The University of Denver Libraries Special Collections and Archives Processing Manual documents each step of the processing workflow, including acquisition, physical processing, arrangement and description, digitization and repository ingest, and de-accession. Archival processing is defined as “the arrangement, description, and housing of archival materials for storage and use by patrons.” Processing of archival collections at DU follows the principles of provenance and original order, and is mindful of the Society of American Archivists’ Code of Ethics regarding issues such as access, privacy and security of archival materials.
There are three units at the University Libraries involved with the management of Special Collections and Archives materials:
Other units in the Libraries contribute to Special Collections projects, including Cataloging and Metadata Services, Design and Discovery, and Library Technology Services.
The current processing workflow diagram for Special Collections materials may be found here.
Accessioning is the process by which archival materials come to be part of Special Collections and Archives. Materials which are purchased, donated, transferred from a records-creating body, or given to Special Collections and Archives as a gift are all accessioned by processing archivists and routed to a new or existing archival collection, or selected for bibliographic description by a cataloging librarian. The process for accessioning at the University of Denver is documented here.
Arrangement and description is the process by which archival materials are processed according to principles of original order, assigned metadata in order to contextualize them within a larger record group and/or collecting area, and ultimately made available to patrons via archival and library discovery layers. Since 2014, Special Collections and Archives has used ArchivesSpace as its archival collection metadata management system. ArchivesSpace serves as the primary metadata management system for archival and manuscript collections that are not managed bibliographically, receiving local call numbers and arranged and described using archival description standards such as Describing Archives: A Content Standard and Encoded Archival Description.
Guidelines for arrangement at the various levels of access to an archival collection may be found here.
Local guidelines for entering metadata in ArchivesSpace may be found here.
Special Collections and Archives digitizes selected materials from its collections in a variety of formats, and also curates born-digital materials it receives through the accessioning process. The Digital Collections Services unit is charged with the curation of these materials, including their description, access via the digital repository, and preservation and storage. The University of Denver contracts with DuraSpace to provide preservation storage and curation services through its ArchivesDirect service, managed by Artefactual Systems.
Digital Collections Services provides digital reformatting services for print materials, including manuscripts, monographs, and cartographic materials (maps, atlases, etc.), audiovisual formats such as optical media and cassette tapes, and microfilm.
The Libraries use two digital repository systems, scoped according to the type of material managed in each Special Collections @ DU is our digital repository for digitized and born-digital materials from Special Collections and Archives. Special Collections @ DU hosts manuscripts, newspaper collections, oral histories, image collections, and other audiovisual content. Digital Commons is a hosted institutional repository platform for scholarly works, including electronic theses and dissertations, open-access journals, and research data.
