Manuscript processing

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Manuscript processing consists of arranging and describing the papers of an individual or the records of an organization. A person who is engaged in this is known as a manuscripts processor or archivist.

1 Arrangement
2 Description
3 Standards
4 Notes
5 See also
6 External sites

[edit] Arrangement

Ideally, when a repository receives a collection of papers the papers will be in near-perfect order: everything sorted into folders, folders labeled in legible handwriting, all organized alphabetically. This ideal is rarely, if ever, realized in practice. More often, collections range from semi-organized to entirely incoherent (brittle browned news clippings fallen to bits, miscellaneous documents thrown into large boxes with no attempt at order, illegible scrawling handwriting, ancient file cabinets with drawers that will not open, moldy books, and so on).

The first step in manuscript processing is therefore to elicit some type of order from the collection. The level of processing to be done is determined by a number of factors, which include but are not limited to the condition of the material, the probable usage the collection will receive from researchers, and the general quality of the content. High-level processing involves simply sorting the duplicate or unsalvageable material from the usable material, and sorting the usable material into a few general categories (known as "series") such as "Correspondence" and "Artwork." More intensive processing entails such tasks as sorting correspondence alphabetically by correspondent, and then by date within correspondent; sorting the top-level categories into more detailed subseries; identifying items that need preservation, conservation, or special storage conditions; piecing together fragments of writings; identifying the subjects of photographs or artwork; researching names and dates; and so on.

Arrangement requires a sensitivity to the natural order of the material being arranged. The papers of a painter will not fall into the same structure as those of a dancer or an architect; the papers of an individual do not lend themselves to the same hierarchy as the records of a corporation. While there are certain series and subseries divisions that are commonly encountered, such as Correspondence, Writings, Memorabilia, and so on, each collection has its own character which must be respected.

[edit] Description

Once the collection is arranged satisfactorily, it must be described. The written description of a collection, called a finding aid, may be a few paragraphs or may comprise a detailed list of several hundred pages, depending on the level of processing done, the size of the collection, and the probable use by researchers. A collection that is likely to be heavily used benefits from a more detailed finding aid.

Collection description uses a jargon of its own, a specialized vocabulary in which words have specific meanings that often differ from their meaning in common parlance. For example, "access" refers to "The ability to locate relevant information through the use of catalogs, indexes, finding aids, or other tools." "Brittle" does not simply mean breakable, but refers to paper that has lost its flexibility and which will break, rather than fold, when bent.^[1]

Parts of a collection description include the following:

title - John Brown Papers, ABC Corporation Records
dates - earliest and latest dates present in the collection (1800-1859)
size - 18.5 linear feet, 17 archival boxes, 2 oversize boxes
brief biography of the person or organization
description of the scope and overview of the contents
keywords - terms which can be used in a search to retrieve the finding aid, including subjects (abolition), personal names (Brown, John), genres (photographs, sketches, correspondence)

The description may also include information on how the collection was acquired, its appraised value, and whether or not there are any restrictions on access to or use of the material. For example, the papers of a public figure are often restricted for a set number of years in order to preserve the privacy of other individuals who are still living.

Finally, the finding aid has a detailed inventory of the collection, whether to the box level, to the folder level, or to the item level.

Box 1        Correspondence
  Folder 1      Adams, John (1808, 1810)
  Folder 2      Allen, William (1805-1807)
  Folder 3-6    Ballantine, Harold (undated)
  Folder 7      Brandeis University (1808-1811)
Box 2        Artwork
                Sketches
  Folder 1         People
  Folder 2         Animals
                Watercolors
  Folder 3         People
  Folder 4-5       Animals
  Folder 6-9       Landscapes

[edit] Standards

Several standards come into play during manuscripts processing, some regional, some national, some international. In the United States, proper names are checked against the Library of Congress Name Authority Files and subject headings are drawn from the LCSH. Genre terms are often taken from the Art & Architecture Thesaurus. If the finding aid is to be marked up in XML, the Encoded Archival Description (EAD) standard can be used. In addition, every repository has developed "local practices" that must be followed.

The Society of American Archivists (SAA) has published a number of best practices for American archivists; two important ones are Archives, Personal Papers and Manuscripts, often abbreviated as APPM, and Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS). SAA's publication Standards for Archival Description: A Handbook provides an overview of relevant standards for all phases of archival and manuscripts processing. The Research Libraries Group has published a best practices document for use with EAD.

The Society of Archivists, the British equivalent of the SAA, has published a number of best practices for U.K. archivists on topics ranging from school records retention to historical accounting records.^[2]