Wartburg Archives Procedure Manual: Description

1. Finding Aids are the primary descriptive source for archival collections. They describe the contents of the collection, from the collection level to the series to the box/folder/item level, thus preserving essential context about the record’s creation.
2. The Finding Aid Template contains all of the appropriate sections and brief descriptions of what information belongs where. It is often easier to begin with the most specific level of description (i.e. – the Container Listing) and work out from there to more general descriptions.
3. The section Biographical Sketch/Agency History may require additional research to create. Be sure to cite any sources used.
4. A completed Finding Aid should be available electronically for use in-house, to e-mail to researchers, and as a PDF available on the Archives website.
5. Any variations to the Template for a specific collection should be noted in the Processing Plan.

FileUnit Records

• Use spreadsheet template
  • Ask for clarification on which template for which directory or file format (there are different ones for AIB vs. WCA, and for folders vs. a-v items, for example)
• Enter Collection Nbr, Series Nbr information
  • Collection Nbr will be formatted as abbreviated version of collection title; e.g. Grant Price Collection’s Collection Nbr = Price); if it is a College Archives collection, they have prefixes based on category (e.g. Academics.History)
  • Series Nbr will be an abbreviated version of the series title; e.g. Audiovisual for Audiovisual Materials
• For A/V materials:
  • File Unit Nbr – barcode of media item
  • Title – of recording (if nothing identified, summarize content briefly, or use “unknown”)
  • Category – VIDEORECORDING, AUDIO RECORDING, or MOVING IMAGES
  • Location – shelf location (formatted e.g. AIB-1-A-2, where 1=aisle, A=range, and 2=shelf)
  • Dates – date/date span of recording (format MM/DD/YYYY; YYYY, YYYY-YYYY, MM/DD/YYYY-MM/DD/YYYY or MM/YYYY when possible; you may have to format the cell for odd dates by right clicking on cell and reformatting; ask Amy for clarification)
  • Name Type/Creator/Creator Role – Corporate vs. Personal name/name of Creator (e.g. station name)/Role is usually Creator, could be Author or Publisher
  • Summary Note – Additional descriptive information about recording
  • Type-Format – specific type of recording (e.g. 16mm film, ¾ U-matic, VHS, etc.; check existing authority table for formatting, and if item is not there, ask Amy for clarification)
  • Language Code – usually eng
  • Condition – one of four choices (EXCELLENT, FAIR, GOOD, POOR)
  • Specific Condition – narrative notes on condition (only for very obvious issues, leave blank if not needed)
  • Running Time – numerical in hours:minutes:seconds, if known
  • Item Status/Web Ready?/Circulating? – STORAGE/Y/N
  • Local Subject – Use “Cataloging Local Subjects (Proficio)” for specific terms to use
  • Transcript – only for digitized items, separate instructions for this procedure
• For folder level paper materials:
  • File Unit Nbr – box and folder number, formatted as B##F##
  • Box – numerically entered
  • Folder – numerically entered
  • Title – as written on folder
  • Category - RECORD
  • Location - shelf location (formatted e.g. WCA-1-A-2, where 1=aisle, A=range, and 2=shelf)
  • Dates date/date span of folder, if available (format MM/DD/YYYY; YYYY, YYYY-YYYY, MM/DD/YYYY-MM/DD/YYYY or MM/YYYY when possible; you may have to format the cell for odd dates by right clicking on cell and reformatting; ask Amy for clarification)
  • Name Type/Creator/Creator Role – Corporate vs. Personal name/name of Creator (e.g. Wartburg College or Grant Price)/Role is usually Creator, could be Author or Publisher
  • Summary Note – Additional descriptive information about folder contents
  • Language Code – usually eng
  • Item Status/Web Ready?/Circulating? – STORAGE/Y/N

BATCH INGEST RECORDS

• Navigate to the correct directory and hierarchy level for your import
• Under the File drop down menu, select Import/Export – Import/Export Selected Fields – Import/Export Selected Fields
• Import Records
• File Type: ASCII Delimited
• Import File: Browse and select your .txt file (NEXT)
• Field delimiter: Tab (NEXT)
• Choose a template (NEXT)
  • Either use an existing or create own, but template must exactly match the fields in the .txt file you have chosen
• Update the target record
• Start the import
• OK

Multimedia/Image Records (PDFs are considered Multimedia files)

• Use spreadsheet template “BROADCAST-Fileunit-Multimedia-Template”
• Enter Collection Nbr, Series Nbr, File Unit Nbr information for records to which you will be attaching an image or multimedia file
• In directory folder where image/multimedia files are located, highlight all file names
• Right click & hit shift at the same time – select “Copy as path”
• Paste into Multimedia column
  • If these are image files, change name of Multimedia column to “Picture”
• Click and drag to highlight all data in 4 columns, then copy
• Open a blank notepad document, paste
• Save as .txt file (to Desktop) and name BROADCAST-Fileunit-Multimedia-X (where X=your choice of descriptive file name)
• In Proficio, choose drop down menu Tools – Software Updates
• Browse to Desktop and search for “Special text files .txt”, select file you just created
• Open and Install

MODIFY A RECORD

• Select the desired record from the list view, and press the green arrow-up button on the top button bar to modify a single record
• Edit fields needed and click “Save and Close”

MODIFY MULTIPLE RECORDS

• Select multiple records from the list view by clicking while holding shift
• Under the Edit drop down menu, select Modify All Records

FILTER RECORDS

• In the list view, hover over column title until you see filter symbol
• Click symbol to select filter parameters or “custom”
• To unfilter, click filter symbol and select “All”