A.1. Background Information

Accession information for both cataloged and uncataloged material is recorded in a number of interrelated paper and online files, which extend back to the library's founding in 1963. Additional information for material acquired prior to 1963 may be found in the University Librarian's files in the University Archives (Manuscripts and Archives, Sterling Library).

Until 1980, each curatorial unit had its own processing routines. As a result, there is considerable diversity in the content, arrangement, and handling of the early files. From 1981 to July 1, 1985 there were still a number of different paper forms in use even though Technical Services handled almost all accessioning. Since 1985, all new accessioning (including items from the pre-1985 accessioned backlog) has been recorded in the Inmagic ACQ file.

Because there was no uniform accessioning practice until the early 1980s, there is not always a single source of background information on a collection to be processed.

The general source files outline that follows contains basic information about the administrative and curatorial files that are most likely to yield useful information about a collection assigned for processing. In many cases, these source files will be sufficient. The Survey Checklist of files and shelving locations for the specific curatorial unit will minimize the risk of overlooking essential files, as well as collection material in the stacks.

For more detailed information about the history and resulting paper trails of Beinecke's accessioning practices prior to the introduction of the online accessioning system in 1985, consult the Manuscript Unit Head or Technical Services Librarian.

VIII.A.2. Locating Information on Uncataloged Manuscripts Acquired Exclusively Since 1985

1. Check the Inmagic ACQ database.
2. Check the Acknowledgment File and/or Dealer File, as appropriate.
3. Ask the curator for any background information he/she might have in his/her Curatorial File.
4. Ask the Manuscript Unit Head for any further information he/she might have.
5. Check the finding aids database and ask at the Public Services Desk for any preliminary lists of the contents that might be in the Public Services Desk Collection File.
6. Check the collection itself for any background documentation that might have been filed with it (usually first thing in the first box and, hopefully, noted in the accession record, e.g., "Preliminary inventory filed in Box 1").

VIII.A.3.a) acq.tba in DB/TextWorks (TS)

Uncataloged material acquired and accessioned 1985-present; also material acquired before 1985 but not formally accessioned until 1985 or later.

Notes on ACQ: ACQ does not contain information on materials currently on deposit, only former deposits that have since been given to or purchased by the library. For further information, see the section on deposits.

VIII.A.3.b) oldmsacq.tba in DB/TextWorks (TS)

Uncataloged GENM and WA material accessioned prior to 1985, and uncataloged material accessioned for YCAL/JWJ between 1980 and 1985. Also includes data from the pre-1980 "Gallup file" of YCAL and JWJ accessions (source files lack shelving location information; some material might already be cataloged).

Notes on oldmsacq.tba:

1. Created in 1994-96 by retrospective conversion of the existing paper files for uncataloged manuscripts in the GENM, WA, and YCAL/JWJ collections.
2. No true accession file for YCAL/JWJ exists for the period prior to 1980. (See below, under Don Gallup's YCAL file and YCAL "Bible.")
3. No "uncataloged" accessions from the period before 1985 exist for YCGL or for the Osborn collection. (In fact, "cataloged" collections sometimes include unprocessed material. Nevertheless, a catalog record for the collection as a whole does exist.)
4. Isolated, less significant pre-1600 items also appear; as they are encountered, they are referred to the Pre-1600 curator for action.
5. IncludesDon Gallup's YCAL file
• A semi-accession, semi-ready reference file, created and maintained by the curator of YCAL/JWJ until his retirement in 1980. Entries lack specific call numbers. When the file was reconned into oldmsacq.tba, a default BCN of YCAL/Gallup was used to help distinguish these records from those reconned from the YCAL/JWJ 1980-85 accession slips.
• Basically a main entry file for collections, or materials in collections, without reliable shelving information. While useful, the Acknowledgment File and other administrative and reference files (e.g, YCAL surveys in the finding aids database and YCAL "Bible") must be checked to verify pre-1980 accessions.
• As specific locations of items from the Gallup file are determined, Public Services staff are authorized to add location information to the online record (in MEM field).
6. Maintained by Manuscript Unit.

