Museum Archives Ch 5

ARRANGEMENT Qollv Darnell

Archivists use the term processing to refer to all the steps that are taken to prepare archival materials for access and reference use. Arrangement and description,

two of those steps, are closely linked, as each depends on the other. In its simplest sense, arrangement refers to the physical and intellectual order of archives: what papers are grouped together and the order in which papers, folders, boxes, and bound volumes are placed. Description, a topic more fully described in the next chapter, refers to creating finding aids for researchers

to

use

in locating materials that will

answer their

questions. Processing also includes some preservation and appraisal.

Library, Archives, and Museum Persp ectives Because of tlie differing nature of the materials for which thcy are responsible, archivists, librarians, and 1r-rrlseum rcgistrars and curators treat nraterial differently. Wirile they all control collections that are made accessiblc through some form of descriptive cataloging, they come from professions that developed at different times from separate traditions. A museum archivist needs to understand these various perspectives. Librarians, the longest-standing profession of the

three, deal mainly with publications, which are focused, self-identifring, and usually exist in muitiple copies. Archival rnaterials are uuique, frequently cover

of topics,

do not introduce thempublication clata, and possibll, prcfacc, introduction, and clust jacket providing an explaration of what will bc .fhe fcruncl witlrin. archivist must provide informatiot-t in rvhicLr rccorcls were creatc'd, inforon the corltcxt n-ial ion csserrtial to undcrstanding therr. 'l-l're archivist gathers thc necessary information frot.u a variety of sour(:cs cluring proccssing ancl conr,e),s i1 to thc researchcr irr a finding aicJ, rvhich can come in a variety of forurs. As each archival collcctiorr is utrique, so too is a wide range

ar-rd

selves. Publications usually havc a title, author,

the descriptive information about it; "copy cataloging" rarely occurs in archives. Librarians can share the catalog data for publications with few changes. Library materials are organized by discipline and subject, so that people browsing the shelves can find related publications easily. Archives, being unique, are kept in closed stacks where researchers are not allowed.

Both archivists and librarians create catalogs or other finding aids to get researchers to the materials they hold. Museum registrars and curators are primarily concerned with the physical nature of their coilections and secondarily with their intellectual content. Their catalogs are not designed to provide members of the public with access to objects, but to gather irrforrnation about them for control and interpretation, usually through exhibitions. Curators concentrate on the description of the physical object, bringing their knowledge of sirnilar objects to bear; registrars are concerned with control of collecticlns, tracl
a unique number that can be used to track

it.

Archivists handle records collectively, because of both the quantities involved and the interrelated naturc of the individual items. A single fiie drawer can contain thousands of pieces of paper (one source cstinates 4,6oo), which can be descr:ibed more effectively as a group in a sentence than item by item in a list, where researchers would be lost in the details. lnragine t1-re clifference between reading a description of the contcnts of a file drawer (e.g., "correspondence atrout rnuseum

prograrns, t96o-rc17o, filed alphabetically by progranl a list of each clocunrc'nt in 1l'rc filc. \,\hile museunrs have ways of grouping inlbrmation about related objccts, no generally acccptccl tncthocl o1' categorizing objects worl<s for ali kinds of rrruscums" 'laxclnonry, l'ur.rction, rncclium, style, ot: silc: tla1, 3ll {16' r.rscd as tl-re primary organizing principlc for inlbl"mirtion about the collections of different tvpes clf nluscums.

titlc") and reading

Arr1tlgctllutt

35

j

lr, r,ir ii:r

,,,,..,r.1

r,1 .,;1.11

lr pi: oft irri'irrnraficll lvilL

var1,

irii L)r t-ltitscLll. \/alicrl ils iirchival collcc [iLrn: .r,.r. cl.t.rirr ],r'iitciplcs ckr lvorlt lclr all of tjrem. ir

i',

Principles f'he lbundations of arcltival rvork are knon u

as

proye-

nance, origirtol ttrdcr, collectiye descriptiotr, and levels a.f

control. 'fhese arc the ideas and principles that should guidc you during ploccssiug.

