Preparing a collection for cataloguing

This section suggests a workflow for the initial sorting and preparation for cataloguing archive material, though cataloguers are free to vary their working methods in line with the requirements of individual collections.

Please see the audio-visual and born-digital sub-pages for the extra considerations involved in cataloguing those types of material.

The first thing you must do is go to the accession record(s) in CALM and update the CataloguingStatus field to In Progress.

Initial Examination

Locate and examine all existing documentation about the collection to gain an understanding of its provenance and circumstances in which it was acquired. Consult the collection files (both hard copy and electronic), the accession record(s), the survey report and the box list created at the time of acquisition. Make sure you have identified all accessions for the collection – there may be multiple.
Look for published background information such as organisational histories, biographies, obituaries and organisation websites.
Examine the box list and any additional inventories/finding aids that might exist. See if you can identify any original order, filing system and/or coherent referencing system that should be preserved in the archival arrangement. Bear in mind that the box list can be vague and may not faithfully document everything, especially if it was created by the donor, rather than Wellcome staff. The box list may also highlight issues, such sensitivity concerns or items requiring conservation treatment.
As you begin to go through the material, it may be useful to keep in mind the context of the records' creation particularly regarding language used in the collection. For example, a collection compiled by medical practitioners may (unconsciously) use dehumanising language about their patients and so it will be important not to replicate this in your catalogue description. Please see Appendix 5 for a list of resources to help with language choice.

First sort

Examine the physical material and ascertain how far it corresponds to the box list. Document additional information if the box list is inaccurate or incomplete. Assess how the material has been organised/classified and look out for distinct series, e.g. runs of correspondence files, but avoid re-arranging the material at this stage.
There may not be space onsite for large collections and so boxes will have to be recalled from offsite storage in batches. Use the box list to identify suitable groups of boxes that should be examined together. Alternatively, for the first sort you may wish to consult the boxes in numerical order and group the boxes into batches once you have a better idea of what they contain.
Unless already determined at the time of acquisition, consult with the procedure for dealing with donations of published materials to decide whether published material should be retained as part of the archive or added to the library holdings.

Second sort

Aim to identify specific sections, series and general groupings of material, taking your lead from the material itself and knowledge about how the creator conducted business.
Common records to look for in society and association archives: coherent series of minutes (the signed set should be the one retained where this exists) and meeting papers; foundation records; runs of own publications (annual reports, magazines etc.); internal files on areas of interest; internal and external correspondence; conference and public meeting papers; financial records.
Common records to look for in personal papers: research files and notebooks; case material; writings (published and unpublished); grant files; conference and meeting papers; correspondence (take note of how this is arranged, e.g. chronologically or alphabetically).
Some cataloguers choose to sensitivity review records at this stage, given they are already taking an in-depth look at the material. Others sensitivity review at a later stage once they have finalised the arrangement.

Appraisal, weeding and disposing of paper-based material

Remove duplicates, after first checking they are exact duplicates. For example, if you come across two copies of a typed document with different handwritten annotations, you should retain both.
Routine ephemeral correspondence can be discarded. For example, in the case of organisations, correspondence about meeting arrangements and catering; in the case of individuals, minutiae of travel arrangements.
Material lacking surrounding context to aid interpretation can be discarded. For example, scientific slides lacking any annotations, labels or supporting documentation.
Collections Development have produced a useful list of record types that are, and are not, generally of interest to Wellcome Collection in their FAQs for donors document.
These examples are not exhaustive. If you come across material that you feel should not be retained, consult with colleagues.
Check the transfer agreement and accession record to ascertain what should be done with items not required (i.e. returned to the depositor, or destroyed at Wellcome’s discretion). Material for destruction should be put in confidential waste sacks, or can go in recycling bags if it is entirely published (e.g. duplicate publicity leaflets).