Also dating from Gallup's time. A black binder containing important acquisitions data, information on literary rights, access and use restrictions, and other information. Three copies of the binder exist (two in the curator's office, one in Public Services). There is an online version of the file (ycalbibl.tba) in DB/TextWorks (PS), which has been checked and updated by the curator. This online file is the one that should be used by the Manuscript Unit. As of June 1999, the online version is completely up to date, although the labeling on boxes and folders is not. Search in the Restrictions field for the word "Yes" to obtain the records for restricted collections and for the word "Formerly" to obtain the records for previously restricted collections. Unrestricted collections have the word "None" in the Restrictions field.

VIII.A.3.d) Acknowledgment File

Filed by name of donor (last name first), and then in reverse chronological order by donor (i.e., most recent gifts at the front of the file). Contains the library's record copy of the acknowledgment letter sent to the donor, plus related documentation, such as appraisals, preliminary lists supplied by donor or others, and legal agreements (if any) regarding the collection.

Current fiscal year files are maintained in the Technical Services work area; back files are stored in vertical files in the Wall Street Stacks Basement. See also "BRBL Administrative Files."

VIII.A.3.e) Dealer File

Filed by name of dealer (all names filed as corporate names, in direct order, even if dealer is a private party; then filed in reverse chronological order by dealer).

Contains a copy of the invoice and any accompanying documentation, such as dealer descriptions. (The original invoice, required for payment purposes, is retained by Administrative Services; they handle invoice payments and fund tracking.)

Current fiscal year files are maintained in the Technical Services work area; back files are stored in filing cabinets in the Wall Street Stacks Basement.

VIII.A.3.f) Curatorial Files

Administrative reference files maintained by individual curators. These files often duplicate information in other administrative files, but they also can have useful additional information. Files are stored in curatorial offices, in vertical files in the north and south bays at the court level, and in the vault stack areas. There is no standard format or content for these files.

VIII.A.3.g) Bibliographic File

Public information vertical file maintained for the General Collection (pre-1600 and modern), for reference purposes only. Stored in the north bay, court level). A mixed bag of information, but can contain useful historical information or background information on collections and individuals. Reference slips cross-referencing supplementary information in the bibliographic file often are filed with the manuscripts and printed volumes.

VIII.A.3.h) ZA Objects File

A card file in Technical Services listing "realia" removed from YCAL collections for separate storage. This card file should be checked when a collection is being processed to confirm that all objects associated with the collection have been found.

VIII.A.3.i) amdraw.tba

Database in DB/TextWorks (PS) that lists American art. It was created in a paper form in the 1980s by graduate students from the Yale Art Gallery who surveyed American art in Beinecke and gave each item an accession number; the information was later converted to an online database. This database overlaps to some degree with artstore.tba.

VIII.A.3.j) artstore.tba

Database in DB/TextWorks (PS) that lists oversize works of art identified in 1994, when a survey of oversize art storage areas was completed. The contents are mostly YCAL, but not exclusively. Some information from the Art Gallery Survey was also recorded in artstore.tba, but it is worth checking in the Art Gallery Survey files as well, in case there is additional information there. Much of the material recorded in artstore.tba was removed from archival collections and should be reunited, intellectually, with the source collection when it is processed, although typically the artworks will still require separate storage.

VIII.A.3.k) Art Gallery Survey

Paper data sheets in Public Services filing cabinets. Created during a Yale Art Gallery survey in the 1980s of all art at Yale University. The data sheets are filed by accession number.

VIII.A.3.l) Deposits

Database (in DB/TextWorks TS) supplemented by paper files (stored in Technical Services), documenting current and former deposits. Not comprehensive. The paper files in Technical Services are organized into Deposits - current, Deposits - given, and Deposits - returned. These files originated with records for GEN deposits; records for others are added as new deposits are accepted, or when documentation for existing deposits not previously recorded in the Deposits paper files is pulled together. Database created in 1996, based on survey of manuscript deposits in deposit cage; as of this date (8/97), the database does not include records for deposits of printed material. Curatorial files, and in special cases, the Director's files, may contain additional documentation.

