SPEC Objects

SPEC object records track the acquisition, status, physical details, and location of NYPL’s special collections. SPEC objects allow staff to document collection needs, facilitate project planning, and document actions undertaken by staff to acquire, describe, and preserve collection materials.

Objects are the physical or digital entities, that fall into two object types: containers and items. SPEC objects are not bibilographic entities and SPEC is not the database of record for descriptive metadata. SPEC objects are created and updated in the course of various activities, including acquisitons, accessioning, collectinos survey, processing, and through data imports.

The goal is to populate SPEC with object records for every special collection item and container on the shelf in the Research Libraries. Object records within containers are created as needed, particularly for workflows that require a more granular level of tracking, such as special collections moves, loans, conservation efforts, and audio/visual digitization projects.

This documentation describes SPEC object record elements and SPEC functionality for searching, creating, and editing SPEC objects. It does not specify best practices within specific workflows, which are outlined elsewhere on this site and within other internal documentation.

Most SPEC object record functionality is available via the Object Search interface. Navigate to the interface by clicking on Search all objects in the Objects section of the SPEC landing page.

From the Object Search interface, use the Basic Search, Advanced Search, or Search with barcode list to find object records.

Additionally, inventories of objects assoicated with different SPEC record types can be pulled up in the Object Search interface via the related record. For example, find all objects associated with an acquisition by navigating to the Extent Summary in the Acquisition Summary interface or all objects assoicated with a collection via the SPEC Records section in the Collection Summary interface. See SPEC Acquisitions [Add Link] and SPEC Collections [ADD Link] for details. See also SPEC Object References for more information on relationships between object records and other SPEC record types.

Header Object information
Icon Represents the object format, if no icon appears the object is missing format data. Hover over the icon to see the format name displayed
Object name Generated by SPEC, varies depending on the object type and the data input into the object record. It is followed by formats of contained objects, and/or content estimates, and/or active restrictions, and/or classmark, if any of the data is present in the object record
Issue icon A yellow hazard icon appears if the object is associated with any unresolved issues
Division The curatorial division responsible for the object
Collection / Acquisition Displays the assoicated collection or acquisition, if any; defaults to the associated collection when an object is associated with both a collection and an acquisition. Hover over the icon for more information
Container icon Appears when the object is contained and represents the container storing the object. Hover over the icon to see the container’s object name
Current location Displays the object’s current location, or if the object is “missing” or “not at location”

Click on the Object name to navigate to the Object Record interface to view additional information about an object. Clicking on the Issue icon or the Current location will open the corresponding editing interface pop-up window (see below for details). Clicking on the Container icon will navigate to the container’s object record. Clicking on the Collection / Acquisition will navigate to the related record in the corresponding SPEC module.

Navigating to a different SPEC object record type, such as the associated collection or acquisition will cause you to lose your found set of object records. Navigating between the object search, the object record, and most object editing interfaces maintains your found set of object records.

Search results can be sorted by clicking on the search result list headers, click the header again to reverse the sort order.

Objects will appear in different colors in the search results list, indicating their status:

  • Blue: Default color, object has been marked as received, or object is not associated with an acquisition in SPEC
  • Gray: Object is part of an acquisition delivery that has not yet been received
  • Green: Object is part of an acquisition delivery that has been receivied, but the object itself has not been marked as received
  • Red: Object’s accessibility status is restricted

Inactive objects appear with the object name crossed out, see Deactivating Object Records below for more information.

The found set of object records can be exported, see Exports.

Creating Object Records

To create a new object click the green + Create new object button on the left of the Object Search interface, below the basic search fields. Object records can also be created by clicking Create object record in the Objects section of the SPEC landing page.

Finally, object records can be created from the context of SPEC Acquisition [ADD LINK] and SPEC Collection records. When navigating to the Object Search from the Acquisition Summary, Acquisition Proposal, or the Collection Summary [ADD LINKS] the green new object button will read + Create new object in [Collection/Acquisition title]. Creating new object records from the appropriate context will auto-populate the object’s division and associated references based on the acquisition or collection, otherwise this data would need to be input manually. See SPEC Object References for more information on SPEC acquisition, acquisition delivery and collection reference logic in relation to object records.

For additional methods to create objects see Duplicating Object Records below and ASpace Object Import [ADD LINK].

