De La Salle University - Manila

Accessioning Policies

• Each new item or group of items brought into the Archives is a separate accession and given a separate accession number which identifies each different item or group of records in the Archives.
• The Accession Record documents the acquisition of each new material or group of material by the Archives. It contains such information as the name of the record group, provenance or immediate source, name of donor, date of accession, type of material, estimated volume/quantity, inclusive dates of the records, brief note about their contents and arrangements (if any), biographical/historical information, restrictions (if any), and their temporary location once shelved. Enter all the above information, if available, into the Accession Record as soon as possible.
• Once accessioned, the new material undergoes physical analysis. Textual files are transferred to acid-free (if available) containers. When re-boxing the materials, attention must be given to grouping/sorting materials having relations with one another, e.g. correspondence, reports, financial records, subject files, etc.
• Damaged records must be set aside for rehabilitation; records requiring fumigation, cleaning, and the like should be separated and treated.
• Oftentimes, archival materials are accompanied by non-textual records, like photographs, maps, audio recording, diskettes, tapes or printed publications such as books, pamphlets, journals, and the like. If non-textual and printed records are to be separated from the accessioned group for special handling or storage, notations/listings or markings indicating such separation must be made on the accession record, and a separation form is used for each different set of material giving its contents, volume and dates, the original location of the material within the accession, and its new location.
• Content analysis of the new accession involves primarily the determination of its provenance and the identification of type of record series. Provenance refers to the creating office or individual, while series is a grouping of records according to specific functions or activities or by type of material.
• Restricted records should be identified during accessioning and segregated. They should be labeled accordingly and boxed/shelved separately.
• Acknowledgement letter should be sent to the donor/source of new material once it has been identified and recorded.