Language of Description

The default language of description is English. Change if necessary.

Language of Materials

ArchivesSpace records language information in the Languages section. This maps to the EAD element <langmaterial> and DACS 4.5.

Language is required at the collection level and ArchivesSpace defaults to English for new collections based on frequency of use.

If the collection is comprised of materials in a variety of languages, select “Add Language” in the Languages section of ArchivesSpace and add an entry for each language that occurs in the collection, selecting the language from the drop-down list.

Level of description

If the presence of another language is limited to a small portion of a collection, it is up to the archivist’s discretion to include an additional Languages section at the relevant level of description. Languages may be added at any level of description but should be added at the highest relevant level.

Language Note

Due to updates in how ArchivesSpace handles Language metadata, we no longer use Language of Materials notes. There is a Language Note feature associated with the Languages section, but this should only be used when language information cannot be sufficiently explained using the standard "Add Language" feature, because in the PUI the Language Note will override any information entered using the Languages drop-down boxes.

Formatting of note

The note is typically entered as prose, with language codes included in a <language> field as follows:

• Materials primarily in <language langcode="dut">Dutch</language>.
• Notebooks in <language langcode="rus">Russian</language>.
• Materials predominantly in <language langcode="cze">Czech</language>; <language langcode="eng">English</language> items identified at the item-level.

Be sure not to use curly quotes in the language codes. If you are copying and pasting text from a word processor, check for curly quotes because that formatting on quotation marks is often automatically added.

Source of language codes

The 3-character language codes used above may be found at: http://www.loc.gov/marc/languages/language_code.html (accessed 2018 October 18).

General

According to DACS 2.5, extent is used to document “the extent and the physical nature of the materials being described.” DACS also suggests that extents be measured as EITHER a measurement (.167 cubic feet) or a description of materials (1 folder). Local best practice was developed to address when each type of extent statement is used.

Extent should always be recorded as a measurement at the collection level and for accessions.

Measurement

As of May 2016, all physical holdings are measured in cubic feet (always plural). All existing linear feet extents were converted to cubic feet upon migrating into ArchivesSpace in May 2016. For more information on calculating cubic footage, see Housing > Extent calculator.

Calculating cubic feet:

• If using inches, multiply LWH by each other, and then divide by 1728, or alternatively, convert each measure to feet, then multiply. Cubic footage is NOT calculated by multiplying the three-inch values alone.
• A hypothetical box of 10 x 4 x 3 inches/1728 = .069 cubic feet 

Extent versus physical description notes

Only record numerical extent totals in an extent field; more detailed and prose-based descriptions of material, especially those that impact a patron’s use of the material, (e.g., dimensions, material type/format) are better described in a physical description note. See Processing > Description for more information.

A Physical Description note should not be confused with the Container Summary field, which is a free text field describing how the collection is housed (e.g., 1 record center carton). See below in the Requirements section > Local best practices for more about the Container Summary field.

Requirements

An extent is always required in an accession record and at the collection-level of a resource record.  It is optional at all other levels of description within resource records.

ArchivesSpace required fields

ArchivesSpace requires the following three fields for extent: 

• Portion: Whether the current extent applies to the whole or a part of the current record. Whole extents are much more common. See the Hybrid Collections section below for more information.
• Number: Any numeral rendered to two decimal places, representing the number of cubic feet

• Type: Cubic feet

Local best practice requirements 

A Container Summary field is not required by ArchivesSpace or strictly required by local best practice, but it is strongly recommended that all collection or accession level records include a container summary and that this field be updated upon adding accruals. Bound-with collections should include a folder count in this field, such as 1 legal-sized folder or 5 letter-sized folders. 

Except for the cases of hybrid collections (see below), the container summary represents a different way of describing the materials that are already listed in the Extent Number. This will usually consist of a description of the number and types of boxes, volumes, reels, disks, etc. Be sure to include the total number of boxes in the container summary along with the description of the number and types of boxes.

 Examples: 

• 1 half-sized document case
• 19 boxes total: 6 full-sized legal document boxes, 3 half-sized legal document boxes, 2 full-sized letter document boxes, 2 postcard boxes (7 x 3.75 x 5), 4 flat boxes (12.5 x 9 x 3; 10.75 x 7.75 x 2.5; 18.75 x 12.75 x 1.5; 25 x 21 x 1.5), and 2 custom boxes (10.75 x 7.25 x 3.75; 21 x 16.75 x 3.75)
• 6 letters 
• 1 legal sized folder

Single items/bound-withs

A single item collection, or any collection that is too small for its own container, is referred to internally as a bound-with. In these cases, the extent is determined by the number of folders rather than the number of boxes. Note that even though they are stored in drawers, map case folders are often treated as bound-with containers. 

