The UC Guidelines for
Processing Efficiently
A Streamlined Approach for Managing
All of Your Archival Collections
Michelle Light
Director of Special Collections
University of Las Vegas, Nevada Libraries
michelle.light@gmail.com
Why is this streamlined approach
applicable to me?
MPLP…
◦ is not about paperclips or keeping original
folders
◦ is not just for modern, organizational records
◦ informs ALL processing activity
◦ focuses on making our collections available
for research
“There are many degrees of processing, each of
which can be done well.”
Core Principles
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Aim to provide access to all holdings.
Always look for the “golden minimum.”
Analyze the work necessary for every
collection and be flexible in the amount of
work applied.
Arrange, describe, and preserve materials
in harmony.
Measure and compare processing rates to
ensure processing is carried out efficiently.
Try using a collection management system.
The First Step: Expose All Archival
Holdings
At minimum, provide a collection-level record
for all archival holdings.
2. Revise your accessioning practices to
represent holdings online at the moment of
acquisition.
3. Revise your access policies to:
1.
4.
a)
Allow access to unprocessed holdings.
b)
Review collections for use on demand.
c)
Tolerate messy collections in the reading room.
Allow use to determine further processing
priorities.
The Second Step: Process
Collections at an Appropriate Level
Good processing :
“1) expedites getting collection materials into
the hands of users;
2) assures arrangement of materials adequate
to user needs;
3) takes the minimal steps necessary to
physically preserve collection materials; and
4) describes materials sufficient[ly] to promote
use.”
Five processing levels
Level of Effort
Minimal
Low
Moderate
Intensive
Highly intensive
Level of Control
Collection level
Series or subseries
level
File level
(expedited)
Folder level
(traditional)
Item level
Minimal effort
Level of Effort Minimal
Level of
Control
Collection level
Description
Collection-level
record in MARC or
EAD
Arrangement Leave as is
Preservation
Appraisal
Rebox only if unserviceable
Weeding not appropriate. If privacy
concerns, restrict entire collection.
Low effort
Level of Effort Low
Level of
Series of subseries level
Control
Description
Brief finding aid or detailed MARC
record with series/subseries descriptions
and/or box lists.
Arrangement Put series and/or boxes in rough order
Preservation Replace damaged boxes. House loose
items. Replace other enclosures only
when unserviceable.
Appraisal
Appraise series, subseries, or chunks,.
Restrict series with privacy concerns.
Moderate effort
Level of Effort
Moderate
Level of
Control
File level (expedited)
Description
Succinct finding aid with abbreviated
folder lists or simple (expedited) inventories.
Existing description repurposed.
Arrangement
Put folders in rough order. Preserve
original order when usable. Perform
rough sort of loose items.
Preservation
Replace boxes. Retain existing folders and
labels when in good shape.
Appraisal
Appraise folders. Segregate folders with
privacy issues.
Intensive effort
Level of Effort
Intensive
Level of
Control
Folder level (traditional)
Description
Finding aid includes detailed folder lists and
descriptive notes. Folder titles are refined
and standardized.
Arrangement
Put folders in order. Impose new
organizational scheme or make significant
improvements. Sort loose items.
Preservation
Replace boxes and folders. Selectively
perform preservation for fragile or
valuable items.
Appraisal
Appraise folders. Segregate folders with
privacy issues.
Highly intensive effort
Level of Effort
Intensive
Level of
Control
Item level
Description
Detailed finding aid includes item lists, or
folder lists with explanatory notes.
Arrangement
Items are placed in order in boxes and
folders.
Preservation
Replace boxes and folders. Comprehensively
address housing or preservation needs for
fragile items. Reformat audio-visual material.
Appraisal
Item-level weeding. Segregate items with
privacy concerns.
Assess your collection to determine
processing level
1.
Assess the value of the collection.
2.
Consider the collection's condition.
Given its value, determine how much
work should be invested in the
collection to make it usable.
Assess the value
User
Quality of
Institutional
Scale
Interest Documentation
value
1 Negligible
Slight
Negligible
2
Slight
Limited
Limited
3 Moderate Pertinent, average Moderate
Important,
4
High
High
extensive
5 Very high Unique, very rich Very high
Object
value
Negligible
Limited
Moderate
High
Very high
Find an appropriate processing level
Value Scores
Appropriate processing level
4-5
Minimal effort | Collection level
6-10
Minimal effort | Collection level
Low effort processing | Series or subseries level
11-15
Minimal effort | Collection level
Low effort | Series or subseries level
Moderate effort | File level (expedited)
16-18
Minimal effort | Collection level
Low effort | Series or subseries level
Moderate effort | File level (expedited)
Intensive effort | File level (traditional)
19-20
Minimal effort | Collection level
Low effort | Series or subseries level
Moderate effort | File level (expedited)
Intensive effort | File level (traditional)
Highly intensive effort| Item level
Analyze the needs of your
collection and understand your
institutional context
Physical condition
 Physical order
 Intellectual access
 Appraisal and privacy issues
 Institutional resources

Processing Rates (Hours/Lin. Ft.)
Poor
Average
Excellent
condition condition or
condition or
or many
moderate
few barriers
barriers to barriers to
to access
access
access
Collection-level
1-3
1-2
1
Series-level
4-8
3-6
2-4
File-level
9-14
7-11
5-8
Folder-level
15-21
12-17
9-13
22+
18+
14+
Item-level
Specific processing approaches
22 pages of further guidance (tips, tricks,
and shortcuts) for minimal, low, and
moderate-effort processing
 Include strategies applicable to all
collections as well as for university
records, 19th century collections,
photographs, audio-visual materials, born
digital materials
 14 case studies from UCs

Examples of approaches

Generally
◦ Minimize physical arrangement (or rearrangement) of files.
◦ Vary descriptive detail according to material
present.
◦ Use scope and content notes strategically.
◦ Postpone item-level preservation actions until
a user requests access.
◦ When managing multiple accessions, keep
them distinct. Do not interfile into each
other. Describe them in separately in
succession in a finding aid.
Examples of approaches

Photographs
◦ Do not routinely separate photographs found in
chiefly textual archival collections.
◦ Most photographs do not need to be described
at the item level.
◦ Limit the housing of individual items. Rely instead
on stricter policies in the reading room.

Audiovisual collections
◦ Delay reformatting activities until users request
the material.
◦ Devote staff resources to achieving a finer level
of description at the expense of arrangement.
Available at
http://tinyurl.com/
uc-processing-guidelines