A Collections Preservation and Processing Planning Project for the Special Collections Department
Funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
A student consults about a complicated collection
The Special Collections Department of the University of Virginia Library received a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in December 2002 to develop and implement a Collections Preservation and Processing Planning Project. The grant supports a comprehensive survey of the manuscripts and archives holdings to formulate a long-range Collections Preservation and Processing Plan. The survey is modeled on one completed by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and is establishing a methodology using qualitative and quantitative measures to rank each collection's research value and the state of the collection's intellectual access, physical access, housing, and condition. These data will help determine priorities for additional cataloging and remedial processing activities. The survey will also generate estimates of the time needed to complete work on each collection and potential costs. The interim report can be viewed here.
Starting in May 2003, we developed an approach to assess many characteristics of the manuscript collections. (view the Procedure Manual) We created a comprehensive data collection form with evaluation criteria to facilitate consistent, objective and quantitative survey results. We created a Survey Database to house and serve the more than fifty (50) data fields containing evaluation information. We also tested an approach to allow full-time staff members to evaluate each collection's research value. Finally, we collected many types of collection use data to measure current interest in our holdings, and began development of a methodology to identify current and future research trends that our collections might support. We hired graduate and undergraduate students in the department of History, English and Political Science to complete the physical and intellectual components of the survey.
Another student examines collections in the stacks
Through March 2004, we have completed more than 5,000 collection surveys out of more than 14,000 collections. The survey has revealed a high incidence of acidic housing materials, and the results of the physical condition evaluation thus far shows reveals that brittle paper, the incidences of paper clips and staples, folded items, and items that exceed the folder size, were the most frequently encountered problems. In addition, we identified collections that contain items to be removed later and housed elsewhere.
We are also evaluating the ease with which staff can locate and serve collection materials to patrons and the ability for patrons to identify relevant materials in those collections. Overall, we found that the physical access to most collections is acceptable. We house collections in more than twenty-eight (28) locations throughout Special Collections. The primary location for eighty (80%) percent of collections is the manuscript stacks area.
Special Collections manuscript stacks
The most common intellectual access problems we encountered were MARC records in VIRGO, the Library's online catalog, resulting from retrospective conversion processes or older, incomplete records. Ninety-seven (97%) percent of collections have MARC records and thirty-eight (38%) percent of the records are retrospective conversion records. Intellectual access to the collections is high, with forty (40%) percent of the collections having printed collection guides, and twenty-eight (28%) percent having online collection guides available through the Virginia Heritage Project.
We are developing our methodology for estimating the personnel resources required, on an hourly basis, to resolve problems discovered in the manuscript collections. We estimate an average of five (5) hours processing time per linear foot. We are still refining our approach to assigning a research value rating to each collection. The final Needs Assessment Rating will ultimately take into consideration all of the assigned ratings received by a collection, and will rank the collections for their remedial processing needs in relation to their research value. To monitor survey costs, we track the hours the students work during each two-week pay period and we track the number of surveys they complete during the same period. The students took an average of forty-one minutes to complete each survey.
A student enters information into the survey database
The Special Collections Library moved into its new building in August 2004, which presented numerous challenges and required workflow adjustments to ensure the timely completion of the project.
For additional information, please contact Elizabeth Roderick, Project Director at roderick@virginia.edu or Tim Noakes, Assistant Project Director at ten3f@virginia.edu