Extents 

• The extent of a single, non-oversized folder is approximately .167 cubic feet per folder. This is the most common way to express a bound-with extent at Hopkins.
• The extent of a single over-sized folder (stored in a flat box) is .014 cubic feet per folder.

• The extent of a map case folder is .060 cubic feet per folder.

 Examples: 

• For a collection consisting of one legal-sized folder, its numerical extent is .167 cubic feet and its container summary is “1 legal-sized folder.”
• A collection consisting of two legal-sized folders would be .334 cubic feet, and its container summary would read “2 legal-sized folders.”
• A collection consisting of one over-sized folder (whether stored in a flat box or a map case drawer) would be .014 cubic feet, and its container summary would read “1 over-sized folder”

For more information on bound-withs, see Housing > Bound-withs.

Hybrid collections

These guidelines apply to the case of a hybrid collection, which is defined as any collection containing both physical records and born-digital materials.

For hybrid collections, create two extent statements in ArchivesSpace by selecting Portion > Part. Two or more Part statements are then understood to reflect the whole extent. One Part statement should be measured in cubic feet to reflect the physical nature of the materials, and the other in gigabytes. The statement for electronic records should reflect the extent of the access copies (the extent of the preservation copies should be represented in the relevant digital object record as this information does not need to be public-facing). A container summary is not required for electronic records.

Digital Collections

These guidelines apply to digital collections, which is any collection containing only digital materials.

For digital collections, create one extent statement in ArchivesSpace by selecting Portion > Whole. The default measurement is in gigabytes. Use the Size amount in bytes, not Size on disk amount. All digital extents, except for the Preservation Digital Object, reflect the size of the access copies. The Preservation Digital Object extent refers to the .tar file size. See the Processing -> Digital Records for more details about creating extents in Digital Objects.

Websites

Include a note in the Container Summary to the effect of, "Accession includes web archives of related websites."

AV Extents

Collections which contain physical media carriers such as audiocassettes, CDs, DVDs, and VHS tapes should have an accompanying extent statement at the collection-level describing the number and type of AV items present. This extent should be accompanied by a separate extent statement which describes the size of the digital content in gigabytes. See the following example:

Common extents

See Housing > Box library and standard boxes for a table of standard boxes and their extents.

Definition 

ArchivesSpace uses the term “agent” to refer to named authorities responsible for the creation of or bearing a relation to the content being described. DACS 2.6 requires that creators be assigned when known. For archival materials, the creator is typically the corporate body, person, or family responsible for an entire body of materials. However, a creator can also be responsible for the intellectual or artistic content of a single item, as in the writer of a letter or the painter of a portrait. A collector or compiler of materials (e.g., Vietnam War memorabilia, letters of presidents of the United States, or materials relating to suffragettes) is also considered the creator of the collection.

Unknown agent

If the creator is completely unknown, no agent record is assigned. The archivist responsible should use one of the following notes to record that research was undertaken and was unsuccessful to prevent a future archivist from repeating the same research process. The appropriate note field for this information is the General Note in the Accessions module, and the Repository Processing Note in a Resource record. These notes do not spawn or export.

Agent role (required)

ArchivesSpace provides the following options: 

• Creator: Responsible for the creation of the material being described, such as the author of a collection of letters, the compiler of an artificial collection, or the former owner of an object.
• Source: The immediate source of the collection, including a donor, a seller, or the office of origin.
• Subject: An individual, corporate body or family that is a primary subject of the collection.

If an agent has more than one role, such as an entity that is both a creator and a source, the agent should appear with each role recorded.