Final arrangement

Always take your lead from the material itself. Preserving provenance and existing arrangement should be the priority, even if it seems illogical. This applies to digital as well as analogue material.
Physical and digital material should be arranged together if they were part of the same filing system. For instance, where a floppy disk found within a paper file, the two should be catalogued side by side in the hierarchical tree. However, hard drives and sets of removable media stored away from paper files have their own provenance, separate to the paper archive, and this should be reflected in the arrangement.
Physically disparate parts of a coherent group should be reunited: for example, alphabetical correspondence files placed in different boxes during transfer to Wellcome.
Even in the most well organised collection there are likely to be items which do not obviously fit anywhere and about which you will have to use your judgement.
The number of hierarchical levels used will vary according to the nature of the collection and its size. Avoid creating unnecessary levels within a small collection (i.e. sections containing only 1 or 2 items each). Whereas a good deal of subdivision is often required to make large and complex collections intelligible.
Wellcome uses the term Item to represent the producible unit: the thing that a researcher can order and consult, such as a file or volume (this is called file in ISAD(G)). An item can be physically split across several folders but must be stored together in a single location and have a single access status.

Draft catalogue

At this point you should have a draft list indicating the lines upon which the final catalogue will be constructed. From here, construct the full hierarchical list and include references.
Some cataloguers choose to create the catalogue records directly in the archive cataloguing system (currently CALM). Others choose to do so in Excel and export the entire catalogue into CALM.

Repackaging

Archival items should be removed from original packaging and repackaged into the appropriately sized archive folders and boxes. Large, flat items should be repackaged into folders and placed in a planchest drawer. Conservation should be contacted for advice on how to package and store 3D objects.
Stamp the top right corner of the folder with an archive stamp and write the PublicRef in the space.
Archival supplies are stored in the 371 workroom and basement stores. This includes folders, boxes, stamps, archival tape, acid-free papers, brass paperclips and melinex sleeves.
Wellcome follows a More Product Less Principle (MPLP) approach to repackaging. Consequently, it is not necessary to remove all staples or paperclips unless they in particularly poor condition.
A single intellectual item can be repackaged into multiple folders if it is too deep for one. However, an item cannot exist in multiple locations. Thus, all the folders must be in the same box. Items do not have to run sequentially in the boxes. They should be packaged in a way that makes most efficient use of space.
Once the material has been boxed, labels should be printed using the label template.

PreviousBasic cataloguing principles NextAudio-visual cataloguing

Last updated 1 year ago

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Preparing a collection for cataloguing

Please see the audio-visual and born-digital sub-pages for the extra considerations involved in cataloguing those types of material.

The first thing you must do is go to the accession record(s) in CALM and update the CataloguingStatus field to In Progress.

Initial Examination

Locate and examine all existing documentation about the collection to gain an understanding of its provenance and circumstances in which it was acquired. Consult the collection files (both hard copy and electronic), the accession record(s), the survey report and the box list created at the time of acquisition. Make sure you have identified all accessions for the collection – there may be multiple.
Look for published background information such as organisational histories, biographies, obituaries and organisation websites.
Examine the box list and any additional inventories/finding aids that might exist. See if you can identify any original order, filing system and/or coherent referencing system that should be preserved in the archival arrangement. Bear in mind that the box list can be vague and may not faithfully document everything, especially if it was created by the donor, rather than Wellcome staff. The box list may also highlight issues, such sensitivity concerns or items requiring conservation treatment.
As you begin to go through the material, it may be useful to keep in mind the context of the records' creation particularly regarding language used in the collection. For example, a collection compiled by medical practitioners may (unconsciously) use dehumanising language about their patients and so it will be important not to replicate this in your catalogue description. Please see Appendix 5 for a list of resources to help with language choice.

First sort

Examine the physical material and ascertain how far it corresponds to the box list. Document additional information if the box list is inaccurate or incomplete. Assess how the material has been organised/classified and look out for distinct series, e.g. runs of correspondence files, but avoid re-arranging the material at this stage.
There may not be space onsite for large collections and so boxes will have to be recalled from offsite storage in batches. Use the box list to identify suitable groups of boxes that should be examined together. Alternatively, for the first sort you may wish to consult the boxes in numerical order and group the boxes into batches once you have a better idea of what they contain.
Unless already determined at the time of acquisition, consult with the procedure for dealing with donations of published materials to decide whether published material should be retained as part of the archive or added to the library holdings.

