Content Estimates

highly recommended for containers, multiple values

Content estimates indicate the number of items and their formats within a container for statistical and planning purposes. A container can have multiple content estimates depending on the formats it contains.

Content estimates should be used when it is not practical or useful to create individual object records for the contents of a container. For instance, making 2,000 object records for manuscripts that do not include any additional data to differentiate them from each other serves no real purpose. However, there are some instances when making separate object records for contained objects is more appropriate or necessary, including when a container contains only a few objects, a container contains objects of high value, if one or more of the objects in a container are being temporarily removed for exhibition, loan, conservation, digitization, and/or movement via SCT.

Content estimates include a count, format, class, and media, and GB if appropriate. Content estimate formats use the same hierarchy as formats for individual objects. See Format and related fields for more information.

Use manuscript for textual documents that are not printed (i.e. handwritten or typed) or for printed documents with extensive handwritten annotations. Use archives (paper) for mixed items in various formats (including photographs) that are difficult to count separately. Count or estimate the number of sheets of paper, not intellectual units like letters. Indicate class and media whenever possible.

Content estimates are used for containers, not for groups of items that are uncontained. Exceptions for the use of the “loose” container type are:

• When making object records in the context of an acquisition for a group of items that will be boxed before shipment
• During the Special Collection Survey for a group items that require housing
• During the Special Collection Survey, the container type loose has been used to count some shelves of books for which individual object records have not yet been made

Content Estimates can viewed or updated by navigating to the Estimates tab of the pop-up window editing interfaces accessible via the Edit object record shortcut on the Object Search and the List Edit interfaces, and via the Content Estimates section of the Object Record interface. To delete an incorrect content estimate click the x button next to the content estimate. See Populating and Editing Object Records for more information.

Additionally, there is a shortcut to add a content estimate in the Basic Fields editing interface when the object is a container. A content estimate can also be viewed or updated in the List Edit interfaces.

Use the Edit content estimates option in in the Bulk Action Menu to add a new content estimate to a group of objects or to replace all content estimates associated with the objects with the new content estimate. In the pop-up window use the format dorp down menus to specify the full hierarchy of the content estimate format and specify the count or GB total (optional). Click the green Add or Replace button to apply the change.