Description of Electronic Records in ArchivesSpace

When you have finished processing the electronic records in a collection, Digital Archives will provide you with an export report that includes your bookmarks and each ER’s extent statement in a JSON file. You will import this file into ASpace, and it will appear ina new series called (ER Series) at the end of the collection. The ERs will need to be moved out of this placeholder series into the finding aid. For more instructions and information on this process, see the Importing FTK ERs into ArchivesSpace 🔒 workflow.

You may also choose to import your ERs using the Processing Spreadsheet. If you choose to import your ERs in this manner, er will go in the top container type field and the ER number will go in the top container indicator field. Make sure to also add the extent in the extent field. The extent statement should be structured as it would appear in the finding aid, e.g. 1.5 Megabytes (15 computer files).

Describe the electronic records in the front matter of the finding aid just as you would any other material in the collection. Also be sure to add the electronic records’ total extent to the front matter, and to all series-level description. The ASpace extent calculator will create a separate extent form for electronic records. If your collection includes both electronic records and paper materials, be sure to select part from the portion menu in the front matter and series-level extent forms. If the collection consists entirely of electronic records then select whole from the portion menu. 

For a detailed explanation about properly entering collection extents into ASpace, and how to use the extent calculator, see the Aspace User Guide’s Rules for Collection Extents and the Extents section of this documentation. Collection extents will be included in the report generated by Digital Archives.

In ASpace the component extent field will look like this: 

Once you have moved your ERs to the correct locations in the container list, you may need to re-format existing analog materials in the container list to eliminate repetition. In general, when analog and digital components have the same title, it is better to create one parent component, and separate child components for any audio and moving image, Born-Digital, and paper-based formats. Even if these three different formats share a title, they cannot be combined into a single component. The example below illustrates the preferred way to describe analog and digital content with the same title.

If the digital and analog content share a title, but contain different types of content, indicate that in the component-level scope note, as illustrated below.

Finalizing the Finding Aid Components

The Digital Archives team will retain the files in their processing environment until the collection’s finding aid is approved and the collection is ready to ship. At that point, the Digital Archives team will package all finding aid components for long-term storage and access. If anything changes in the peer review process or after your supervisor and curatorial staff have approved your finding aid, be sure to notify Digital Archives staff of the required edits. If nothing has changed since your initial email, you should still email Digital Archives to notify them that your finding aid has been finalized and approved without edits.