Physical Processing Guide for Students

Step 1: Rough Sorting the Collection

• First, get familiar with the collection. Review the physical or digital materials and information that the archivists provide you.
• Start to organize the material based on content, type, and dates. Group together documents that are similar. Keep duplicates/drafts/versions together.
  • Example 1 (content): Like content should be organized together. If there are a lot of meeting minutes from the Events and Outreach committee, gather all of the meeting minutes together and organize them chronologically.
  • Example 2 (content): Keep publications together. If there are many issues of the Journal of Student Research randomly throughout the collection, pull them out and organize them together. Arrangement them in order of their issues.
  • Example 3 (type of materials): If there are audiovisual materials, separate out these materials from the paper records. Organize them by content and dates after that. VHS tapes of a fashion show at Stout should be pulled out from the paper records and boxed separately. They should be arranged in the box chronologically.
  • Example 4 (date): If the records do not have obvious content or material type arrangement needs, organize the records by dates.
• Take notes on the content and the rough sort of the records in a contents list spreadsheet in your Teams folder. This will allow you to communicate to the archivists your arrangement choices and allow you to make notes on the records (including on its condition).

Step 2: Rough Sorting into Archival Boxes and Folders

• Make sure all paper materials are within archival folders. In most cases, you will not be using the binders and folders that the collection came in. However, be aware of any contextual information, labels, or notes on these folders/binders/envelopes. This is something you will need to note in the contents list or on the folders.
• Do your best to lay the material flat in the folders. Remove large fasteners if necessary (paper clips or binder clips). Be careful not to over stuff the folders. Use folder score lines to square the bottom of each folder to fit documents taking up more than 1⁄4” in each folder. Do not fill beyond the last score line. If there is still a lot of material to put in that folder, put it into another folder, label it with the same label, and add ‘continued’ to the folder title.
• Label folders with a succinct and accurate description as well as dates. You do not need to put the folder or box number on the folders at this time. This is not the final arrangement. The titles and dates will allow the archivist to appraise the records after the rough sort.
• Each folder should then be put into archival boxes. For the rough sort, they will be put into records boxes. Folders should be put in the box with folder 1 being at the front of the box, and the last folder in the box being at the back.

Step 3: Completing the Rough Sort

• Notify the archivists through the Student Projects list on Teams that you have completed the rough sort and contents list. The archivists will then appraise the collection and solidify the arrangement.

Step 4: Creating the Finding Aid

• Once the archivists are done with the appraisal, they will assign you the collection again on the Student Project lists. The next step for you is to create the finding aid for the project. A finding aid is a guide to the collection. Utilize the Fining Aid Template to describe the collection and create an official contents list.

Step 5: Finalizing Box and Folder Labels

• Folders will be labeled from the Rough Sort. Review the folder labels. Verify that the titles are descriptive, succinct, and accurately reflect what is in the folder. Try to avoid acronyms, abbreviations, and miscellaneous on folders.
• Do not add folder and box numbers on folders until the END of the process and your finding aid is approved by the archivists.
• The typical folder label format includes the Stout Series #, the Box #, the Folder #, the Folder Title, and the Date.
• If not done already, transfer folders to archival boxes (grey acid-free letter, legal, or custom sized boxes). Paper clip to the box an index card with a description of the material. It ultimately needs to refer to the finding aid’s contents list box numbers. The index card should have the Series # and Box #.
• Official box labels will be printed and put on the boxes once the finding aid and arrangement has been approved.

Step 6: Finalizing the Finding Aid and Arrangement

• Make note of the completion on the Student Project lists in Teams. Set a meeting with an archivist to review the collection and finalize the location of the collection.
• Finding Aid will be uploaded to Minds@UW.