Tlre archival principle af provenance holds that

irsf:tt.rcr', iltc ar"clrjlcs ntltv r:i:tluilc'ilt,r ptipcr"st rtl irn indiviclual rvho collcctr:cl tmvclcrs' accoll)ts of visi1s to N'iachu I)icchu. 'l'his r,r'oulti ltc arr artilir-iirl colicction. (lonvcrscly, the drlr:urncntatiorr of an irrclividrritI's own archaeological rvorl< and i,isi{s to jr4achtr Picclrrr rvoul
Arclrivists may fcrrrl artificial collections to deal cfficiently with itens that come in siflgly r61|ig1 than as pieces in a collection. Provenance is maintainecl through the accession process,

rvhich mak.es it possible to <listingLrish the source of each item in such a collection. Museum publications, especially ephemeral ones, arc often trcated this way in the archives.

Tlre principle

<>f

original order clictates

that papers be kept in the ordcr in v,lrich thcir crcator"useci thenr" 'l'his or:clcr n'ray be chronological, alpliabetical (iry r.nrt',, or subjcct, fbr: rnstance ), numericirl (e.g., by accession uuil-)-

ber), or a combinatior of the abovc. As long its thc' r'ct'olds i'orr leccivc itrr, itt soittc' rr,cognizable orrlcr, m;.,irrtairr lhat orcler if possible .

I31, nraintainirrtrl

originai orcler- )()u preser\/e as ntuch infonnation about thc recorcls as possible for rcscarchers, lcttir-ig thcm Taxidermy rvorl<shop, n.d. Bnoorr_yr MusEUM oF ARr ARcHtvls, pHolocRApH under.stan
the narnes of people, organizations, or topics. No one

system is inherently better than another-it .jr,r't served the needs of that department better. Necp these differences in mind when you har,e to choose how to arrange a collection. The finding aids vou create can provide cross-references fs the t-ilino schemes.

Collective description is the antithesis of museum cataloging, which aims to describe each object individually. Archivists describe records in hierarchical

and interdependent groups-as record groups,

.,rijection (Webb Family Papers) that contaiir papers t-.i n-ruseuu-r founder Electra Havemeyer Webb. 'Ihe lecord gror-ip is composed of institutional records qenerated b1, presidents, of whom Mrs. Webb was the trrst. The accessioned coliection came from her son's estate and stays intact, in spite of the fact that it contains papers from two people who served as museum president. Keeping them together by origin maintains their provenance. Within institutionai records and collections of personal papers, as well as in separately accessioned groups of materiais, you may also find

folders-before getting to the individual item. The value of most, series, boxes, and

though not all, records lies in their being part of a larger body of material. Describing each record individually would unnecessarily overwhelm a researcher with detail. Because groups of records share certain characteristics, finding aids can relate the salient facts without mind-numbing repetition. Collective description goes hand in hand with arrangement. Control of collections-intellectual control

through finding aids and physical control through organization and arrangernent-is usually defined through the five following levels: institution, record group or collection, series, file unit, or item. In addition, some series

may be broken down into subseries. Archivists Ass cart with expedition members, San Juan, Argentina, r925. work from the general to the specific, starting at PHoToGRAPH 8Y FRED€RIc W. MILLER. DENVER IV]U5EUM oF NATURE & SCIENcE IMAcE the broadest level and working to the more ARCHrvEs, Ml25-178. specific as necessary and possible. records of other organizations, often related in some Whether they realize it or not, most archivists way to the museum or inclividual. aiready have some control of their collections at the Within a record group or collection, records are instittttional level. Thet collection policies are written organized into series, comprising records maintained as at the institutional level and describe the focus of the a unit by the person or office that created them because archives' hoidings, wliether they include collected as they are related by a subject, fiunction, activity, or forin. well as institutional records, and the focus of any special Electra Webb's presidential records include series based collections within tire archives. the on subject (collections of objects within the museum), at the collection level begins through Control function (receipts for purchased objects), activity survey, transfer, and accessioning process (for records (reports and speeches), ancl form (scrapbooks). 'fhe created by the museum) and through donation or correspondence is divided into two subseries: one filed purchase and accessioning (for collected records). alphabetically by correspondent, ;rnd the otirer (letters Institutional records are typicaiiy organized into of congratr-rlations and "bread-and-butter" notes) filed record groups-records fiom a particular office or chronologically. Office files are easily recognized as dii dcpartment. Theoretically, the museum's organization ferent series when a new file seguence starts. Archivisls chart cair be your guide to creating and naming the do much of their work at the scries level. in fact organizations change, departgroups, though A fil.e unit is a foider or bound volumc, the builcling r']rcnts merge aud separate, and not every office will block of the series. Folder: titles on irn incornirrg i-olgencrater recorcls th;rt conre to the archives. lcctiou often provicle essential clues to existing sclicr; I'he Slrelbul'nc N4useum iras both a record group (Presidents of Shelbirrne Museum) and an accessioned and originirl order.

