In ArchivesSpace, Agents are used to represent people, corporate entities, families, or software application that is either the subject of an archival resource or aggregate, or responsible in some way for the creation or management of that resource or aggregate. The Agents tables allow for rudimentary local name authority control in the ArchivesSpace application. Our general principles for local authority work in Special Collections and Archives may be found here.
Required fields will appear in bold.
| Publish | |
| Description | Switch for publishing the record in the public user interface |
| Local Rules | Ensure this box is checked if you wish for the record to appear in the public user interface |
| Examples | |
| ArchivesSpace Key | agent_family.publish |
| Name Forms | |
| Description | Forms of name by which the agent was known or referred. |
| Local Rules | At least one form of name is required. If an agent was known or referred by more than one name in their lifetime or organizational history, multiple name forms may be assigned to the Agent record. All name forms should be entered according to the guidelines before. ArchivesSpace will automatically add punctuation to index and display names according to DACS and RDA guidelines. One name form should be designated the Authorized and Display name. If taken from an existing authority file, this form should be the authorized form from that authority file. Note that the authorized and display forms are usually, though not always, the same. |
| Examples | |
| ArchivesSpace Key | agent_family.name_family |
| Name Forms: Authorized | |
| Description | The authorized form name for the described Person. |
| Local Rules | One authorized form of name per agent. Exports as true or false. |
| Examples | |
| ArchivesSpace Key | name_family.is_authorized |
| Name Forms: Display Name | |
| Description | The form of name which displays in metadata forms for objects to which the Person record is linked. |
| Local Rules | One display name per agent. Exports as true or false. |
| Examples | |
| ArchivesSpace Key | name_family.is_display_name |
| Name Forms: Authority ID | |
| Description | The uniquely identifying string used for the described agent, according to the authority file specified in the Source. |
| Local Rules | Required if establishing against an existing authority file; if the source is local, the Authority ID is not required. |
| Examples | |
| ArchivesSpace Key | name_family.authority_id |
| Name Forms: Source | |
| Description | The origin of the provided description for the Agent. |
| Local Rules | Select from the drop-down list. |
| Examples | |
| ArchivesSpace Key | name_family.source |
| Name Forms: Rules | |
| Description | The cataloging rules governing the creation of the Agent record. |
| Local Rules | Select from the drop-down list. Usually DACS; sometimes RDA or Local Rules. |
| Examples | |
| ArchivesSpace Key | name_family.rules |
| Name Forms: Primary Form of Name | |
| Description | The name of the family. |
| Local Rules | Include the word "family" in this field, e.g. "Cohen family" rather than just "Cohen." |
| Examples | |
| ArchivesSpace Key | name_family.primary_name |
| Name Forms: Qualifier | |
| Description | Geographic qualification to distinguish between two families who share a surname. |
| Local Rules | Rarely, you will encounter a scenario where two separate, unrelated families for which we have custody for archival resources share a surname. When this happens, use the primary location associated with the family to qualify them. For example, in the collections we have materials for two separate Cohen families -- one primarily associated with Denver, the other with Aspen. Their qualifiers are "Denver, Colo." and "Aspen, Colo.," respectively. ArchivesSpace will provide DACS/RDA punctuation for you. Do not enclose the qualifiers in parentheses. |
| Examples | |
| ArchivesSpace Key | |
| Contact Details | |
| Description | Contact information for the organization being described. |
| Local Rules | The Contact Details section allows for recording of contact information for any Agent in the database. It functions more or less as an address book, and can be used to maintain donor files within ArchivesSpace. It is at the discretion of the curator or accessioning archivist as to whether, and to what extent, this section should be filled out. |
| Examples | |
| ArchivesSpace Key | agent_corporate_entity.contact_details |
| Notes | |
| Description | Biographical information about the family being described. |
| Local Rules | You may add a Biographical/Historical Note to provide contextual information about the family being described. You may also use the Citation sub-note type to provide citations for the information provided in the historical note. </p>To enter a biographical note, use the provided Text sub-note form to enter the information you wish to include. To add a citation, click on the "Add Sub Note" button in the Notes sub-form, select "Citation" as the Note Type, then enter the citation information in the provided text field. If the citation is for an unauthorized form of name, provide the form in parentheses in the citation, e.g.B333.01.0001.0001.00008 Lowenstein Family Holocaust Papers (Henry Lowenstein).</p>If you wish to provide a link directly to the cited material, you may enter that information in the "Xlink" sub-form; the label goes in the "Title" field, and the link in the "Href" field.</td> </tr> |
| Examples | |
| ArchivesSpace Key | agent_corporate_entity.notes |
| Related Agents | |
| Description | An Agent in the ArchivesSpace name authority file that is linked in some way with the organization being described. |
| Local Rules | You may add Related Agents links to an organizational record to indicate earlier or later forms of the organization; links to individuals who played prominent roles in the organization's history; or provide context for superior or subordinate agents within a larger organization, such as departments within a college. Related Agent links are bi-directional; that is, when you create a link in one record, it will automatically be created on the linked record as well. Before creating a link to a related agent, ArchivesSpace will ask you for the specific type of relationship you are encoding. This affects the properties and values that the Related Agents sub-form will present to you. The options for this field are:
|
| Examples | |
| ArchivesSpace Key | agent_corporate_entity.related_agents |
| Related Agents: Relationship Type | |
| Description | The type of relationship being encoded. |
| Local Rules | Required if encoding a related agent link. The values are determined by the Relationship Type indicated by the user before the sub-form appears. When assigning the type, its opposite will be assigned on the Related Agent link that is added to the linked record. For example, if a user were working on the authority record for Agent A, and created a Related Agent link to Agent B with the relationship type "Earlier Form of Related," Agent B would automatically have a Related Agent link with the type "Later Form of Related" added to its record to link it back to Agent A. |
| Examples | |
| ArchivesSpace Key | related_agents.relator |
| Related Agents: Related Agent | |
| Description | The agent being linked to the organization being described. |
| Local Rules | Required if encoding a related agent link. Select using the linker, either by searching for the agent or by browsing in the provided modal pane. |
| Examples | |
| ArchivesSpace Key | related_agents.ref |
| Related Agents: Description | |
| Description | A description of the agent relationship being encoded. |
| Local Rules | Provide a brief yet detailed description of the relationship. Note that this field will appear in both of the linked records in the relationship. Take care to specify both agents by name when providing a description of their relationship.
|
| Examples | |
| ArchivesSpace Key | related_agents.description |
| Related Agents: Dates | |
| Description | Dates during which the relationship was active. |
| Local Rules | You may provide the dates of the linked relationship if you wish. Use the "Event" label when doing so. For other fields in the sub-form, follow the guidance provided in the guidelines for encoding dates in ArchivesSpace. |
| Examples | |
| ArchivesSpace Key | related_agents.dates |