Relator terms (required for Source, optional otherwise)

• Depositor: Use when materials are on deposit. This is a rare scenario and should be confirmed with the University Archivist.
• Donor: Used when the materials have been donated or gifted to Special Collections from either a private individual or a University office. Note that Donor agents records should not be published in the PUI.
• Bookseller: Any merchant, meaning any item purchased at auction or from a dealer. Use the corporate/business name rather than the individual bookseller, ex. Justin Croft Antiquarian Books.
• Collector: Used when an individual or corporate entity is responsible for gathering together items into a new context. In contrast, the personal papers of an individual were not “collected” by that individual, but were instead accumulated over the natural course of events and their Agent record should list them as a Creator, rather than a Collector. However, in the case of the John Doe Collection on Edgar Allan Poe, John Doe acquired Poe items to decorate his mantle, and would receive the “collector” relator term.
• Curator: Any curator responsible for selecting materials managed by Special Collections. This was formerly recorded in a User Defined field of ‘Selector.’

Artificially assembled collections

Johns Hopkins University is listed as a Creator (role = Collector) for such collections if they were purchased piecemeal by our curators. An artificially assembled collection assembled by someone else would list that individual as a creator. If the party that assembled the collection is unknown, no creator is assigned.

How to assign existing agents

Begin to type the name in the “agents” field to see if the name you are looking for is already in the system. Before creating a new agent record, check carefully to be certain that one does not already exist in ArchivesSpace. Keep in mind that especially in the nineteenth century and earlier, the same person might have multiple ways of spelling their name. Others might sometimes use initials and other times spell out their first and middle names.

Creating a new agent

1. If the individual, corporate body, or family you are looking for does not currently exist in ArchivesSpace, a new record should be created following the steps below. Select “Create” > “Agent” then the appropriate option:
   1. Person: an individual person
   2. Family: a family
   3. Corporate Entity: any non-person entity such as Johns Hopkins University
   4. Software: an entity that has impact on the accessioning, processing, and/or preservation of electronic records
2. Fill out the required fields as appropriate: 
   1. Source (required)
      1. Consult the Virtual International Authority Files at http://viaf.org to see if the individual, family, or corporate body already has an authorized heading
         1. If it does, record the source as VIAF
      2. If no name authority can be located, select “Local Sources”
   2. Authority ID
      1. Record the VIAF identifier for person or corporate entity (e.g. “http://viaf.org/viaf/141846012”). Leave blank if no VIAF identifier is available.
   3. Rules (required)
      1. The rules will depend on the type of authority record found (or not found). The default should be Resource Description and Access (RDA).
   4. Name (required)
      1. Record the remainder of the name in the following fields as appropriate and in consultation with the hover tooltips. For corporate entities with more than two subordinate names, record all remaining subordinate names in the Subordinate Name 2 field.
         1. Example using the following VIAF authority record, which has four subordinate names: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
            1. Primary Part of Name: United States
            2. Subordinate Name 1: Congress
            3. Subordinate Name 2: Senate. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
      2. When devising a name locally, implement the following guidelines:
         1. Generally use the form of name by which the person is commonly known.
         2. Record birth and/or death dates if known, in the form “[birth date]- “, “[birth date]-[death date]” or “ –[death date]”.
         3. If the name by which the person is known is not the fullest form of the name, also record the fuller form if known.
   5. Contact Details (not required)
      1. Justification:
         1. Contact details are not required for corporate agents for items acquired through Acquisitions (such as booksellers) since this information is captured in purchase orders, which are retained.
         2. Contact details are not required for personal agents associated with donated collections (such as the widower of a poet) since this information is captured in the deed of gift and donor correspondence, which are both retained.
         3. Contact details are not required for departments or individuals within departments for UA transfers because that information is captured in the transfer form, which is retained.
   6. Notes (optional)
      1. Record simple biographical/historical details about a named agent in the agent record.  For example, you could describe a donor’s relationship to Johns Hopkins (“Class of 1927,” “Grandson of John Doe, Class of 1912,” or “Former Johns Hopkins Chaplain from 1920-1940.”
   7. Version (required for software)
      1. When the version information is available, it must be included. Create a new software agent record when using a new version.

Level of description

Agents can be assigned at any level of description within a resource record. Local practice is to typically only assign at the collection level, including for artificially assembled collections. Agents may be assigned at a lower level only if they are genuinely needed to clarify understanding of agent relationships for users.

For example, in the Barbara A. Mikulski papers, some item records have agents assigned to them to indicate that the file was created and used by a specific, important member of Mikulski's staff. Agents were assigned at that low level for that collection because the information is not recorded elsewhere and it provides context for the contents of that file.

Publishing

If an agent is only a source of material, not a creator, that agent record should not be published in ArchivesSpace. If an agent with the role of creator (usually a personal name) is created in the course of creating an accession, the agent’s record should not be published until that accession is processed into a resource.

