Student expectations

General expectations

• If you cannot come into work, let your supervisor know. Take time off whenever you need, just don't claim the hours in Workday. We expect you will take time off around exam periods and we plan around this. Nothing is an emergency in an archive, so we can always work around schedule changes.
• If you have a disability that you need an accommodation for, let your supervisor know. We have made many accommodations before, but if we don't know how to handle it in the archives we will ask disability services for help.
• Sometimes collections deal with serious or triggering subjects. Your supervisor will try to warn you if there is an especially difficult collection. You absolutely have the right to request to either take a break from a collection or stop working on it altogether. There are plenty of projects, so that you can be shifted to something else as needed.

General rules

• No food and drink in the workroom (except for water bottles, which should be kept clear of any collection materials).
• If you know you will be moving a lot of boxes, wear closed toe shoes. Otherwise you can wear anything, but remember that it can get very dusty and cold.
• You can listen to music or podcasts while you work.

When handling archival materials

• Make sure that your hands are clean
• Only use pencils, never use pens
• If you are handling photos and metal objects, wear nitrile gloves
• Do not lean on (or drape computer cords over) items.
• Avoid touching fragile surfaces like flaking ink.
• Be very cautious and careful attempting to unfold items or unfurl rolled items. Unfurling items can cause creases and tear paper, especially with rolled photographic prints. Use two hands to unfold one crease at a time.
• For AV and digital materials, touch the data as little as possible, i.e. do not touch magnetic tape, film reels, or the insides of any broken disks or tape. However, most of the AV you will come across will be audiocassettes and videocassettes, which do not typically require any additional caution.
• Do not place any materials on the floor, even if it is in boxes.
• If you are handling oversize or heavy materials, ask for help carrying them to avoid dropping or damaging materials. Always ask for help if you need it!
• Always use carts (aka book trucks) to move containers between the stacks and workspaces
• Use step stools to reach the top shelves in the stacks
• When moving the compact shelving in the stacks, make sure no one is in the gap you are closing
• Don’t move more than three rows of the compact shelving at a time

Always follow these rules, but also be aware that with fragile historical materials it is unavoidable that at some point you may tear or break something. Be cautious, but also understand that it is not a huge issue if something gets damaged in the course of processing. Archivists are always balancing the preservation risks of damaging materials and the rewards of providing access to it. For more information on rehousing materials see this page.

Ask your supervisor

If you are ever uncertain of what to do, ask your supervisor! You are always welcome to discuss changes to plans and workflows we actually start working on a collection. Ask questions.

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Contents for Tech Services student manual

• Smith College Special Collections

  • Our repositories
  • Workspaces
  • Student expectations

• Overview

  • The records life cycle
  • Structure of collections
  • How much time to spend

• Accessioning

  • Adding to an existing collection (two options)
  • Creating a new collection
  • Small CA (College Archives) accessions

• Processing

  • Overview of processing workflow

• Appraisal

  • Restricted materials
  • Deaccessioning

• Arrangement

  • Intellectual vs physical arrangement
  • Rehousing

• Description

  • Collection level description
  • Series and sub series level description
  • File level description
  • Finding aid notes

• Appendices

  • CD and DVD ripping
  • How to read a processing plan
  • Record values