Populating and Editing Object Records

Once the new object record is created via the methods described above, the Basic Fields editing interface will open in a pop-up window. The most common object record elements can be viewed, added, or edited in the basic fields window. See Basic Fields and Formats for more information.

The Basic Fields window also has shortucts to to add a container relationship (for items), a content estimate (for containers), and an object location. See Relationships, Content Estimates, and Locations for more information.

Click the down caret button to the left of the object in the Object Search or List Edit interfaces to show the Editing Shortcuts pop-up menu and select the Edit ojbect record option to open the Basic Fields window. The basic fields window can also be opened by clicking on the corresponding fields in the Object Record interface.

Navigate different editing interfaces to view, edit or add additional object elements by clicking on the tabs along the top fo the pop-up window. These interfaces can be used to add or update Media, Relationships, References, Restrictions, Issues, Locations and Estimates [ADD LINKS].

In each interface click the green + ADD [ELEMENT] button to add data. Adding certain elements opens an intermediate window to search and select existing records to be linked to the object. Click the x button next to an element to remove it, note that not every element can be removed, some elements such as issues or restrictions should be resolved or deactivated rather than deleted. In some cases, such as locations and certain relationships, adding new information makes the previous one inactive.

For additional ways to edit object records see: Object Record Interface, List Edit interfaces, Bulk Action Menu, Object Barcode App, and AMI Specific Fields [ADD LINKS]

Duplicating Object Records

An existing object can be duplicated to create one or more new object records. Click the down caret button to the left of the object in the Object Search or List Edit interfaces to show the Editing Shortcuts pop-up menu and select the Duplicate option.

The Duplicate Object pop-up window provides a list of object elements with values that can be carried over to the new object record. If the current object contains a duplicable value, you will see it in grey text next to the object element. Select or deselect the values to duplicate by clicking the checkbox next to the object element or clicking on the All or None buttons.

Some elements will be preselected based on the last set of selection(s) made during duplication, the context in which the duplication process started, or the record being duplicated. Dependencies between fields will sometimes restrict the values that can be selected or automatically select related values. For example, selecting format will automatically check the type.

Enter the number of duplicates to make in the right hand side of the window and click the green + Add Duplicates button.

Limit the number of duplicates made at one time to a reasonable amount (i.e. do not make 100s of duplicates at once). Since the duplication process can take up to a few minutes to execute, limiting the number of objects made at one time prevents unintended interruptions to the process.

Once the duplicate object(s) are created use the editing shortcuts, object record or list edit interfaces to add or update non-duplicable elements and ones that differ from the original object.

Deactivating Object Records

Object records are not deleted, except in very specific circumstances. Instead, they are made inactive. SPEC records the person who deactivates an object, the date it became inactive, and requires the deactivator to enter a reason for deactivation. Containers that contain other objects cannot be deactivated.

Examples of inactive objects are:

  • An item or container that was part of a proposed acquisition but was not ultimately acquired
  • An item that was deaccessioned
  • A container that was replaced during rehousing
  • A record that was created in error

Click the down caret button to the left of the object in the Object Search or List Edit interfaces to show the Editing Shortcuts pop-up menu and select the Deactivate option. Use the Bulk Action Menu to deactivate multiple objects at once. In the deactivation pop-up window, select a deactivation reason from the drop down menu, adjust the date and account name if necessary, add notes (optional). Click the green Confirm button to deactivate.

Clicking the x button in the upper left of the deactivation window will exit without deactivating the object(s)

Once deactivated the object name will appear crossed out. The Object Record interface displays the status of an object, active or inactive, in the header. All deactivated objects will list the deactivation date in n the left panel, click on the date to view deactivation details.

Deactivating an object will also:

  • Deactivate any existing content estimates
  • Resolve all existing issues
  • Change the accessibility status to “not available to public” and the description status to “not described”

Reactivating Object Records

Objects can be reactivated if they were deactivated in error. Click the down caret button to the left of the object in the Object Search interface to show the Editing Shortcuts pop-up menu and select the Reactivate option. Use the Bulk Action Menu to reactivate multiple objects at once.

Reactivating an object will also:

  • Reassign the object to its last location
  • Make previously resolved issues unresolved
  • Make all restrictions active again
  • Make all content estimates active

The following elements will not be affected by reactivation and may need to be updated manually:

  • Relationships between the object and any objects it contained, or the container it was in, will not be restored
  • The accessibility status will remain “not available to public” and “not described”