Second sort

Aim to identify specific sections, series and general groupings of material, taking your lead from the material itself and knowledge about how the creator conducted business.
Common records to look for in society and association archives: coherent series of minutes (the signed set should be the one retained where this exists) and meeting papers; foundation records; runs of own publications (annual reports, magazines etc.); internal files on areas of interest; internal and external correspondence; conference and public meeting papers; financial records.
Common records to look for in personal papers: research files and notebooks; case material; writings (published and unpublished); grant files; conference and meeting papers; correspondence (take note of how this is arranged, e.g. chronologically or alphabetically).
Some cataloguers choose to sensitivity review records at this stage, given they are already taking an in-depth look at the material. Others sensitivity review at a later stage once they have finalised the arrangement.

Appraisal, weeding and disposing of paper-based material

Remove duplicates, after first checking they are exact duplicates. For example, if you come across two copies of a typed document with different handwritten annotations, you should retain both.
Routine ephemeral correspondence can be discarded. For example, in the case of organisations, correspondence about meeting arrangements and catering; in the case of individuals, minutiae of travel arrangements.
Material lacking surrounding context to aid interpretation can be discarded. For example, scientific slides lacking any annotations, labels or supporting documentation.
Collections Development have produced a useful list of record types that are, and are not, generally of interest to Wellcome Collection in their FAQs for donors document.
These examples are not exhaustive. If you come across material that you feel should not be retained, consult with colleagues.
Check the transfer agreement and accession record to ascertain what should be done with items not required (i.e. returned to the depositor, or destroyed at Wellcome’s discretion). Material for destruction should be put in confidential waste sacks, or can go in recycling bags if it is entirely published (e.g. duplicate publicity leaflets).

Final arrangement

Always take your lead from the material itself. Preserving provenance and existing arrangement should be the priority, even if it seems illogical. This applies to digital as well as analogue material.
Physical and digital material should be arranged together if they were part of the same filing system. For instance, where a floppy disk found within a paper file, the two should be catalogued side by side in the hierarchical tree. However, hard drives and sets of removable media stored away from paper files have their own provenance, separate to the paper archive, and this should be reflected in the arrangement.
Physically disparate parts of a coherent group should be reunited: for example, alphabetical correspondence files placed in different boxes during transfer to Wellcome.
Even in the most well organised collection there are likely to be items which do not obviously fit anywhere and about which you will have to use your judgement.
The number of hierarchical levels used will vary according to the nature of the collection and its size. Avoid creating unnecessary levels within a small collection (i.e. sections containing only 1 or 2 items each). Whereas a good deal of subdivision is often required to make large and complex collections intelligible.
Wellcome uses the term Item to represent the producible unit: the thing that a researcher can order and consult, such as a file or volume (this is called file in ISAD(G)). An item can be physically split across several folders but must be stored together in a single location and have a single access status.

Draft catalogue

At this point you should have a draft list indicating the lines upon which the final catalogue will be constructed. From here, construct the full hierarchical list and include references.
Some cataloguers choose to create the catalogue records directly in the archive cataloguing system (currently CALM). Others choose to do so in Excel and export the entire catalogue into CALM.

Repackaging

Archival items should be removed from original packaging and repackaged into the appropriately sized archive folders and boxes. Large, flat items should be repackaged into folders and placed in a planchest drawer. Conservation should be contacted for advice on how to package and store 3D objects.
Stamp the top right corner of the folder with an archive stamp and write the PublicRef in the space.
Archival supplies are stored in the 371 workroom and basement stores. This includes folders, boxes, stamps, archival tape, acid-free papers, brass paperclips and melinex sleeves.
Wellcome follows a More Product Less Principle (MPLP) approach to repackaging. Consequently, it is not necessary to remove all staples or paperclips unless they in particularly poor condition.
A single intellectual item can be repackaged into multiple folders if it is too deep for one. However, an item cannot exist in multiple locations. Thus, all the folders must be in the same box. Items do not have to run sequentially in the boxes. They should be packaged in a way that makes most efficient use of space.
Once the material has been boxed, labels should be printed using the label template.

PreviousBasic cataloguing principles NextAudio-visual cataloguing

Last updated 1 year ago

Was this helpful?