The process by which an archives  adds to its collections. Acquisitions typically occur by way of a transfer, donation, purchase, or loan. Some material may come from the parent organization of the archives while other material may come from outside of the archives’ broader organization. 

San Jose State University

The study and theory of building and curating archives

Archival Science

Shepherd, E. (2018) Archival science. In McDonald, J. D. & Levine-Clark, M. (Eds.) Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science (4th ed.). (pp.166-178). CRC Press. 

Act of surveying, describing, and preserving archival materials

Archival Processing

Traditionally a hand written document, a manuscript is understood to be the original copy of a work that is different from the printed version

Manuscript

The system by which the value of a record is evaluated. Records are evaluated based on their characteristics, use, format, relation to other records and other factors to determine their value. This informs the archivist on which records should be kept and which records should be dismissed or destroyed. Methods of appraisal often vary by institution and nation. 

Archival Appraisal

Archival Acquisition

The actual procedure of taking control of archival material. The elements of this procedure include taking physical custody, intellectual ownership, and legal title of the material. The goal of accessioning is to document the transfer of the material. 

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