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ArchivesSpace Protocols for Inputting Subjects and Agents
Union College Schaffer Library
General Notes:
These guidelines are being put into practice immediately. They will be reviewed in mid-November 2014. TBD
(To-Be-Determined) matters may not be established until the review occurs. The idea is to get started and
have some experience before we decide what will work best on a routine basis.
Source Files:
1. General
We will check authorized source files for appropriate terminology, using the general guidelines and
sources per the Union College ASpace Tables of Sources for Subjects and Agents.
A source for a Subject or Agent will always be recorded in ASpace.
Sources, as we are using them at Union, are of two kinds: 1) authorized or pre-established thesauri (e.g.,
AAT, LCSH, LCNAF, etc) and 2) designations that facilitate the workflow for verifying the format of terms
that cannot be found in a pre-established thesaurus (i.e., Union Tentative and Union Established.)
2. Union Tentative / Union Established
When a term or name form cannot be found in an authorized source file, the subject or agent may be
created in ASpace, but the selected “Source” designation will be “Union Tentative.”
Subject and Agents coded “Union Tentative” will be reviewed and verified by the Collections and Technical
Services (CATS) team on a schedule TBD. After verification, the source designation will be changed by
CATS to “Union Established” when no other source is determined to be more appropriate. If the form of a
Subject or Agent first entered by an archives team member is changed by CATS upon verification, CATS will
notify the archives team of the change by a method TBD.
3. Notes about Subject and Agent Sources for the CLIR Project
Sources on the Union College ASpace Tables of Sources will be consulted as needed; preferences for topics
and places are noted below. If an established term cannot be found exactly as needed (including freefloating subdivisions), the source should be “Union Tentative.”
Subjects / Topics:
Subjects / Places:
Subjects / Genre
Subjects / Other:
Agent (Persons;
Families; Corp.
Bodies):
Library of Congress Subject Headings (prefer)
Art & Architecture Thesaurus
Library of Congress Subject Headings (prefer)
GeoNames (as name source, but modify per LC guidance)
Art & Architecture Thesaurus (prefer for CLIR)
LCSH (as genre)
Genre Terms (RBMS)
TGM II Genre … terms (Thesaurus for Graphic Materials)
Use secondary thesauri judiciously in response to collection needs
NY Heritage K-12
NYS Environmental Themes
NACO (i.e., LCNAF)
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Creating Guidelines: Subjects
Before creating a new Subject, ALWAYS browse to see if the desired subject already exists in ASpace. This will
avoid duplication and unnecessary future merging of records.
Do not include ending punctuation (dashes or periods) at the end of any terms or subdivisions. Punctuation is
either supplied or has been determined to be unnecessary.
Required elements and data entry guidelines follow. For now, ignore fields not on this list or bring them to the
group for discussion.
Field
Required
by
Example (Notes)
Authority ID
Union if
applicable
300171702 (sample AAT ID)
Source
Term
Union
ASpace
Type
ASpace
sh2012001141 (Sample LCCN)
(Enter ID for all terms and phrases found in pre-established thesauri.
However, if you are also entering subdivisions for the term in the same subject
record, only enter an ID if the term PLUS your specific subdivisions have a
joint ID and appear together in the pre-established thesaurus. If they do not,
leave the Authority ID field blank.)
(See #3 under Source Files above)
(Enter each portion of a heading – that is term or subdivision of a term --in a
separate field, using the Add Term/Subdivision option to open up a new field
for each portion of the heading)
(Use pull down menu; at this time, the only types in use for CLIR appear to be
the following?)
Genre
Geographic
Temporal
Topical
Creating Guidelines: Agents (Persons; Families; Corp. Bodies)
Before creating a new Agent, ALWAYS browse to see if the desired agent already exists in ASpace. This will
avoid duplication and unnecessary future merging of records.
