Types of Accessions

• Records Transfers: Inactive records that are periodically received from university administrative offices and records of student organizations.
• Donations: Collections or items received from individuals.
• Gifts in Kind: Collections accompanied by a financial donation or that have been appraised for which the donor receives a tax benefit.
• Purchases: Collections and items purchased by curators.
• Accruals: Materials received that will be added to an existing collection or existing accession.

Accession Numbers

An accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each collection or item received by the repository.

Accession numbers consist of three parts:

1.     A six-digit year expression with a dash, e.g., 2022-23, which corresponds to the fiscal year and restarts every year on July 1.
2.     A two-letter code indicating the accession type
   • MS for manuscript accessions
   •  RG number for university archives accessions
3.     A three-digit number, eg. 001

Enter each of the three parts in a separate field in the Identifier field in ArchivesSpace, which will automatically generate the periods when displaying or exporting the number.

Manuscript accession numbers

• Search ArchivesSpace for the next available MS number.
• Enter the fiscal year, then MS number, then a three digit number. The three digit number sequentially tracks how many accessions were received for that specific collection each FY.
• 2022-23.MS.099_001 (new collection, new MS number, first accession of FY)
• 2022-23.MS.099_002 (addition to existing accession, second accession of FY)

Accruals to manuscript collections

If the accession is an accrual to an existing collection, use that collection’s existing MS number.

For example, the Barbara A. Mikulski papers (MS 900) received an original accession number of 2016-17.MS.032 using legacy accession numbering, but a later accrual to that collection has accession number 2022-23.MS.900_001, indicating that it is the first accession in FY 2022-23 for MS 900.

Record Group accession numbers

• Determine the record group to which the materials belong. Use the RG associated with the department making the transfer. You may look the office up in ASpace or on the list of RG numbers stored in G:\archives-and-manuscripts\records-management. If you are unsure about a number or if the transferring department does not have an assigned RG number, please contact the University Archivist for clarification.

• Enter the fiscal year, RG number, then a three digit number. The three digit number sequentially tracks how many accessions were received for that specific collection within a fiscal year.

•     2022-23.RG.13.130_001
  • First accession to RG-13-130 received during the fiscal year
• For accessions belonging to the same record group, received during the same fiscal year,
  • 2022-23.RG.13.130_002

Basic Information

Title (required locally)

Titles for accessions are less formal than they are for collections but should endeavor to follow DACS rules for creating titles (DACS 2.3).  Refer to existing accession records in ArchivesSpace to get a better idea of the types of titles that are meaningful when accessioning.

Content description (required locally)

This should consist of a brief description of the materials being accessioned, such as “Student records from early 2000s” or “Four items of World Fair ephemera.”

Condition Description (required when applicable)

 This field should only be used when there are conservation or preservation concerns.

Disposition (optional)

The disposition field may be used to note the collection or collections to which an acquisition will be added, or another planned action to be taken with the collection.

Inventory (optional)

Inventories are not required, but some notes in this field may exist due in older accessions, left over from legacy practice. Any pre-existing or legacy notes should be retained.

If an inventory arrives with an accession, it should be saved to the accession folder.

Provenance (required locally when known)

Provenance is “information regarding the origins, custody, and ownership of an item or collection.” (DACS 5.1) Whenever possible, provenance information should be recorded in new accession records.    

A simple statement, such as, “picked up from President’s office by Katie Carey on 3/22/23” or “shipped to archives by donor” add example with unknown date is sufficient.

General note (optional)

This field is used to record internal notes for other archivists, such as “no creator found, November 2016.” This note does not spawn with accession records

Acquisition Type (required locally when known)

•     Deposit: Material on loan from another organization or individual, used infrequently.
•     Gift: Item given by a private individual.
•     Purchase: Item purchased by the department.
•     Transfer: Item transferred from a Johns Hopkins University unit.

Resource Type (required locally)

Any information entered into resource type represents the majority of the materials in the collection.  Note that the options in this list may be customized if/when it becomes necessary.

•    Collection: A group of materials of a common theme gathered together by a person or institution.
•     Papers: Personal papers kept by an individual or family.
•     Publications: Publications like newspapers, newsletters, journals, etc. If it is a University publication, use Records instead.
•     Records: The product of an administrative unit like an academic department.

Access Restrictions note (required locally)

• For manuscript materials or items, please use: This collection has not been fully processed, but [all or part] may be available for research use. Please contact specialcollections@lists.jhu.edu for more information about this collection.
• For record group accessions, please use: All collections are closed except to office of origin or original owner until processed. University records are closed for 25 years from the point of creation. Enter any additional access restrictions here.
• If a collection has other restrictions noted in the deed of gift, please enter them here.

Related Accessions (required locally when applicable)

This section is used to link related ArchivesSpace accession records to the relevant collection record. Begin typing in the Accession search bar, or select Browse from the drop-down list to search additional records. Linking a related accession also creates a Related Resource link in the linked accession record.

For information about Language, Dates, Extent, Subjects, and Agents, please refer to the Basic Metadata section.

All Accessions

Accessioning generates important documentation, both digital and paper, that must be retained and sometimes tracked for the long-term custodianship of archival collections.

