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The following is a list of all the tasks you might do if you were fully processing a collection from start to finish.

Table of Contents

packing instructionsConnecting devices for digital Processing manual link

I. Pre-Processing - appraise, transfer, accession
Appraise records	Appraisal pre-processing	Processing manual link
Physical transfer		Initial site visit	Packing	Processing manual link
Physical transfer		Pack materials
Digital transfer	Identify media	"Know Your Media" (University of Texas, San Antonio guide	Create accession record	Processing manual link )
	Label and photograph the media
	Connecting drives and devices	Floppy drives Zip disk drives Jaz disk drives Optical disc drives Memory card readers Data tape drives Hard drives and storage devices Computers
Create accession record	Basic information section	Title (required; DACS 2.3, CAAIS 1.4) Identifier (required; CAAIS 1.2) Accession Date (required) Content Description (required; DACS 3.1, CAAIS 3.3) Condition Description (DACS 4.2.5, CAAIS 4.3.2) Disposition Note (required; DACS 5.3.4 & 7.1.8, CAAIS 4.4.2) Provenance (required; DACS 5.2, CAAIS 2.1) Acquisition Type (required; CAAIS 1.6) Resource Type (required) Restrictions Apply? (required) Access Restrictions Note (required; DACS 4.1) Use Restrictions? (required) Use Restrictions Note (required; DACS 4.4)
	Dates section	Label (required) Type (required) Begin (required)
	Extents section	Portion (required) Number (required) Type (required) Container Summary (required)
	Collection management section	Processors (required; DACS 8.1.5) Processing Status (required)
II. Processing
Create accession record	Create an accession record with all required fields.* *You can complete the record after surveying the materials if necessary	Required fields Title Identifier Accession Date Content Description Disposition Note Provenance Acquisition and Resource Type Access and Use Restrictions Dates Extents (portion, number, type, and container summary) Collection management (processors and processing status)
II. Surveying and Planning
Planning stage - Survey collection or accession during the survey you are just looking at the collection and taking notes - do not start moving, foldering, or otherwise altering the materials	Survey collection or accession	Research content subject
		Note groups / themes Note potential materials to weed Note potential materials to send back to donor Note oversize materials Note legacy media that will have to be reformatted Note preservation concerns		Processing manual link
Create work plan or processing proposal		Processing manual link workPlanTemplate.docx
Update accession record

Processing

Create or update resource record description at Collection level

Appraise records - discard, move to another collection

Box

Folder

Label boxes

Barcode boxes

Transfer boxes to storage

Add instances at collection level or in the container list

Review records for restrictions

Physical arrangement

Intellectual arrangement

Create container list at series, box, folder level

Document digital media and where it exists within the collection in accession record

Migrate legacy media

Photograph physical media

House media in format-specific containers

Run virus scan

Package content and generate checksums

Record technical metadata

Record software or tools for viewing or use

Scan for PII within the files

Delete/deaccession files with PII where appropriate

Redact files with PII File format normalization/migration for material outside of Archivematica or proprietary formats

Identify file formats

Perform file format normalization/migration with ready pathways/services in Archivematica

Create Dissemination Information Package (DIP) - mostly create DIP at access request by researcher

III. Processing
Appraisal	Deaccessioning	Airtable deaccession request form
Appraisal	Disposal of weeded materials	Processing manual link
Access restrictions (Screening)	Determine access based on MIT records policies	Institute Archives & Special Collections: Institute Records Access Policy Institute Archives & Special Collections: Institute Archives Records Collection Policy
	Reviewing for restrictions, "screening" (physical collections)
	Reviewing for restrictions, "screening" (digital collections)
Arrangement	Physical arrangement Intellectual arrangement Digital arrangement Levels of arrangement
Preservation	In-house preservation (work done by processors)	Best Practices Storage Handling and Lifting Cleanliness Standard Tools and Supplies Rehousing Materials Foldering Bound Materials (books, albums, volumes) Slide and Split Ring Binders and Other Adjustable Bindings Metal Fasteners Newspaper Clippings Photographs (prints, negatives, slides) Telegrams and Other Fragile and/or Acidic Materials Transparencies Physical Legacy Media (Substrates That Hold Digital Media) Textiles Frames Digital Disk Images Photocopying Material Recording Preservation Actions
	Disk image extraction	Processing manual link
	Wunsch Conservation Lab	Processing manual link
Description	Guidelines	Subjects Style Guidelines
	Collection level description	Collection Level Description Overview Identifier Resource Type Level of Description Language Publish
	Component list	Component List Overview Series Level Description Series Level Notes File Level Description Folder Markings File Level Notes Component Unique Identifier Sample Series Titles
	Titles	Collection, series, file level w/ style guide
	Dates	Formatting for Narrative Fields Formatting for Collection Level Description and Component Lists Normalized Dates Date Expressions Using the Date Module Content Reference
	Extents	Calculating Extent Using the Extent Module Guide to Extent Types
	Notes	all Required: Abstract Appraisal Note Arrangement Note Biographical or Historical Note Conditions Governing Access Conditions Governing Use Immediate Source of Acquisition Physical Location Preferred Citation Processing Information Scope and Contents
	Finding aid data	Finding Aid Data Overview EAD ID EAD Location Finding Aid Title Finding Aid Date Finding Aid Author Description Rules Language of Description Sponsor
Preparing materials for storage	Label and barcode boxes
	Add to HD manifest spreadsheet
	Schedule a move

Description

Accession Record (required fields)

Title
Identifier
Accession Date
Content Description
Disposition Note
Provenance
Acquisition Type
Resource Type
Restrictions Apply?
Publish?
Access Restrictions Note
Use Restrictions?
Use Restrictions Note
Dates
Extents
Agent Links
Related Resources
Collection Management
Events

Resource Record (Required Note Fields)

Abstract
Appraisal
Arrangement
Biographical / Historical
Conditions Governing Access
Conditions Governing Use
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Physical Location
Preferred Citation
Processing Information
Scope and Contents

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Key

I. Pre-Processing

II. Processing

II. Surveying and Planning

Processing

III. Processing

Description

Accession Record (required fields)

Resource Record (Required Note Fields)