We are also in a small museum with two part-time folks. When our collection was initially set up it used accession numbers that included collection identifiers such as EDU, IMA, etc. We quickly found that the system became cumbersome and changed to the standardized accession numbers (14.132.01). This is very helpful when you receive a mixed collection that includes archival materials and artifacts. PastPerfect is very good for denoting the type of artifact/archive when each item is cataloged. I will say that cataloging in PastPerfect is very important for Searching. Cataloged entries can be researched by using key words. Cataloging also allows you to itemize the location of each artifact/archive.
Prior to using PastPerfect our curator created an Excel database to keep track of collections. We still maintain the Excel spreadsheets as donations come in as it is a quick and easy way to log in items. We also have a huge backlog, and the excel log has been extremely helpful. In 2013 we began using a receipt number that includes the year month and number of the item as it comes in (ex. 1402002) because some items may be questionable as to whether they will be accessioned into the collection or utilized for other purposes. We then provide spaces for an accession number, date, donor (last name and first name), description, and the initials of the person accepting the item. When I first came on board I thought that the Excel Log was redundant, but it has proven to be extremely valuable and I wouldn't want to be without it now. It is a quick and easy way to keep pertinent information in an easily accessible format as we combat the backlog. We have used the Excel Log to locate items found in the collection on which there were no accession numbers (there were a number of these around 2010 as we moved from a temporary location into our permanent home at the 1904 courthouse).
Ramona A. Renfroe
Director
Museum of Ashe County History
-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jackson, Gregory
Sent: Thursday, February 20, 2014 9:17 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Mixed Object, Manuscript, and Archival Donations in Small Museums
Kelsey,
I'm not absolutely sure what you mean when you say all the archives materials are in one big collection with lots of series. Do these series relate to donated object collections? If so, and you're willing to break out existing series and assign them to a donor's object collection, you could try the following. Although most manuscript collections aren't denoted by accession numbers, there is no reason why you can't use such a system. Our manuscript collections (kept separately in Archon, not PP - but maybe later...) use typical collections numbers (e.g. Mss.042 ), so there should be no reason that you can't use the accession number for your manuscript collections. For example if your accessioned collection is 2014.01.xxx, I don't think there is any reason not to use Mss.2014.01 for your manuscript collection number.
Does that sound like it would work for those of you that use PP for archives collections?
Greg
Gregory A. Jackson, CA
Archivist, Bryn Athyn Historic Landmark District
Glencairn Museum
www.glencairnmuseum.org
267.502.2421
-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Kelsey Ransick
Sent: Thursday, February 20, 2014 9:00 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Mixed Object, Manuscript, and Archival Donations in Small Museums
Lucy and Charlene-
Thank you both for jumping right into this! It's definitely an issue that many small museums around the country face (probably some larger ones too) and it's great to have Museum-L to work though some of these issues.
I'm glad to hear that keeping all of the donation under the one accession is the way to go, as it makes the most sense to me as the processor, and I would imagine it will be helpful to researchers. One of the exciting-yet-nerve-wracking things is that only our artifact collection has a numbering system in place (the three-part system with year.donation#.object#). Therefore, I've also got to determine a numbering system for our archival collections that integrates with the object collection (library is less of an issue).
The bulk of our archival material is from one assembled collection built over about 100 years by members of the community. Obviously, the series list for this collection is lengthy, and it would be difficult to assign each series a number on top of the collection number (it would end up having about 7 parts, which is not particularly helpful). The solution we came up with as of last night is to only list the series and sub-series in the scope & content note (eventually we will get to the container list...one day...) and to assign numbers to the series only in the finding aid. Had we more resources, we would probably spend time entering all the series into PP and giving specific numbers to the most important manuscripts. As it is, we're aiming more for an MPLP approach to processing all our collections just get to a handle on what we have.
I really like the idea of noting the objects separated from the archival material in the finding aid and pairing it with a sheet in the document cases. As much as I love PastPerfect, I know that not everyone can navigate it so easily, and tangible notes will help everyone at my institution. Location information definitely needs to be kept up-to-date this way, and I hope to strongly enforce that as part of the new collections management policy and procedures!
Thank you both for your input and advice. I really appreciate your willingness to share!
Best,
Kelsey
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