• Create a folder on the G:/ drive for the accession, use the accession number as the folder title.
• Save or scan relevant correspondence with the donor documenting the acquisition of the collection, deeds of gifts and other agreements, conversations among staff about the collection, formal appraisals, dealer descriptions, purchase orders, and inventories. When in doubt, save it!
• Each filename should include the accession number and document type.
  • 2022-23.rg.14.300_001_donor_correspondence
  • 2022-23.ms.900_002_deed_of_gift
• Record the curator responsible for selection (eg. Gabrielle, Don Juedes) by linking the appropriate person as an Agent and selecting Role: Curator. University Archives accessions will list the University Archivist as the agent.  
• If there is physical documentation, file it in the cabinets in the BLC work room.
• Paste the MMS ID into the General Notes field.
• In ArchivesSpace, create both an Agreement Sent and an Agreement Signed event, and record the outcome as Passed or Failed depending on whether these actions have actually happened yet. This also applies to University transfers. The initial outcome of the Agreement Signed event should be set to Failed, unless the agreement has already been signed as of the date of accessioning.

General

Digital records follow the same accessioning flow as physical records – talking with donors, getting Deeds of Gift, receiving the files, getting a basic inventory of the files, creating an accession record, and ultimately preparing the files for processing and researcher access. What sets digital records apart is how that flow happens and the fragility of digital records, which requires additional care to ensure authenticity and integrity.

Any time there is digital material that needs to be accessioned, let the digital archivist know so they can prepare the transfer process.

Receiving donated digital records

Digital records can be donated to the archive via many different methods, including physical carriers (e.g. USB, CDs, hard drives, etc.), as email attachments, or over a file transfer platform (e.g. Box, OneDrive, Google Drive, etc.). If donors have questions about which file formats we take in, see the file formats tab in the Digital Preservation section.

When files are officially transferred to the archive, it is important that they are opened as few times as possible so that we can preserve the original metadata and data. Archivists who handle digital files during the accessioning process are fully allowed to investigate the physical carriers (if present) and the files for appraisal and general description purposes but should proceed with caution. To open and assess files:

1. run a virus check
2. make a temporary copy on their desktop
3. open the copy for assessment

The goal is to minimize the number of interactions with the physical carrier (if present) and the files themselves.

If the files are part of an artificial collection or are otherwise internally assembled or created, archivists can open, organize, and rename files as necessary until they are ready to officially transfer the files for accessioning.

Creating an Accession Record in ArchivesSpace

Whether part of a hybrid or a fully born digital accession, the archivist who initially receives the digital files will create an Accession Record in ArchivesSpace and describe the digital files as they would for any physical donation. See instructions in the other tabs in this section for more details about creating Accession Records. During the appraisal process, if any files are outside of scope and should be removed, put a note in the General Note field in the Accession Record for the digital archivist and also expressed to the digital archivist in the project Jira ticket during the hand off process. The digital archivist will add further preservation details to the record after reviewing the files.

Handing off digital records to the digital archivist

After the creation of the Accession Record, archivists will hand off the digital files to the digital archivist so they can be stored in a low-risk location. If the digital records are on physical media, a low-risk location can mean the digital archivists office. If the digital records are transferred without physical media (e.g. sent via OneDrive, Google Drive, email, JHU network drives, etc.), a low-risk location can be on the digital archives computer station, a designated donations-only hard drive kept in the digital archivists’ office, or on the U drive transfer folder (U:\collections\accessions\Digital-Donations\Donor-Temp).

If there are physical media, they should be put in a temporary box or folder. The digital archivist will house any physical media after accessioning is complete. Details for the hand off process are documented through project Jira tickets. The digital archivist will coordinate with the archivist to confirm:

• the collection number and name
• that an Accession Record is created
• that a stub Resource Record is created
• the priority level for a timeline
• any unusual discoveries, such as blank disks
• what the follow up steps for sending boxes to LSC are

After the files are handed off, the digital archivist will add the new material to the accessions-tracking.xlsx spreadsheet (G:/archives-manuscripts/processing/).

Files are considered to be set in their original order (e.g. organization, content, formats, etc.) when they are officially transferred to the digital archivist. This is the point when checksums are established and manifests are created. If an archivist handles the files before the digital archivist, they should proceed with an abundance of caution so they don’t alter the original metadata and files.

Digital Accessioning

Below is an overview of the digital accessioning process. For a step-by-step guide, see Ingest_Workflow.docx on the G drive (G:\archives-and-manuscripts\electronic-records\Guides).

Virus checking

The first step the digital archivist will take before transferring any records is to do a virus check. Any viruses will be noted in a General Note field in the Accession Record, as well as in the preservation-level Digital Object (DO) Record. See see Processing > Digital Records for details about creating DOs. This step will also be recorded as an Event for the preservation-level DO. The digital archivist may quarantine any corrupt files as necessary.