Arrartttttttttt

37

'flre individual clocuntcnts rrake up tl-re iten level. Since most rccords clon't havc l-righ indir,idual value, archivists rarely do extensivc rvork at this level. Hirving foldcrs in a rational orcler may be sul'ficient without arranging each document witl-rin a folder:. At any of these levels, different arrangelnents may

be used: chronological, alphabetical, numerical, or combinations of them. Traditionally, the order of series within collections ruirs from general to specific or frorn greater to lesser itnportance. Processing Steps

in

deciding processing priorities, take into account researcher demand (actual or anticipated), institu-

I

ticlnal prior"ities, ancl rcrsources rreeded. Onc of tliosc resollrces is time. Attenrpts have beeu macle to cleterr-nine how iong it takes to process collcctions, but there are so many variables that archir,ists have fbund

it may tal
rgrrvr-LrvE L PRoc Es s I N G

While'most processing is done at the series and folder levels, sometimes it must be done at the item level. This is frequentty true at the Museum of Modern Art (nnoun), where cotlections contain correspondence with artists. More defailed processing,is required for items of high interest, which need greater security. The significant items can be handted singly, without processing the whote series to the item level. Archives staff members are required to have a background in art history. Having a knowledge of the subiect informs their processing priorities, so that they can recognize ',';ni:h items require speciaI treatment.

Fotlowing are some samples of materials t:ocessed at the item [eve[ and comments from irl

ichelle ElIigoit, MoMA's

a

rchivist:

Dorothy C. Miller Papers

l.

Exhibitions. Sub-series 23. Calder t9 Gifts from the Artist, t967. Series

lNote: MoMA Exh. #8r9, Feb. l-Aprit 5,1967] Folder b. "Calder" ca. ry59-69 ["re: Calder gift to MoMA in ry66 & exhibition of it Jan. t967 on -." lnc[, r ALS Atexander Calder* AHB, DCM $zlTl6g\ loan memos, DCM notes, and rnimeographed sheets inct. r ALS (copy) Alexander Calder-lTS (61+l+z) [4 sheets] with DCfM annotations.l /ames Thrail Soby Papers

Series

l.

Subject Interest Material: Artists and

lnct. 9 printed matter; z ALS; r TL re: Shahn magazine; rTLShahn-Walter Chryster; r TLITSShahn; r ALS Shahn-JTS The

Alfred H. Borr, !r. Papers is MoMA's most important

and most heavily consulted coltection. For Series

Correspondence, it was deemed essential to have a name index to the correspondence. Because it was such a big iob (over 55o fotders of materiat), a high school votunteer was used to comptete the project over the course of three years. The resu[t is neither a true index, nor an item description" lt is simpty a list of every correspondent within each file, with no attention given to the amount or type af documentation, nor its subject matter. So what follows may not be to the highest of archivat standards, but I cannot tetl you how useful it has been. Here is an excerpt from Barr's fite titted simply "nn": Foider z8z. M. (r955-1957) [microfitm ree[; frame

zt9z:7951 Mies van der Rohe, Ludwig; Millares, Manolo;

Miiler, Edgar; Missingham, Ha[; Moholy-Nagy, Mrs" Sybil (inct. TLS); Moise, Howard; Mongan, Agnes (Fogg Art Museum); Moore, Henry (incl. TLS); Moore, Marianne; Morey, Mrs. Rufus; Morot-Sir, Edouard (Ambassade de France); Morrison, Barb; Morse, lohn D. (l(ent Schoot); IVloses, l?obert (inc[. typescript of r957 October z4

interview)

Movements Box 36" Folder rz1. Shalrn: IMisct., r94o's [27 items]

38 lausELJM AnctlilvIts: AN lNt'liot)t.r (l'floN

l.

