George --
SAA also has a museum archivists listserv. More information is at
http://www.archivists.org/listservs/index.asp. The archivists would be
happy to tell you how they do things if you query.
At my former institution, a small museum, the same numbering scheme was
used for both artifacts and archival materials. (Archival materials have
traditionally been thought of as paper-based materials --
correspondence, advertisements, newspaper clippings, catalogs,
pamphlets, photographs, ledger books, etc. However, now we've got
electronic records too. There are functional definitions of archives
that you can read about.) In other words, the accession numbers were all
sequential, no matter if the item was an artifact or archival, because
one person handled all accessioning. This practice is not done at all
museums though, particularly when there is a separate archivist who
actively collects material separate from the curator.
In the archives world, whole collections are numbered when accessioned.
(e.g., One accession number would be given to the "Jane Smith papers").
With artifacts, individual items are given their own accession numbers.
However, say someone donates just one photo, it would have its own
accession number. For a melange of unrelated archival items that won't
stay together as a collection (e.g., one photograph, one catalog, a few
letters, and one advertisement, all having no significance as a group),
each item (or set of items) could be given its own accession number.
I think you should decide what's best for your situation, and feel free
to query the museum archivists listserv. Good luck developing your
policies.
I recommend SAA's Basic Manual Series (there is even one booklet in the
series for museum archives) and SAA's Archival Fundamental Series.
Individual titles can be ordered through SAA Publications and can often
be found in larger libraries, particularly university libraries.
Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Vicki
Vicki Meehan
Myers-Lenahan Archivist
Medical Hertitage Center
The Ohio State University
-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Lesley Humphreys
Sent: Thursday, October 24, 2002 10:14 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Assigning numbers / defining an archive collection
Hi, George!
I've found the SSA, The Society of American Archivists
(http://www.archivists.org/) to be very helpful in learning about
processing archival collections. They have excellent publications. Good
luck and congratulations on your job! Lesley Humphreys
-----------------------
Lesley L. Humphreys
Exhibition Coordinator
Maryland Historical Society
201 West Monument St.
Baltimore, MD 21201
www.mdhs.org
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