VIII.A.4. Updating Accession Records

When material is cataloged, the accession records must be updated to reflect the new, cataloged call number. Ensuring that this is done is the responsibility of the processing archivist. Database security procedure, however, may require that the actual record updating be done by others.

In addition to the required field updates, obvious typos should be corrected, and the AUT data should be updated to conform with AACR 2 and the LCAC, if any. The collation should NOT be changed merely to reflect rehousing of material since it was originally received, or changes in descriptive practice over the years. Other suggested changes should be reviewed by the Manuscript Unit Head before being passed along to the Archives Assistant.

Eventually, export routines run periodically by TS or Manuscript staff are used to transfer online accession records from ACQ and OLDMSACQ databases to their corresponding archival files, CATACQ and CATMSS.

Updates to paper-based accession records (i.e., the old slip files) should be handled by the archivist, in consultation with the Manuscript Unit Head.

In some cases, accession records may be created retrospectively. These cases include reconned items for which the library has no readily available accession records, and uncataloged items found to lack accession records.

For recon materials, records are created in OLDMSACQ only, to capture provenance information that we do not currently encorporate into catalog records. Such accessions typically pre-date the establishment of Beinecke (1963.)

• designated cabinets per collection, in vault area of corresponding collection

• (Storage loc tbd - currently on top of curatorial unit's broadside cabinets)

• (Currently in design and construction phase; intended to house framed and 3-dimensional material not readily housed with the collection, or stored separately for safety reasons, to prevent breakage and maximize efficient storage in other stack areas)

Previously, when material that had been assigned an uncataloged number was processed and/or cataloged, a dummy was placed on the shelf or in the file with the notation that the uncataloged number was no longer in use. We are not continuing this practice.

VIII.C. CHARGING OUT MATERIAL

VIII.C.1. General Guidelines

Whenever Beinecke material (cataloged or uncataloged, print or nonprint) is removed from the stacks for more than one day, a three-part charge slip should be completed and the card stock copy stapled to an out card. (The charge slip alone is too flimsy to be left in the stacks as a marker.)

• The top white copy is filed in the charged-out file by Public Services staff.
• A second copy remains with the material.
• The card stock copy is stapled to an out card and left in the stacks.

If you are removing a large collection, tape a "Collection Removed" stack sign to the shelf from which the material has been removed. Staple the card stock copy of the charge slip to the sign.

VIII.C.2. Updating Accession Records for In-Process Material

When removing material from the stacks for processing, notify the Archives (Accessioning) Assistant so that corresponding Inmagic accession records can be updated to record that the material is in process. The Uncat # is moved to the MEM field, and replaced in the BCN with the code "Mssu," followed by your last name in parentheses, e.g., BCN Mssu (Jones).

"Mssu" alone in the BCN (i.e., no Uncat # in the MEM field) is reserved for those things in the routine accessioning-to-cataloging workflow.

VIII.C.3. Updating Shelf Markers and Charge Records

When materials are returned to the stacks, the "Collection Removed" sign or charge slip should be removed, and the copy of the charge slip at the Public Services Desk should be discharged. Removing the stack signs and shelf slips is the direct responsibility of the processing archivist. He/she also is responsible for pulling charge slips from the staff charge file at the Public Services Desk and handing them to Public Services staff to be discharged. Do not discard charge slips yourself; these slips are used by Public Services for statistical purposes.

VIII.D. COLLECTION FILE (See: Processing File)

VIII.E. MANUSCRIPT CATALOG MAINTENANCE

Once processing is completed and a finding aid is available in the finding aids database, any corresponding card sets in the manuscript catalog should be pulled, bundled, dated, and stored in the Manuscript Unit; after 3-5 years, if the cards are not required, they will be discarded.

If you pull extensive runs of cards from the manuscript catalog to expedite processing, a dated card should be inserted in their place clearly stating that the collection is in process and the cards have been removed for this purpose. Refer researchers to the Public Services staff for assistance. This might include temporarily paging the cards for reading room use, so they should be kept, whenever possible, in a card file (with a rod), or photocopied.