Labeling the disks

Next, once files pass the virus check, the disk will be labeled with a disk number. The disk number creates a unique identifier, similar to what a box number does for physical records. The term disk itself is a loose, it might be helpful to think of its flexibility in the same way that boxes have different sizes. This means that a disk can refer to physical media carriers (e.g. CDs or floppy disks), separated folders within a large (e.g. over 100 GB) external hard drive, or all the files that were donated without any physical media. The disk number will go on a physical label on any disk that has a physical carrier. The disk number will also be the digital folder name once the contents are transferred off the disk, and will be used for manifest and metadata file names.

Disk numbers follow this pattern: collection-number_sequential-number. For a record group, this might look like RG-13-130_001, RG-13-130_002, etc. For a manuscript collection, this might look like MS-0900_001, MS-0900_002, etc.

Duplicate disks can be either kept or discarded. Duplicate disks act only as an additional physical backup copy and aren’t transferred to storage servers. If kept, they follow this disk number pattern: RG-13-130_001 duplicate, RG-13-130_002 duplicate. They do not get their own directory snapshot file.

Creating admin metadata and a directory snapshot

After scanning for viruses, the next thing to do on the computer is to begin the admin metadata spreadsheet and transfer files to the workstation. The file name template is: _collection-number_admin-metadata.csv. This spreadsheet includes information for each disk such as accession and resource IDs and names, dates ingested, transcription of any text on the physical carrier, and additional notes about the preservation process. The spreadsheet will be filled out through the course of the preservation process.

Next, create a directory snapshot. The directory snapshot records original metadata, such as file paths, file names, size, and checksums. The file names follow this template: collection-number_sequential-number-snapshot.csv. Depending on the method of disk numbering, a directory snapshot file might include a range of disk numbers.

• RG-13-130_001-snapshot.csv
• MS-0906_001-003-snapshot.csv

Save both these files on the Working folder on the Desktop. When the files are finished being processed, move these files to the collections folder on the G drive, such as G:/archives-and-manuscripts/collections/ms.0906/digital.

Wrapping up

The digital archivist will decide whether to immediately jump into digital processing or to put the disks aside. Factors include processing priorities, scale of the digital files, and resource availabilities. This should be communicated with the archivist doing any handoffs.

If the disks are to be immediately processed, follow the steps in the Processing section.

If the disks are put aside for a while or need to go down to LSC, the digital archivist will create a preservation DO (see Processing > Digital Records), as necessary create a disk image of the disks, and coordinate with the archivist who did any handoffs to house the disks and send the physical box down to LSC.

Web archiving/Archive-It

Websites captured through the Archive-It subscription are not accessioned in ArchivesSpace and don’t have preservation-level DOs. Any websites that are donated as files and stored on our servers will follow standard accessioning workflows.

Final Steps for Accessions

Once you have completed the accession record and saved its documentation in the appropriate folder, in keeping with our accessioning as processing approach, you’ll now take one of two steps.

•  If you’ve accessioned a stand-alone collection: spawn resource record—follow processing section for required elements. For required elements such as the Biographical/Historical Note and Scope & Content Note please provide as much detail as you can.  However, in many cases you may not have more than a couple of sentences. You will also need to add to the holdings record for existing collection is Alma.
• If you've accessioned item(s) or accruals to be added to existing collection: add to existing resource record, following the steps in the processing section, be sure to link the accession record as well. Or, if no action is to be taken at this point, create container instances and a bib record in Alma (link to Alma guide below).

Container Instances for Accessions

•  If immediately spawning a resource record and completing that resource record before sending boxes to LSC or adding an item to an existing container, skip this and create your container instances in the resource record instead. However, be sure to record the original accession extent and container in the accession record.
• If you will not be immediately adding an accession to an existing collection or record group's resource record, document container instances according to the instructions below, create bib and item records (section) before sending off to LSC. Be sure to use the disposition note to document the intended actions to be taken with this accession

Manually create and link boxes and folders to an accession record

• Select Add Container Instance in the Instances section.
• Select a material type from the drop-down list in the Type field. The default material type is "Mixed Materials."
• To create a new Top Container, click on the arrow next to Top Container and select Create from the drown-down list. "Top Container" is ArchivesSpace jargon that is another way of denoting a “box” or other container. The “top” container is the parent container, the one which is physically tracked, usually with a barcode. Most of the time, the top container will simply be a box. An alternate example would be a map case drawer as a top container. A Top Container record must be created for every new box that enters the system.
• Container Profile – Select the appropriate Container Profile. Always search the existing list of container profiles in ArchiveSpace before creating a new profile. See the Housing section of the guide for guidance on creating new Container Profiles and frequently used box models.
• Container Type – Currently limited to Box (almost always) or Folder for map case folders
•  Indicator – The box number. For normal boxes, enter only digits into this field. Map case folders should be prepended with OF-#, ex. OF-1.
•  Barcode – Put your cursor into this field and then scan the barcode attached to this box.
•  ILS Holding ID – Not used.
•  Locations are currently only used for map cases. See Housing Materials > Oversized materials for more information.
•  When complete, select Create and Link Top Container in the lower right.
•  To link an existing Top Container, begin typing container information (box number or barcode) in the field to search for available records. You   can also select Browse from the Top Container drop-down list to search for boxes already in the system.