Processing and Preservation

PROCESSING (GENERAL)

• SAA Archivists of Religious Collections Section: Resources for Archival Processing page
• SAA Museum Archives Section: Arrangement and Description page - sample manuals, guides, forms, inventory sheets, statements
• Connecting to Collections Care: Archival Processing - Principles and Practical Strategies (2019) - recorded webinar *
• "'It Changed My Life:' Lessons Learned from Minimal Processing," presented by Colleen McFarland at the Midwest Archives Conference Fall Symposium, October 2006 (PDF)
• If you're a section member and are logged in, also check out our 2019 listserv conversation on the use of subject-based collections.

ACQUISITION

• SAA: A Guide to Deeds of Gift (2013) *
• SAA Crisis Collecting Assistance Team (CCAT): Documenting in Times of Crisis, A Resource Kit (2023) *

ACCESSIONING

• Maintained by the SAA Accessioning, Acquisitions, & Appraisal Section, the Archival Accessioning Best Practices can be downloaded or browsed online.  These were developed to provide archival workers with guiding principles as well as methods and practices for accessioning archival materials. This document contains discusison and concrete examples of how practices can be implemented, as well as worksheet templates. It outlines steps that practioners can take right away to manage collections. 

DESCRIPTION

• SAA Description Section Documentation Portal - "This site hosts documentation related to archival description as a resource for archivists. Documentation includes traditional archival processing manuals, workflow checklists and templates, descriptive style guides, and guidelines for describing specific formats. The site also features resources related to inclusive description."
• SAA Design Records Section: "Describing Design Records" guide
• Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS) Version 2022 *
• Council on Library & Information Resources (CLIR): "Strategies for Advancing Hidden Collections" resource library *
  • Cataloging and Metadata Standards (2019)
  • Collection Management Systems (2019)
• If you're a section member and are logged in, also check out our 2023 listserv conversation that started out being about collection management systems and also touched on tools for making finding aids more discoverable.

PRESERVATION (GENERAL)

• American Institute for Conservation (AIC) / Foundation for Advancement in Conservation (FAIC): "Find a Professional" database *
• FAIC Connecting to Collections Care has a deep archive of free webinar recordings that deal with all areas of preservation - from basics, to format specific requirements, to finding funding for preservation, to environmental best practices, pests, and disaster response.
• Canadian Conservation Institute: CCI Notes (2021) *
• LA as Subject: Archives at Risk Help Desk *
  • "Conservation/Preservation-A/V" section
  • "Conservation/Preservation-General" section
• Library of Congress: Preservation - Emergency Management *
• NARA: How to Preserve Family Archives (papers and photographs) (2019)
• National Park Service: Conserve O Grams (2020)
• Northeast Document Conservation Center
  • NEDCC Preservation Leaflets
  • Storing and Handling of Media Collections *
• SAA Design Records Section: Preserving Design Records guide
• University of Illinois: Preservation Self-Assessment Program (PSAP), "Collection ID Guide" *
• If you're a section member and are logged in, also check out our 2024 listserv conversation on solutions for scrapbook preservation other than digitization.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE

• American Institute for Conservation (AIC) / Foundation for Advancement in Conservation (FAIC): "Field Guide to Emergency Response Supplementary Resources" (2023) *
• California Preservation Program: "Emergency Preparedness and Response" *
• Connecting to Collections Care: "Protecting Your Collections: Writing a Disaster Response Plan" (2013) * - webinar recordings
• dPlan|ArtsReady (2023) * - online tool for emergency preparedness and response

• Emergency Management and Disaster Preparedness: A Manual for Protecting Archives by Margaret Crockett and Emilie Gagnet Leumas (2024) is a comprehensive outline of risk management, creating a disaster plan and responding to disasters. There are numerous checklists, definitions, real life examples and templates. This e-book is free to download.

• LA as Subject: Archives at Risk Help Desk - "Disaster Reponse" section *
• SAA Foundation: National Disaster Recovery Fund for Archives *
• SAA Regional Archival Associations Consortium (RAAC): Disaster Recovery Vendors *

ADMINISTRATIVE/OTHER

• LA as Subject: Archives at Risk Help Desk *
  • "Administrative Management" section
  • "Collection Management" section
  • "Legal and Copyright" section
  • "Oral History" section
  • "Privacy" section