-

Michelle Elliaot

by gathcring all thc ir.rfbrnratiorr vrlu have readill, available lbout thc papers ancl thc pcrson or olfice that creatccJ thcn-r. llevieiv tl-rc accession or transfer records. Chcck published rel'ereuce sorlrces, institr.rtional recorcls, ancl individuals that arc lil<el1. to provicle backgrouncl infor'rnation. For instancc, if you have the field notes of a staff archaeoiogist, Iook at his or hcr publications. They'll provide context for the projects on u,hich the archae-

ologist worked and rnay help you identifl' drafts of reports and articles. Annual reports of the trtuseull will tell you about plojects contemporary with the records you're processing. Thp into institutional memory! People who worked rvith the creator of the records, successors in the same office, and the donor may all be able to help you with records of fairly recent origin or older ones they've used. You're looking for background that wili help you answer the questions that you-likc a newspaper reporter-n'ill ask or,er and over again: rvho? what? when? rvherc? rr.h\'? and horv? \Aiho created the rccclrds? \\/hat I
arv ma)' be containecl in thc p:rpers. Next, sun'ey tl-rc records. Ycru'll nced a big table clei'clted to this so that yoll can unpack boxcs without danger of other material getting mixed in. You're still just loclking for infclrmation, so don't rearrange anything. Go through each box or file drawer. Look at thc contents, the forms of the material, and the existing arrangement. Take notes about what you see and put everything back as you found it. Do you have some clear filing sequences? Financial records? Meeting minutes? Lectures? Maps? \A,4rat ranges of dates are you seeing for each type of material? Look for clues to filing sequences, such as folder labels, filing kepvords penciled at the top of documents, numbering systems.

Are the file sequences complete or do you just have folders labeled "A-M"? Are N through z in another box? What kinds and quantities of supplies will you need to house the collection? Wili you need letter- or legal-sized folders and boxes? Do the records show evidence of mold or mildew? Insects? Are there ohotograph formats you can't identiff? Will you ,r..d to consult a conservator or photo historian? Resist

the temptation to put sirnilar materials

together. You need to know about the whole collection and have a plal fur it before you start changing things. \A4ren you've been through it all, sit down with your notes and think over what you learned about the

collection. Consider ways the collection might be organized and whether it contains series of records. In some collections, the series are obvious because the creator already dividcd the recorcls into serics, identifiable fr"on-r thc liling sccluences and file l'oldcr titlcs. For ir.rstance, one n.rcrnl-rer of Shelburnc Muscunr's staff'

"MlscELLANEous" When Sarah Demb was the archivist

at

Harvard's

Peabodv Museum. she confronted several boxes of unprocessed records teft by her predecessors, labeled

"Miscellaneous." Her method

of handling them is

instructive. as most of us will encounter such a coltection. (Here's hoping we don't leave such co[[ections for our successors!) The boxes contained a wide variety of apparently unrelated documents. At first, they made no sense, so she left them and went on to other things. As she got to l<now the holdings of the archives and how they had been managed in the past, she found she understood some of the items in the boxes and what to do with them. Slre integrated an old accessiorr file system intcl the current accession fite svstem, Outdated reference

materials coutd be discarded. ltems that had been removed from cotlections were reunited with their source. ltems that had been received singty were filed appropriately. She did not discover what things were atl at once,

but gradualty. Getting to know the "miscellaneous" cotlections of predecessors can take years. They should

be reviewed periodicatty to see if you can identify more of the contents. At some point, when you've gone as far as you thinl< you can, you may decide to dealwith the rest as an artificialcollection-one made up of materials from various sources-and make subseries based on the access points that are most signif-

icant: form, creator, or subiect.

