Ensure the repository’s legal obligations to its donors and the institution are met.
It is important for repositories to establish and document the ownership of any special collections and archives material that is received, whether through purchase, gift, deposit, or transfer. Legal custody includes physical rights (who owns the actual material), intellectual property rights (who owns the content of the material), and often access or copyright restrictions. These stipulations are commonly outlined in a deed of gift or an acquisition agreement, which track the chain of custody, provide verification of authenticity, and formally document a repository’s intent to hold and be responsible for the care of collection or other cultural materials.
Centralize and share deeds of gifts or acquisition agreements so that appropriate restrictions may be applied in descriptive products and accurately conveyed to users.
Gain physical control of newly acquired materials.
Careful physical control of special collections and archives materials ensures that they are secure, can be located, and are available when needed.
- Record the extent and condition of material received.
- Provide basic conservation to materials if needed to ensure they are stabilized for usage in a reading room and long term storage.
- Label boxes and track the shelving location.
Ensure newly acquired special collections and archives materials are not intermingled with other materials.
Intellectual control ensures that incoming materials do not become intermingled with other materials held by the repository. This is achieved by recording information about origins, creator, contents, format, and extent.
- Create an accession record for every collection or addition to a collection acquired by a repository.
- Complete authority work at the point of accessioning as it can further streamline descriptive work for technical services staff and improve discoverability of preliminary descriptive products.
Determine the level to which the materials should be accessioned as soon as possible.
Take into consideration factors such as staff time and resources, expected time to processing, the current state of the collection materials, and stipulations in the donor agreement that may influence the decision.
Repurpose information collected during the acquisition process.
Repurpose information into accession records, bibliographic records, and finding aids, thus making information about accessions publicly accessible in a much faster and efficient timeframe.