📖Box listing guidance

Purpose of this guidance

This guidance is designed to aid those unfamiliar with archive material and processes to complete a boxlist to current collection development standards, and is in line with the 'Guidance notes' provided with the boxlist template.

It expands on the existing guidance by providing more examples of how to record information, provides clarity specific to different parts of the inventory workflow, and includes additional guidance on recording legacy appraisal and extraction decisions not covered by Collection Development guidance assuming listing at point of acquisition.

Single vs. multiple box accessions

If the accession includes two boxes or fewer, the listing should be added to the description box in the CALM accession record.

If three boxes or more, then the accession should be listed in an excel spreadsheet using the archive boxlist template and titled in the following format, "RefNo_AccNo_BoxList".

The following advice for how to fill in the boxlist correlates with the title of the column headings in the boxlisting template, but the same data should be recorded in the CALM accession record.

All data should be added row by row to the description field in the same order as the spreadsheet for simplicity, apart from 'DeepStore barcode' which should be added to the 'acquisition notes' field, 'Onsite location' to the 'location' field, and 'Acc no/Box' which should be included in both the 'description' and 'acquisition notes' field.

Material for return to Deepstore vs. extraction for onsite storage

The following advice has been separated into two tabs, one for material to be returned to deepstore following listing, and one for material which is being extracted for onsite storage. Reasons for extraction include material too large or too fragile for safe transit, or due to its audio-visual or digital format. The examples below the advice cover both types of material.

General advice on how to list archive materials

Before beginning to list the contents of the box, you might find it useful to remove the material from the box to get a sense of any order or patterns.

Each of the below examples would be described across 1 row in the boxlist:

  • 1 file with a unique title

  • Multiple files with the same title or concerned with the same specific topic

  • Loose material grouped around the same topic

  • Loose material of a similar type i.e. correspondence, publications

  • A box of loose material if none of the above groupings can be found

  • A single audio-visual item

  • A single digital item

  • A single fragile or large item

  • Multiple fragile or large items extracted of a similar type i.e. glass slides, posters

Appraisal

Light-touch appraisal can be carried out during the inventory process, and is an active part of the audio-visual and digital stream.

During the basic listing process, this could include weeding of ephemera out of scope, blank sheets and duplicates. It could also include entire boxes of out of scope material in an otherwise valuable collection.

Before disposing of anything, ask the inventory leader. They should be able to advise on whether this accession allows for disposal straight to a confidential waste and/or black bag, or if it needs separating for possible return to donor. For audio-visual and digital material more specific advice is given in the appraisal guidance below as well as in the Ingesting digital media process guidance.

DeepStore barcode OR Onsite location

Record the barcode number on the transfer box.

This should be a B followed by 12 digits but some older barcodes consist of 10 digits with 3 leading zeros.


Ref no

Record the collection identifier.

This information should be written on the box in the format “XX/XXX” and is also in the spreadsheet title.


Acc No/Box No

Record the accession number and box number in the format “0000/000”.

The box number is usually written on the box but should be standardised when recording to the format above. If it isn't written on the box, check the collections files and deepstore inventories to see if a number has been allocated. If no number has been associated, record the next available box number for this accession.

N.B. Some accession numbers include a mixture of numbers and letters separated by a slash; omit this slash when recording.


Unique Ref for extracted material

For material to be returned to Deepstore, leave this cell blank.


Title

Record a title for the material being listed.

A given title on a file or folder should be entered with quotation marks “” and is preferred to aid with identification.

A descriptive title should be entered without quotation marks. This should be as brief as possible, and avoids describing any identifying characteristics of the container such as colour or size as it may be repackaged in future prior to cataloguing.


Description

Add further detail to expand on the title where necessary, such as subjects or type of content, particularly where given titles have been used.


Format

Choose a format from the picklist:

  • Paper

  • Visual and Material Culture

  • Printed and Published

If the material contains a mixture of different formats, choose the most dominant.


Extent

Record the number and type of thing being listed.

This will be typically be a file, bundle or volume but could include any descriptive format term.


Date

Record a rough range or specific date if able to ascertain from material.

If no dates can be ascertained, give an estimated decade range or century range. This can sometimes be worked out from the working life of the individual or organisation in question.

For a full list of acceptable terms, see Archive Cataloguing manual appendix.


AV barcode

Leave cell blank.


Sensitivity Notes

Record any sensitivity concerns which might affect access to the collection. Sensitivity review is not essential to record but where obvious useful to record for future access requests and cataloguing.

This might include the presence of sensitive personal data, nudity, violent or gory imagery, and other distressing content. In the case of sensitive personal data, refer to its presence but avoid referring to the individual(s) by name.

If there are definitely no sensitivity concerns, add 'Not sensitive'. Otherwise, leave cell blank.


Conservation notes

Record any conservation concerns which might affect access to the collection in future.

This might include significant damage or loss to the material.

Describing types of damage


Extraction details

Record the unique reference of extracted material if taken from within this set of material, such as from inside a file, box-file or pack.

Otherwise, leave cell blank.


Appraisal Notes

Record whether any duplicates, blank sheets or ephemera were removed during listing.


Notes

Record any other notes about the material which isn’t more appropriately mentioned in previous fields.

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