If creating a new Agent, select Plug-ins, LCNAF Import, add first and last names, and review the results. If the
desired agent is easily found in the list of results, select Import. There will be a lapse of seconds while the
record is uploaded. The page will then need to be refreshed. Edit the record to: 1) Add the LCCN, 2) Correct
any duplication of parentheses, 3) Add available Dates of Usage to Dates of Existence per the instructions
below, and 4) Publish. If the results provided by the LCNAF Import are too many to quickly determine the
desired Agent, follow directions below.
Do not include commas or periods at the end of any fields except after an initial in a personal name. Do not
include parentheses for dates or fuller form of the name. This punctuation is either supplied or has been
determined to be unnecessary.
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Required elements and data entry guidelines follow. For now, ignore fields not on this list or bring them to the
group for discussion.
Category
Subfield
Dates of
Existence
Required
by
Example (Notes)
Union if
applicable
(Use this field for birth and death dates or the span of years
a corporate entity was in existence. Use this field only 1) if a
pre-established source includes dates in the authorized
format or 2) if you know dates for a person, family, or
corporate entity that is not in an authorized list. At present
Label
Expression
ASpace
Type
ASpace
Begin
Union if
available
End
Union for
ranges, if
applicable
Name Forms
Union
ASpace
Authority ID
Union if
applicable
Source
Rules
Union
Do Not
Enter
ASpace
ASpace
Name Order
Primary Part of
Name
Rest of Name
Suffix
Fuller form
Union if
applicable
Rarely
used
Union if
these dates do not appear with the name in the Agent
browse list.)
Existence
19701876-1940
(For persons, enter years only of birth and death dates.
More detail can be given in the “begin” and “end” fields
below. End with a dash if only the birth year or the initial
date of existence for a corporate entity is known.)
(Typically range. Use range if you are entering a dash in the
Expression after a birth date or after the start date for a
corporate entity. Use single if only one date-birth or deathis used.)
1970-06-15
(Use format YYYY-MM-DD. Enter only as much as you know.
Do not end with a dash here.)
1960
2001-03
(Enter only of there is a death date or end date for a
corporate entity. Use format YYYY-MM-DD. Enter only as
much as you know.)
(At least one name form is needed for each agent record.
Additional name form fields may be created and/or
downloaded in additional name form fields if a person is
known by multiple names, but the format of the names in
additional fields should generally follow the guidelines
below for the primary form of the name.)
n 92073476 (sample LCNAF LCCN)
(Enter for names found in pre-established thesauri.)
(See #3 under Source Files above)
(CATS use only; will be entered when appropriate during
verification of Union Tentative names.)
(Direct or Indirect as appropriate; fyi, typically INDIRECT)
Nixon
(For indirect names, enter the surname only)
Richard M. (For indirect names, enter the first name or
initial(s) commonly used by the person)
(Usually omitted if dates of existence are associated with a
name)
Richard Milhous
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applicable
Number
Rarely
used
Union
optional
Label
Expression
ASpace
Union if
applicable
ASpace
Date(s) of
Name Use
Type
Notes
Begin
Union if
available
End
Union for
ranges, if
applicable
Do not use
at this
time
(Use for personal names when the “rest of name” includes
initials but the fuller form is known. Enter the fuller form
here. )
(Usually associated with Direct order names, e.g. Elizabeth,
II, Queen of England)
(Use only if the form of the name was in use only for a
limited time period over the lifetime of a person or
corporate entity, such as for a maiden name entered as an
alternative form. Do not use for birth and death dates for
persons; use the Dates of Existence field instead. Note
though, that changes in corporate body names tend to
warrant new agent records.)
Usage
(Appropriate format will vary; consult online help or bring
to group for discussion)
(Single or Range)
1930
1908-01-31
(Use format YYYY-MM-DD. Enter only as much as you know.
Do not end with a dash.)
1954
1999-11
(Enter only of there is an end date for the usage date. Use
format YYYY-MM-DD. Enter only as much as you know.)
(Biographical/Historical notes will go in this field. Content
can be drafted outside of ASpace, but should not be entered
until a problem with the ASpace “persistent ID” is resolved.)
Once created to the inputter’s satisfaction, all Agents should be published so that they are available across
repositories and for internal staff browsing on the “public” side of ASpace.