How to Proceed

A Procedures Manual for the Southern Historical Collection and General Manuscripts University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Revision History

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

• Who We Are
• What We Do
• Basic Premises
• Overview of Processing
• How to Use This Manual

Preparing to Process

• Preliminary Research and Survey
  • Where to Begin
    • Administrative History
    • Historical Context
  • The Survey
    • On the Lookout
    • Taking Note
• Writing a Processing Plan

Arranging

• Basic Premises
  • If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It
  • Relative Research Value
    • Priority Level
    • Processing Levels
• The Break Down
  • Type/Format Arrangements
  • Activity/Function Arrangement
  • The Twain Shall Meet
  • The One and Only, Part I
  • Subgroups
  • Series and Subseries
  • Sequence of Series
  • Files and Items
  • Separated Material
• Chunking It Out
• Control
  • Collection-level control
  • Series-level control
  • File-level control
  • Item-level control
  • Multiple control levels
• Where Should I Put It?
  • Correspondence
  • Writings
  • Financial and Legal Materials
  • Subject Files
  • Research Notes
  • Printed Material/Clippings
  • Other Materials
  • Volumes
  • Pictures
  • Audio/Film/Video/Microform/Electronic Media
  • Museum Items
• Additions

Describing

• The "Typical" Finding Aid
  • Header and Contact Information
  • Collection Overview
    • Title
    • Creator
    • Extent
    • Repository
    • Abstract and Subject Headings
  • Administrative Information
    • Access
    • Usage Restrictions
    • Provenance/Acquisitions Information
    • Processing Note
    • Items Separated
    • Related Collections
  • Biographical or Historical Note
  • Scope and Content Note
  • List of Series
  • Series Descriptions
    • The One and Only, Part II
    • Correspondence
    • Writings
    • Financial and Legal Materials
    • Subject Files
    • Research Notes
    • Printed Material/Clippings
    • Other Materials
    • Volumes
    • Pictures
    • Audio/Film/Video/Microforms/Electronic Media
    • Museum Items
• Finishing the Finding Aid

Additions

5. Housing and Preserving

• 5.1. Preservation and You
  • 5.1.1. Consciousness Raising
  • 5.1.2. Preservation/Conservation
• 5.2. Procedures
  • 5.2.1. Outside Assistance
    • 5.2.1.1. Removing Items for Conservation Treatment
  • 5.2.2. What You Can Do
    • 5.2.2.1. Unfolding/Unrolling/Humidification/Flattening
    • 5.2.2.2. Removing Fasteners
    • 5.2.2.3. Handling Highly Acidic Materials
    • 5.2.2.4. Housing and Labeling
    • 5.2.2.4.1. Boxes
    • 5.2.2.4.2. Folders
    • 5.2.2.4.3. Items Separated

6. Finishing the Job

• 6.1. Location Table
• 6.2. Feng Shui Your Workspace; Or, Getting Rid of the Detritus

Appendices

• Sensitive Materials Processing Guidelines
• Technical Services Stylesheet
• Materials Not Appropriate for Retention
• DACS Annotated Finding Aid

Ready Reference: How To...

• Annotate
• Chronologize correspondence
• Humidify and Flatten
• Make Box Labels
• Preservation Photocopy
• Research People in the North Carolina Collection
• Microfilm
• Remove Items for Conservation
• Write Collection Overviews and Abstracts
• Write Series Descriptions