Scripts of the Material Element (4.5)
Authority Work
Completing authority work at the point of accession can further streamline descriptive work for technical services staff and improve discoverability of preliminary descriptive products.
Consulting the Library of Congress National Authority File or HOLLIS for the proper form of established names, or forming creator names according to Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS) or Resource Description and Access (RDA) at the start of the accessioning process diminishes the time needed to create a MARC record for the collection as the cataloger or processor will not need to take the extra step of researching the creator’s history or if the office/person has a previously established name. Using the correct name on the accession paperwork will also simplify filing and the creation of labels for the accession.
Aside from the previously mentioned sources for constructing creator names, consulting subject specific thesauri such as MeSH for medical subject headings and Homosaurus for LGBTQ+ terms for correct vocabulary usage in accessioning documentation can also streamline descriptive work downstream.