72 · Survey Results: Survey Questions And Responses
Box level, initial physical and intellectual control, also materials may be weeded or discarded in future.
Box listing: for when we want to establish some intellectual control over a collection.
Box-level — size of collection staffing arrangement homogeneity.
National descriptive standard RAD.
Need for instruction, outreach, collecting profile.
Some complex collections or agencies with complex structures require sub-series level processing.
Staffing, access needs, size, homogeneity.
Sub-collection: Rare, but available when needed.
Web site lists.
Please describe how you determine the minimal level of description a researcher needs in order to
use manuscript and archival collections. N=62
A MARC record and box list is required to send our collections to the University of California Northern Regional Library
Facility (off-site storage) so this is a required minimal record to be able to store the majority of our MSS/archives
collections.
Ability to group similar items intellectually within collections.
Again, there are a host of other factors that influence the level of description from demands of donors and
administrators to interest in appealing to a particular community (of users, donors, associates, etc.), to desire to
facilitate research, to the likelihood of current or future digital projects.
All acquisitions of university and private records described first at accession level.
All fonds and collections receive a fonds or collection level description. We determine the level of description on each
case taking into account many factors.
Anticipated user demands/usage of content based on what types of things are typically sought by our researchers.
Based on past use of similar collections coupled with the realities of lack of staff and time, we try to describe our
collections well enough so that they are “found” and accessible to researchers.
By policy we demand that every accession gets at least an accession record, listed on new accession Web page each
year, briefly cataloged (mostly for delineating collections stored offsite), and box listed after rehousing. We believe
rehousing at the folder level is the most important access and preservation activity we can supply outside of good
environmental controls.
Can the researcher use our description to get to within 1 to 2 linear feet of the desired material? If a researcher flies
across the country to use our materials based on our description, will he or she be upset that we have mislead him or
her about the scope and content of our collection? We try to provide the minimum amount of description necessary
to help a user reasonably identify whether a box, series, or collection is likely to contain the information he or she is
seeking. The minimum amount fluctuates based on the expected type of demand for the collection and the nature of
the materials.
Collections with anticipated high-use and/or complex arrangement receive more detailed description Low-use and
easily accessible original order allow for less detailed description. Other factors include security and preservation for
Box level, initial physical and intellectual control, also materials may be weeded or discarded in future.
Box listing: for when we want to establish some intellectual control over a collection.
Box-level — size of collection staffing arrangement homogeneity.
National descriptive standard RAD.
Need for instruction, outreach, collecting profile.
Some complex collections or agencies with complex structures require sub-series level processing.
Staffing, access needs, size, homogeneity.
Sub-collection: Rare, but available when needed.
Web site lists.
Please describe how you determine the minimal level of description a researcher needs in order to
use manuscript and archival collections. N=62
A MARC record and box list is required to send our collections to the University of California Northern Regional Library
Facility (off-site storage) so this is a required minimal record to be able to store the majority of our MSS/archives
collections.
Ability to group similar items intellectually within collections.
Again, there are a host of other factors that influence the level of description from demands of donors and
administrators to interest in appealing to a particular community (of users, donors, associates, etc.), to desire to
facilitate research, to the likelihood of current or future digital projects.
All acquisitions of university and private records described first at accession level.
All fonds and collections receive a fonds or collection level description. We determine the level of description on each
case taking into account many factors.
Anticipated user demands/usage of content based on what types of things are typically sought by our researchers.
Based on past use of similar collections coupled with the realities of lack of staff and time, we try to describe our
collections well enough so that they are “found” and accessible to researchers.
By policy we demand that every accession gets at least an accession record, listed on new accession Web page each
year, briefly cataloged (mostly for delineating collections stored offsite), and box listed after rehousing. We believe
rehousing at the folder level is the most important access and preservation activity we can supply outside of good
environmental controls.
Can the researcher use our description to get to within 1 to 2 linear feet of the desired material? If a researcher flies
across the country to use our materials based on our description, will he or she be upset that we have mislead him or
her about the scope and content of our collection? We try to provide the minimum amount of description necessary
to help a user reasonably identify whether a box, series, or collection is likely to contain the information he or she is
seeking. The minimum amount fluctuates based on the expected type of demand for the collection and the nature of
the materials.
Collections with anticipated high-use and/or complex arrangement receive more detailed description Low-use and
easily accessible original order allow for less detailed description. Other factors include security and preservation for
