Processing Decisions for Manuscripts & Archives, SPEC Kit 314 (November 2009)

Hackbart-Dean, Pam; Slomba, Elizabeth

44 · Survey Results: Survey Questions And Responses
Position 1: University Archivist Developing policies, setting priorities.
Position 2: Head, Processing Archivist Developing policies, setting priorities, managing activities.
Position 3: Processing Archivist Developing policies, setting priorities, managing activities.
Position 1: University Archivist Overall management of archival processing.
Position 2: Head, Rare Books and Special Collections Sets overall priorities.
Position 3: Chung Librarian Specialist subunit -general responsibility.
Position 1: University Archivist Collection development and policies and procedures for user services and for collection
processing.
Position 2: Modern Graphic History Library Curator Collection development and policies and procedures for user
services and for collection processing.
Position 3: Curator of Manuscripts Collection development and policies and procedures for user services and for collection
processing.
Position 1: University Archivist Also serves as unit head. Oversees the processing of all archives and manuscripts within the
library.
Position 2: Senior Library Specialist -Archives Assists the university archivist in developing policies but also sets
priorities, processes, and manages the processing activities of student assistants and interns.
Position 3: Senior Library Specialist -Manuscripts Assists the university archivist in developing policies and setting
priorities but also processes and manages the processing activities of student assistants.
Percentage of Time Spent on Developing Processing Policies, Setting Processing Priorities,
Managing Processing Activities, and Other Duties
Position 1 N Minimum Maximum Mean Median Std Dev
Developing Processing Policies 68 0 33 6.9 5 6.21
Setting Processing Priorities 69 0 30 7.3 5 6.70
Managing Processing Activities 68 0 60 15.0 10 15.81
Other Duties 59 5 98 68.0 75 24.22
Position 2 N Minimum Maximum Mean Median Std Dev
Developing Processing Policies 66 0 35 7.1 5 7.25
Setting Processing Priorities 65 0 20 6.6 5 4.49
Managing Processing Activities 66 0 90 35.1 25 25.80
Other Duties 56 5 98 49.4 50 25.31
Position 3 N Minimum Maximum Mean Median Std Dev
Developing Processing Policies 42 0 20 4.7 4 4.93
Setting Processing Priorities 45 0 20 6.2 5 5.81
Managing Processing Activities 47 0 94 34.0 25 27.65
Other Duties 41 0 99 56.9 60 29.16

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SPEC Kit 314: Processing Decisions for Manuscripts & Archives (November 2009) resources

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44 · Survey Results: Survey Questions And Responses
Position 1: University Archivist Developing policies, setting priorities.
Position 2: Head, Processing Archivist Developing policies, setting priorities, managing activities.
Position 3: Processing Archivist Developing policies, setting priorities, managing activities.
Position 1: University Archivist Overall management of archival processing.
Position 2: Head, Rare Books and Special Collections Sets overall priorities.
Position 3: Chung Librarian Specialist subunit -general responsibility.
Position 1: University Archivist Collection development and policies and procedures for user services and for collection
processing.
Position 2: Modern Graphic History Library Curator Collection development and policies and procedures for user
services and for collection processing.
Position 3: Curator of Manuscripts Collection development and policies and procedures for user services and for collection
processing.
Position 1: University Archivist Also serves as unit head. Oversees the processing of all archives and manuscripts within the
library.
Position 2: Senior Library Specialist -Archives Assists the university archivist in developing policies but also sets
priorities, processes, and manages the processing activities of student assistants and interns.
Position 3: Senior Library Specialist -Manuscripts Assists the university archivist in developing policies and setting
priorities but also processes and manages the processing activities of student assistants.
Percentage of Time Spent on Developing Processing Policies, Setting Processing Priorities,
Managing Processing Activities, and Other Duties
Position 1 N Minimum Maximum Mean Median Std Dev
Developing Processing Policies 68 0 33 6.9 5 6.21
Setting Processing Priorities 69 0 30 7.3 5 6.70
Managing Processing Activities 68 0 60 15.0 10 15.81
Other Duties 59 5 98 68.0 75 24.22
Position 2 N Minimum Maximum Mean Median Std Dev
Developing Processing Policies 66 0 35 7.1 5 7.25
Setting Processing Priorities 65 0 20 6.6 5 4.49
Managing Processing Activities 66 0 90 35.1 25 25.80
Other Duties 56 5 98 49.4 50 25.31
Position 3 N Minimum Maximum Mean Median Std Dev
Developing Processing Policies 42 0 20 4.7 4 4.93
Setting Processing Priorities 45 0 20 6.2 5 5.81
Managing Processing Activities 47 0 94 34.0 25 27.65
Other Duties 41 0 99 56.9 60 29.16