Photocopying, while an option, can be quite time consuming where extensive card sets are concerned. It should only be done when heavy research use of the in-process collection is anticipated and it isn't possible to maintain the cards in a file drawer that both the processor and researchers can use as need arises. If you do copy cards, be sure to check both sides of the cards in case additional information (e.g., provenance data) is recorded on the verso.

NOTE: At one time, cards for Beinecke's cataloged manuscripts also were filed in the Union Manuscript Catalog in Manuscripts and Archives, Sterling Library. Temp slips for uncataloged material also were filed in the Union file, and upgraded when the material was fully cataloged. These practices are no longer in effect.

VIII.F.1 Deciding Whether Or Not to Keep Microfilm As a Reference Copy

Do a search in microflm.tba in DB/TextWorks (PS) to find all of the microfilm associated with the manuscript collection that you are processing. If the microfilm is of a complete work in the collection (e.g., a complete manuscript of Eugene O'Neill's Strange Interlude ), then the reel should be kept as a reference copy. If there are other bits of material on the reel with a complete work, then do not delete that information from the online record, but do not update the call numbers for those other items (often, the items are from other collections, which may still be unprocessed).

If the microfilm is of correspondence or other material that has been rearranged during processing (i.e., the order on the microfilm does not represent the current order of the manuscript collection), then the microfilm should not be kept as a reference copy.

If the microfilm contains a manuscript item that the curator has decided to discard from the collection, then the microfilm reel should not be kept as a reference copy. In addition, once a manuscript collection has been preservation microfilmed, the old reference copy will be superseded by the preservation copy. However, if there is a possibility that loss of text has occurred before the preservation copy was made, than the old reference copy may be kept as well (e.g., the case of Jonathan Edwards).

If you have questions about whether or not to keep a microfilm as a reference copy, consult the Public Services Librarian.

Those microfilm reels that we do not keep as reference copies will not be thrown away. They will be retained for security purposes. For now, these reels will be kept on the microfilm shelves but will no longer have a call number in the database.

VIII.F.2 Updating Microfilm Records

First, verify that the microfilm is on the shelf, but do not change the information on the microfilm box. Leave the microfilm in place. If you cannot find the microfilm, consult with the Public Services Librarian.

VIII.F.2.a) Microfilm Retained for Reference Purposes

If the microfilm should continue to serve as a reference copy, then update the call number in the "CALL NO" field. Put a note in the "Notes" field with the old call number of the manuscript collection, an explanation of what changes you have made in the online record, your initials, and the date. For example, "Formerly MS Vault Shelves Romanov. Collection now processed. MBS, 1998 Mar 31." The appropriate folders and boxes in the manuscript collection need to be stamped. See the section on stamps in Appendix A for information on how to stamp the folders and boxes.

NOTE: Public Services is no longer using "white slips" in folders to show that there is a microfilm of an original manuscript item; the slips can be discarded when a manuscript collection is processed. However, these slips are still being used for printed books and should remain in the books. If a manuscript volume has been microfilmed that is in a CMI box, stamp the box.  If there is no box, or if the box is “nice,” then use the "white slip."

If the microfilm should not be used as a reference copy, put "DO NOT USE" in the "CALL NO" field. Put a note in the "Notes" field with the old call number of the manuscript collection, an explanation of what changes you have made in the online record, your initials, and the date. For example, "Formerly Uncat.MS Vault.462. Previously unprocessed collection. Microfilm does not reflect current arrangement. KER, 1998 Mar 24."

VIII.G. MISSING MATERIAL

VIII.G.1. During Survey and Processing

If items appear to be missing from the collection, notify the curator and the Public Services Librarian (who can check with Public Services staff), who can try to locate the material, or determine that it is not missing after all (it might have been removed at an earlier date for legitimate reasons, or transferred to another collection).

Check the full range of accession files, catalog records, finding aids database, any extant reels of microfilm and the NOS database, in case it has been cataloged separately, integrated into another collection, already noted as NOS, etc.

If a surrogate copy of the item is located (on microfilm or in the photonegative database), derive a copy suitable for reference use and include that in place of the original. Mark the copy [we need to come up with a phrase].

