How Collections are Processed
When a collection of archival records or personal papers is received at The Bancroft Library, a series of steps is taken in order to make certain that these valuable and unique materials are properly preserved and made available to researchers in a timely manner. A number of Bancroft staff members are involved in this process, no matter whether the collection is a purchase or a donation, and whether there are only a few folders or the cartons number in the hundreds.
Accessioning Materials
If the collection is large, the appropriate curator, often accompanied by an archivist, will visit the collection to survey and select the materials which he or she judges to have permanent historical value. The collection is then packed and transported to the library or off site, to the Northern Regional Library Facility in Richmond, California, depending on its size and priority for handling.
Marilyn Kwock, curatorial assistant, processes history of science archives at The Bancroft Library. |
Upon receipt, a member of the acquisitions staff prepares a preliminary catalog record and enters basic data about the collection into the Electronic Collections Management System, a database containing information on all of The Bancroft Library's unprocessed collections. Donor cards are prepared, and a letter of acknowledgment is sent if the papers were a gift. The curator fills out a form designating how he or she would like the material to be processed and cataloged. From that time on, the preparation of the collection for use is the responsibility of Bancroft Technical Services. In the case of a collection which is a priority for use, archival processing may start as soon as staff and funding are available.
Archival Processing of Collections
Once the collection is assigned to an archivist, he or she will examine the papers for clues to its provenance, original order, range of dates, physical condition, and special factors such as the necessity for foreign language and/or special subject expertise. The archivist notes the existence of restricted, confidental, non-essential and/or duplicate materials. Printed materials, sound recordings, historical objects and photographs are routinely separated from an archival collection for individual cataloging, but care is taken to retain information explaining their relationship to the collection. Storage and conservation needs are noted. When all of this information has been gathered and weighed by the processing archivist, he or she proposes a processing plan to the supervising archivist, who reviews the plan, suggests modifications and oversees the work.
Archival collections are usually divided into record series, discrete units which can be defined by type of record (correspondence, field notes, or financial records, for example), or by subject (such as geneaological records or committee files). It is up to the archivist to ascertain whether the original order is sufficiently clear cut and understandable to be retained. This is the ideal situation, because by maintaining the original order it is possible for the researcher to gain additional insight into the mind and habits of the creator of the records. If the collection has little or no order, the archivist must impose an arrangement that is feasible to implement and easy to understand for those who will use the collection. Time is of course a critical factor here, with more elaborate arrangement schemes requiring more work than may be practical, given available staffing and funding. Sometimes series are arranged at different levels of detail, depending on the archivist's judgment as to which record series will be in more demand by users.
The Bancroft Library hires and trains students to help with archival processing. They often bring subject and language expertise to the table, as well as considerable energy and sometimes a personal academic interest in the papers. The archivist and student(s) work as a team, dividing up the tasks, including rehousing the papers in acid-free folders and containers, transcribing information onto file folders, alphabetizing, putting documents into chronological order, doing background research and preparing a guide to the collection, called a finding aid.
Public Access to Collections
The completed Bancroft Library finding aids, now mounted on the California Digital Library website (http:// www.oac.cdlib.org:28008/dynaweb/ead/), provide a detailed description of the library's processed collections. Finding aids contain a summary page which indicates the provenance, access policy, funding source for processing (if any), copyright, preferred citation, size, collection number, name(s) of processor(s), and the date the collection was completed. The finding aids also contain a biographical note for personal papers, or an administrative history for organizational records. The scope and content note provides the archivist's analysis of the content of the collection and its potential for scholarly use. The series description contains a capsule summary of the kinds of records the collection contains, and where they can be found. The remainder of the finding aid is a container list, a detailed description of the records: either a list of the individual file folder titles or a summary description of the contents of each container. The ability to search electronically by key word through a finding aid is one of the great benefits of having it available on line. It is certainly the case that the electronic versions of the finding aid have proved a boon to researchers who cannot easily come to Berkeley to do their initial research.
Preservation of Collections
In addition to rehousing documents in acid-free media, which is done in house, other preservation measures may be necessary. The Bancroft Library is most fortunate to count on the abilities of the Library Conservation Division's skilled staff members. The conservation staff is available for consultation and such treatments as cleaning, flattening, mending, mylar encapsulation, book repair, and construction of special wrappers, portfolios and boxes. The Library Photographic Service handles high quality document and photographic scanning, copies photographs, and produces archival quality microfilming.
The Bancroft Library seeks always to balance preservation and access, so that our unique primary source materials will be protected and at the same time made available to interested researchers.
Lauren Lassleben,
Supervising Archivist
Volume 116
Spring 2000
Table of Contents
The Silent Multitude of Voices in the Reading Room
From the Director: Bancroft Goes Digital
Highlights from Bancroft's Web Resources
Paramount Theatre Archives at The Bancroft Library
Three Monuments in the History of Science Arrive at Bancroft
Ancient Lives: The Tebtunis Papyri in Context
From Mine to Natural Reserve: ROHO records the transition
Chemistry Symposium in Honor of Kenneth S. Pitzer Held January 9 to 13, 2000: Oral History Presented
