Archival processing applies the arrangement outline/plan, which preserves the collection, prepares the collection for description, and prepares the collection for access. Arrangement and description are key functions for archivists because they need to know what they have and where it is, make materials accessible to potential users, and explain the context of the creation and use of records. The arrangement is the professional term for the intellectual and physical ordering of archival materials. Archivists use specialized supplies to process archival materials such as acid-free file folders, acid-free paper for interleafing, acid-free storage boxes, enclosures for photographs, number two pencils, gum erasers, and a dust brush. There are also specific storage containers such as Hollinger boxes or document boxes, phase boxes, scrapbooks, and oversized boxing.
Two of the most practiced methods for arranging manuscripts materials are arrangement according to the rule of provenance and arrangement in chronological order. Accessioning as processing is the goal in archives, meaning archivists want more product and less process. Identifying major groupings quickly by function and form, such as administration, minutes reports, financial publications, and correspondence/subject files, saves time and provides more product. Archivists process materials in depth from the first degree to the third degree and so on. The first degree is minimal re-foldering and re-boxing of most of the collection. The third level and the latter are more processed, such as re-foldering, re-boxing, changing most fasteners, and removing any staples, pins, rubber bands, tape, etc.
Arrangement defines description; the description should be straightforward once the material is arranged logically. Then, describe each series with its associated files or items, starting with the fonds or collection level. The purpose of the description is to communicate information about collections, establish administrative control, and establish intellectual control. Descriptions of archives help archivists and users find materials and understand how and why they were created. The Describing Archives: A content standard (DACS) is the official content standard of the U.S. archival community. It was designed to create a variety of archival descriptions, including finding aids and catalog records. Archival processing plans are descriptive tools found in the archival processing manual. I searched the archival processing manuals and the archival processing plans from the following institutions: Brandeis University, the University of California, Irvine, and the University of Massachusetts Boston.
Brandeis University
archival processing manual and archiving processing plan
https://www.brandeis.edu/library/archives/collections/processing-manual.pdf
University of California, Irvine
archival processing manual and archiving processing plan
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7jf7b446
University of Massachusetts Boston
https://scholarworks.umb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1028&context=hlpubs
I noticed that each manual defined the archival fundamentals, archival processing, arrangement, description, and the goal of the manual, which is intended to be used as a training guide for graduate-level interns, volunteers, and professional archivists new to working in University Archives and special collections, and lastly serve as a reference source for staff. Writing a processing plan will help determine the steps needed to process the collection, save time, and ensure consistency while processing.