Note that your local and global settings may automatically check the Publish box.

Examples

• Tom Moore donated the papers of his father, Richard Moore, to the library. Neither agent already existed in ArchivesSpace. Tom Moore’s agent record will never be published, but his father’s agent record will be published only once the accession is processed into a resource record.
• Madison Albright both created and donated her material to the library. Because she is also the creator, her agent record would be published upon the creation of a resource record.
• The ghost of Daniel Coit Gilman donated some materials to the library. Because Daniel Coit Gilman’s agent record is already linked to multiple other records, it remains published even though it was only the source of this accession.
• Wooden Radio Booksellers sold a manuscript item to Special Collections; since there is no creative role, this agent record would not be published.

Assigning subjects

"Subjects” is a general term that covers the following types of linked records: 

• Topical (MARC 650): the most common type of access point, usually synonymous with subject heading. Ex. Military history. These are assigned by Technical Services staff.
• Genre/Form (MARC 655): assigned based on the physical form of the materials being described. Ex. Photographs, CD-ROM. These can be assigned by Archives staff.
• Function: Used to describe the original function of a collection, used for University Archives materials. Ex. Publishing (University function). These can be assigned by Archives staff.
• Geographic (MARC 651): These are assigned by Technical Services staff.
• Uniform title: These are assigned by Technical Services staff.
• Occupation (MARC 656): These are assigned by Technical Services staff.
• Cultural context: These are assigned by Technical Services staff. 

The assignment of access points is a responsibility divided between the Archives team and Technical Services. Archives team members can and should assign genre/form and functions (for UA materials), while TS staff are responsible for all other access points. 

However, situations may arise wherein other staff or student assistants may be tasked with creating, revising, or updating access points.  The following guidelines are intended to aid in that process, but do not assign topical subject headings unless advised to do so by the University Archivist.

Searching for existing subjects

Begin to type in the term in the “Subject” field and see if the term you are looking for pops up as already in the system. Before creating a new record, check carefully to be certain that one (either the term you are looking for or a close corollary) does not already exist. It may sometimes be helpful to consult similar accession and/or resource records already in ArchivesSpace for guidance, and/or browse the existing subject terms already in ArchivesSpace.

Creating a new subject

If the access point subject you are looking for does not currently exist, a new record should be created following the below steps:

1. Select “Create” > “Subject”
2. Fill out the required fields as appropriate:
   1. Source (required)
      1. Art & Architecture Thesaurus located at: http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabularies/aat/
         1. Use for genre terms.
         2. Follow AAT formatting and are presented in plural form.
      2. FAST located at: http://fast.oclc.org/searchfast/
         1. Use for subject terms
      3. TGM II located at: http://www.loc.gov/lexico/servlet/lexico?usr=pub-0:0&op=frames&db=TGM_II
         1. May be useful for collections that are entirely comprised of graphic materials.
      4. Check the Reparative Description tab in the Processing section of this guide for inclusive and community-led controlled vocabularies and thesauri. Add new thesauri to the Source options list.
      5. Local sources
         1. Use if none of the controlled vocabularies have an appropriate term.
   2. Authority ID
      1. Use the ID number for authority selected below in Source (e.g. “http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300263815,” “http://id.worldcat.org/fast/811788”); leave blank if Source is local
   3. Scope Note (rarely used)
      1. Leave blank, unless necessary to clarify a potentially ambiguous term
   4. Terms and Subdivisions
      1. Term - The authorized term from AAT, FAST, etc., or the locally defined term.  Enter all FAST terms as a single term and do not use multiple terms even if a double dash is used to separate the term (e.g. “Scottish Authors--Biography")
      2. Type - After consulting the “Assigning subjects” section above, use whichever type term is correct.  Topical will be used most commonly, with Genre / Form for format terms.

Level of description

Subjects can be assigned at any level of description within a resource record, though local practice is to typically only assign at the collection level, including for artificially assembled collections. Subjects may be assigned at a lower level only if they are genuinely needed to clarify understanding for users.

For example, in the Barbara A. Mikulski papers, some item records have subjects assigned to them because this very large collection was minimally processed and the original folder titles are often not very descriptive. Item-level subject metadata vastly improves discovery in this case.

Functions

Functions are required subjects for University Archives accessions and collections.