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SPEC Kit 314: Processing Decisions for Manuscripts &Archives · 43
Position 3: Spencer Leadership Group (Committee of 6 members), Develop policies.
Position 1: Librarian and Coordinator of Manuscripts Unit Coordinate all aspects of the Manuscripts Unit.
Position 2: Senior Assistant Librarian Train and manage EAD work.
Position 3: Library Assistant Maintain accession records.
Position 1: Manuscripts Curator (faculty) Collection development and processing.
Position 2: Public Policy Archivist (faculty) Collection development and processing.
Position 3: AV Archivist (professional) Processing.
Position 1: Manuscripts Librarian Determines which collections to process and establishes processing policies and
procedures.
Position 2: University Archivist Assists in establishing state records retention schedule determines which archives
collections to process establishes processing policies and procedures.
Position 3: Accessioning and Processing Archivist Working with the manuscripts librarian and university archivist,
determines which collections to process oversees accessioning of incoming manuscript and archival materials.
Position 1: Processing Coordinator Setting processing policies and coordinating processing priorities and managing
processing.
Position 2: University Archivist Setting processing priorities and managing processing.
Position 3: Head, Historical Collections and Labor Archives (HCLA) Setting processing priorities and managing
processing.
Position 1: Section Head Creates and vets policies, priorities and activities in conjunction with curatorial staff of each i&a
program.
Position 2: Curator, Archives and Modern Manuscripts Program Creates policies, established priorities, manages
processing activities of associate curator and contract staff.
Position 3: Associate Curator Archives and Modern Manuscripts Program Establishes new accessions rehousing
priorities, manages paraprofessional rehousing technicians activities.
Position 1: Senior Processing Archivist Plans and coordinates processing and description projects for archival materials.
Makes personnel decisions. Recommends strategies for arranging and description collections.
Position 2: Manuscript Cataloger/Archivist Establishes workflows and trajectory for assigned projects. Manages and
trains assistants and student staff.
Position 3: Director, Technical Services Oversees entire technical services staff—catalogers, archivists, accessioners, etc.
Establishes policy and strategic directions and participates in management of entire special collections library.
Position 1: University Archivist Acquisitions, reference services, public relations or outreach, arrangement and description
of holdings.
Position 2: Assistant University Archivist Reference services, instruction, arrangement and description of holdings
Position 3: Archival Assistant Accessioning, acquisition of materials, reference services.
Position 1: University Archivist Managing processing activities.
Position 2: Curator of Poetry Collection Setting processing priorities.
Position 3: Director, Music and Special Collections Setting processing priorities.

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SPEC Kit 314: Processing Decisions for Manuscripts & Archives (November 2009) resources

SPEC Kit 314: Processing Decisions for Manuscripts &Archives · 45
Setting Processing Priorities
7. What factors are considered in setting priorities for the order in which to process manuscript and
archival collections? Check all factors that are considered. Check up to three of those factors that
are the most important in setting processing priorities. N=75
Factor Considered
N=75
3 Most Important Factors
N=75
Anticipated high-use 73 60
Response to patron demand 72 44
Size of collection 68 16
Institutional priorities 67 34
Time commitment 65 15
Preservation risks 60 12
Backlog 53 4
Availability of grant funding 46 17
Processing policy 42 6
Consortial/collaborative activities 29 3
Digital format shelf life 20 —
Other factor(s) 33 16
Please describe the other factor(s) and how much weight it has in setting processing priorities.
N=32
1. Staff processing assignments to match experience and independent decision-making skills. 4 FTE processors balance
work with other assignments 3 FTE Graduate Assistant processors begin anew each year and need to be trained.
2. Privacy and access issues access limitations agreed upon with donor. 3. Anticipated accruals, ongoing accession.
4. Reformatting issues for A/V content. 5. “High profile” gifts or purchases, especially those that affect donor or
community relations. 6. Monetary value of the item or collection. 7. Significance of the collection in overall collection
development profile. 8. Existence of original or meaningful order. 9. Complexity of appraisal decisions.
1) Whether we have endowments (gift funds) or one-time gifts to process collections these funds will pay for archival
supplies and student wages. 2) Donor demand for processing. These two factors have the heaviest weight.
Availability of donor funding.
Availability of non-grant resources, funding from donors and availability of interns, also appropriateness for
undergraduate student workers.
Availability of staff and assistants donor related issues (contract stipulations, donor relations) difficulty of use of
collections (unprocessed or minimally processed and described).
Collection identified for offsite storage (Annex) to free up shelf space —One of the 3 most important factors.
Condition of the materials: If a collection is in extreme disarray, we may not process it as quickly because it requires
more resources and more experienced staff. Availability and experience level of staff: It takes 6 months to 1 year to

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Page 7Survey Results click to expand contents

Page 123Representative Documents click to expand contents

Page 125Job Description of Processing Decision Maker click to expand contents

Page 129Job Descriptions of Processing Staff click to expand contents

Page 133Processing Policy click to expand contents

Page 137Processing Procedures Manuals click to expand contents

Page 143Processing Worksheets click to expand contents

Page 151Procedures for Prioritizing Processing click to expand contents

Page 155Collecting Processing Statistics click to expand contents

Page 159Sample Statistics Reports click to expand contents

Page 163Selected Resources click to expand contents

SPEC Kit 314: Processing Decisions for Manuscripts & Archives (November 2009) resources

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SPEC Kit 314: Processing Decisions for Manuscripts & Archives (November 2009) resources

SPEC Kit 314: Processing Decisions for Manuscripts & Archives (November 2009) resources