Arrnrtgt:ttta.rtl 39

labeled his files "blirclismith research," "advertisir-rg," "correspondence l'ith magazines," ancl "art flle"-an

to a ne\/ fiie series. By the time archival prcicessirrg t,f the collection began many years later, it was impossi,

easy transitic'rrr to series.

ble to return them to the organizatior"t or order in rvhich Mrs. Webb had used them. In cases like this, look for materials that share common charactclistics: their function, form, or subject. Their physical properties may make it desirable to file some materials

In other cAses) no series are necessar\r, because the collection is simple, srnall, or cohesive enough to t''e filed and described as a single unit. fhe papers of decoy collector Joel Barber consist of correspondence, clippings, cataiogs of decoys and of decoy carving competitions, and photographs. There is no need to divide them into series, even though they occupy two document boxes. A single file sequence with folder

together. For instance, architectural drawings, because oI their size, oflen form a scparate series. Some collections require considerable thought; in others the series are obvious. When you've come up

with an organizational

scheme, go back through your notes and see if it accommodates what you found. lf it does, proceed. If not, think through how another scheme would work. Decide to what ievel you're going to process each series. Will each series be rehoused in archival folders and boxes, or will some be left as they are, identified only at the series level? Gather the supplies yodll need:

folders (letter or legal size, depending on what you found in your survey) and boxes (the most common sizes are cubic-foot records center cartons, five-inch documeut boxes, and two-and-a-ha1f-inch document boxes)" You may also need sleeves for photographs, permanent paper for photocopying deteriorating papers, oversized folders, drop-front boxes, The reinstallation of a foll< art exhibit in the Shetburne Museum's Stage and other n-rore specialized storage containers Coach Inn was based on extensive research on Electra Havemeyer Webb's clepending upon the collection. acquisition and early display of her co[ection and the retationship with Edith Hatpert of the Downtown Gallery. sHELBURNF MusEUM ARCHrvEs. You'I1 need your big tablc again for thc rehousir-rg. Sort the collcction into the serics you've f-ound or scttlcd on. T'hen arralrgc each serics irr titles that adequatcly describe the contents will provide order and rehouse it as necessaly. Ifthere isn't allcldy sufficient access for a researcher, who can easily read a coherent order to the records in a serics, ,vou'll harre through a list of the folder headings to find desired to decide how to arrange thcm. Youl L''asic choices are material. chronological, aiphabetical, or numerjcal. L,r,eu rl,hen In still other cases you must make sense of chaotic your arrangement follorr,s the originirl or"dcr, sor.t'rc' coilections. Faced rvith this situation, look for groups pilpers may be mot.cd, as vor-t'Il fincl -sonr.- records nrisof records that sl'rare some characteristics, making group. The filed and others not hled at all. Orisnr.ri irr.dcr nlt..,lr to file together and describe as a them easy that you follorr. the fi1ing sche l:r: ir' ',.,ri-l :ir; i..',1..'r': original organization rray have been destroyed, so were found, iirsteacl r-r: :'r i:-r,1.. i.,:. in.i.lit;., 1r'tll seek out lil
4{) MllSllI.l lvl AlttlLllVlllil

AN INI IiOI)UC l IO\

aid can direct researchers to the location of the papers and can put a poiuter in the other places they might

look. l)crn't double the size of a collection by photocr,rpying records and putting copies everpvhere you thinl< nright be logical. While putting the papers in order, rehouse them in archival folders and boxes. As you do this, you'll take some basic conservation steps,r refine your appraisal, and prepare for creating finding aids.

.

Remove foreign objects, such as paper clips (which are useful to hold papers together tem-

Make sure that you aren't losing any identiS'ing information on the back.

.

ration sheet should note that the item

. .

Sleeve photographs. Replace glassine envelopes with inert ones.

.

.

tape

you run into problems such as mold, mildew, insect infestations, or darnaged bindings.

.