VIII.G.2. After Processing

If materials are still missing after processing has been completed:

• Enter a record for the missing material into the NOS database (see sample record). The record should include a PROBM note stating that the material was identified as missing when the collection was processed, and indicating the source of information that led you to identify the material as missing (e.g., the material was listed in a preliminary finding aid but was not with the collection).
• Give a copy of the NOS record to the curator. If material that was missing is later located and added to the collection, put a note in the finding aid, under Processing Notes, explaining that the material was missing but was located on a specified date.

• Annotate the finding aid with a note under the appropriate the folder(s):  NOS, yyyymmdd
• Replace the missing folder with a dummy folder, and insert into that folder a standard NOS "noted" form.
• Enter a record for the missing material in the NOS database.
• If there is a microfilm copy of the missing item, print a copy from it, and put that in the folder.

After completing a new register, add an entry to the using existing entries as models. Use a generic text editor to edit the file - HTML editors tend to add unnecessary coding.

This list is now used instead of MSSLIST, which is obselete.

VIII.I. PROCESSING FILE

The Processing File is created by the Archivist in the course of processing and retained to the extent that the file is necessary to preserve the documentation about processing.

Frequently, the curator's file will be the final repository for processing-related documentation. Consult the curator before retaining material in the unit as a Processing File.

VIII.J. PUBLICIZING COLLECTIONS

When an important collection has been processed, it may be announced in one or more of the appropriate journals and newsletters. Publications include:

• ACRL News
• Archival Outlook
• Mid-Atlantic Archivist
• NEA Newsletter
• Nota Bene
• Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship

Archivists are encouraged to draft such announcements and submit them to Christa for distribution. They should be cleared through the Manuscript Unit Head, however, and with the appropriate curator before submission to Christa.

VIII.K. SORTING FOLDERS

Sorting folders may prove useful at the beginning of a processing project, for the preliminary sorting of a collection into series. When using sorting folders, you can make brief labels as to the contents, or you can put the original folders directly into the sorting folders.

Before using sorting folders, make certain that none of them have old labels or markings on them, and that each folder is empty. When you are finished with the folders, have a student assistant erase all marks and check each folder for contents before returning the folders to the supply area.

VIII.L. STUDENT ASSISTANTS

Archivists are responsible for assigning tasks to the students and for supervising their work. Close attention needs to be paid to the students' work so that suggestions can be made for improvement and for assignment of future tasks. Each task should be clearly outlined before the student starts work, and the archivist should be available for questions from the student. In addition, archivists should communicate with each other about what kinds of tasks prove to be successful for student work and what tasks need to be explained more clearly.

The following tasks are appropriate for student assistants:

• foldering and boxing new accessions
• preparation of newly-received materials for the freezer
• pulling cards from the Manuscript Catalog
• pulling materials from shelves/files for processing or recon
• sorting materials chronologically or alphabetically
• rehousing
• preservation foldering (in mylar, etc.)
• removing hardware
• preservation photocopying
• making simple conservation wrappers
• unmatting and unframing items (with supervision)
• weeding extraneous photocopies/duplicates from collections (with archivist's approval)
• penciling minor annotations on archival items
• checking folder contents
• verifying authority names through searching in Orbis
• typing in a box and folder list (from folders or from catalog cards)
• preparing and printing labels
• affixing labels
• stamping folders and boxes
• running processing/mark-up macros
• correcting display constants in the finding aids database
• erasing/recycling folders and boxes
• updating records in DB/TextWorks databases
• inputting records from worksheets into DB/TextWorks databases (but not ACQ)
• shelving finished collections
• shifting collections on shelves
• minding the scanner during operation
• HTML mark-up (if hired specifically for this project)

• mending or repairing materials
• filing/refiling cards in the Manuscript Catalog
• answering reference queries
• creating or updating MARC records
• verifying subject tracings for MARC records
• deciding on overall intellectual arrangement for archival series
• creating records in DB/TextWorks or Inmagic databases
• deductive dating of archival items
• labeling photographic prints for reference use
• dealing with Restricted Materials
• maintaining or dealing with UR-files
• computer hardware/software maintenance or adjustments