University functions are limited to the following:

• Academic affairs (university function)
• Accreditation (university function)
• Administration of faculty (university function)
• Administration of non-faculty employees (university function)
• Administration of students (university function)
• Administrative support (university function)
• Alumni relations (university function)
• Creative and performing arts (university function)
• Curriculum and teaching (university function)
• Development (university function)
• Distance education (university function)
• Evaluation and planning (university function)
• Event planning (university function)
• Facilities management (university function)
• Finance (university function)
• Governance (university function)
• Government affairs (university function)
• Graduate study (university function)
• Information technology (university function)
• International programs (university function)
• International studies (university function)
• Legal affairs (university function)
• Library services (university function)
• Public relations (university function)
• Public service (university function)
• Publishing (university function)
• Research (university function)
• Research administration (university function)
• Sports (university function)
• Student advising (university function)
• Student life (university function)
• University history (university function)

When to use events

According to the ArchivesSpace documentation, "an Event record describes an action involving a selected object in the archival repository and an agent. Events represent a specific action that one or more agents undertook in relation to one or more archival objects at a specific date and time (or in a range of dates and times). Repository staff may use event records for several reasons, including: to document actions that modify archival records, to document actions that create new relationships between archival records, or to document validity and integrity checks."

The main event records we use are:

• Agreement Sent: Used to document when a donor agreement has been sent to the donor for signature.
• Agreement Signed: Used to document when a signed donor agreement has been received.
• Processed: Used to document when an accession has been processed into a collection. The relevant accession record and resource records should be linked to the Event. DO NOT use the "Processing Complete" event, only the "Processed" event.
• File Fixity: Used by the digital archivist to document that a file fixity check has been performed and includes the outcome.
• Capture: Used by the digital archivist to note when files are transferred from any physical media or temporary digital space to the workstation.
• Virus Check: Used by the digital archivist to document that the files are checked for viruses and if there are any detected, it documents what steps are taken to quarantine or separate the virus from the unaffected files.
• Message Digest Calculation: Used by the digital archivist to document when the files are bagged via BagIt and zipped into a .tar file. The bagged files create a digest of all files and associated checksums.
• Ingest: Used by the digital archivist to document that the .tar file is moved into long-term preservation storage. Checksum files may be included in the description of this event.

Other events we may use are: Deaccession

Creating events

To create an event in ArchivesSpace, navigate to the top of the Basic Information section and select an event type from the Event drop-down menu.

Some examples of events used locally:

The following is a blank event screen in ArchivesSpace:

Four elements are required in an event record: 

• Event type
• Event Date/Time: Special Collections practice is to select UTC Timestamp and simply enter the time at which you’re accessioning/processing.
• Agent links: Refers to the individual responsible for the undertaking the event, not the person creating the event, and will typically be a member of Special Collections staff. For example, the University Archivist or a curator is responsible for sending and receiving agreements, and would be the Agent linked with role=Implementer. However, a processing archivist may create this event record on their behalf if they know the event has occurred.
• Record links: The record(s) (accession, resource, archival object, etc.) involved in the event

Accessioning

For accessions, records transfers, gifts, deposits or purchased collections that come through special collections curators:

1. Create an “Agreement Sent” event, Outcome= ”Pass,” Implementer= [name of archivist who created the event]
2. Create an “Agreement Signed” event, Outcome=”Fail,” Implementer= [name of archivist who created the event]. Periodic reviews will be set up to find those events that still have a Failed status in order to follow up with donors.
3. Assign dates for both
4. Once a signed agreement has been received, change the Outcome of the Agreement Signed record to “Pass” and change the date
5. Do NOT use other “agreement” events like “Agreement Received.”
6. Do NOT use “Authorizer” (unlike with deaccessions, there’s nothing to authorize, really) 

There may be exceptions in which UA materials were not formally transferred or solicited, such as exhibition flyers gathered from a table, or issues of the News-Letter picked up from a campus box. There are also sometimes manuscript donations of an ephemeral nature that were not solicited or transferred by Central Development or the President’s Office. The University Archivist will use discretion to determine if formal paperwork is needed for scenarios like this. If not, these do not have either an Agreement Sent or an Agreement Signed event associated with them. The absence of paperwork should be noted in the Provenance field of the accession record.

For any accession being deaccessioned, see the Deaccessioning page for guidance on creating deaccession Events.