Ciean off surlace dirt. Use a soft brush, a soft eraser like Magic Rub, or cleaning crumbs, working slorvly and gently from the center to

Discard extra copies. These can be removed if they are truly duplicates, not annotated copies. You may also remove iterns that don't belong in the collection. lVhiie shoes and other equally odd items have turned up in some unorganized collections, you're more likely to find papers that got mixed in by rnistake, such as a staff member's child's report card turning up in

institutional records. Do not filI folders beyond what they can protect. See that when the folders are closed, all the papers are inside. Add as many folders as you need. Use fcrlders that fit the boxes (e.g., do not r-rsc lctter-sized folders in legal-sized boxes),

full cnough to hold folders upright u,ithout slumping. If necessary you can add filling (srrch as scrap archival matboard), use Iril1 boxes

.

Keep notes of what you learn about the creator and the records during arrangement for lrelp in

creating your finding aids. Label boxes and folders as you work. Foldcrs that are straight across the top give you space for the most information. Decide on a standard format. For example, starting at the left side, put the nante of the colle ction, tl-re series (or a roman numeral to designate the

their sides so folders are flat.

series), the folder title, dartes, and-at tbe lirr right side-the number of the box and folder. Usc thc

Photocopy highly acidic papers, such as crum-

original folder title when available. If it doesn't clearly describe the contcnts, add to it. You may waut to regulariz.e the title format when a group of folde rs all have similar contents but slightly variecl titles, Irilc numbering nrav be saved until the end, when rror.r know just rvlrat cach box contains, but the rest of thc

bling newspaper ciippings, onto permanent paper. Idcnti$, thein as preservation copies that replace the original. \kru can do this by photocopying with them a strip of paper with a legencl such as "Prcscn'ation photocopy of deteriorating

original macle on perm?urent paper" vi'ith thc You'll ltave to decide rvhether to retain the original-rrot in the sarne folcler-or discarcl it. c1ate.

Itl matt1, cases the value of tlle 6rigilal lies only in the infolrlalion it cont,rins, not in its fornrat. I

to mend tears. You can keep pieces of

valuable torn originals together by putting them in a Mylar folder. Consult a conservator when

Flatten folded and dos-eared items.

boxes that havc a support bar, clr piace boxes on

.

Don't do anything when you don't know the consequences, such as using pressure-sensitive

the outside, avoiding any pencil marks that rrrigirt be erased if you're carelcss.

.

was

moved and where it can be found.

porarily, but not permanently), rusty staples, rubber bands (which dry out and stick), sticky notes, ancl dried flowers.

'

Put separation sheets in the place of items, such as large architectural drawings, that are kept in the archives but stored separately from the collection in which they were found. The sepa-

Scc l)rcscrvation cbirptt'r

lbr lLrrther dctail.

labeling shoulcl be done as X)u worl<. Finalll', latrcl thc boxes. \brr can lallel tl'rem in pencil as you norli atrd

Ir'l'lll.ltlcrtt Iubcls as ir final stcp. \\'riting in pencrl across tirc folder top allor,vs 1'ot.t to nrahc changes if necessarl'. Ilor t'ct)' Iarge colleccl'Cillc

tions, sonrc lcpositories hartc a rubber sta,rrp l.nacle to slrvc rr riting the sane informatiot-t repcatccllt'.

Arr(til!:iltt(il1

4L

Adhesive iabels eventually fall off-don't use them! 'Ihese are relatively detailed steps for processing. Practices vary among repositories, and among collec-

tions within a repository. Some coilections receive minimal processing, while others are fuily processed with each document arranged in order. Processing priorities are based on institutional priorities, the needs of the archives' users, and the resources available. As priorities change and resources expand, col-

42

MUSI:llJ14

Altci'lIVLlS: AN INTRODUCI IOI\

lections that r:eceirred

iittie initial attention can be

revisited for more compiete processing. When you run into problems, revisit the concepts of provenance, originai order, and rvorking at the appropriate level. The same principles apply to all records, whatever their media. Always consider your dual objectives: to provide researchers with access to the materials they need and to preserve evidence of how and why the records were created.