Scope: Guidelines on creating and maintaining events. Primarily Accessioning staff but all archival processors may need to create certain events.

Contact:  Freddy Loew

Unit: ATS/RMC

Date last updated: March 2025

Date of next review: March 2026

Event record

Event records can be linked to Accession, Resource, and Archival Object records. The type of event will depend which record it should link to. In general, if it is an event that applies only to the accession, that is the appropriate place. Likewise, if it applies to only the Resource or only a specific Archival Object.

In order to create an event record, navigate to the record that it will be linked to (Accession or Resource) and click Add Event from the record menu.

Basic information (required)

Type (required): Select from controlled vocabulary.

  • Accessioned – Use when the material is accessioned.
  • Processed – Use when material is processed.
  • Acknowledged – Use when RMC staff send acknowledgement of accession to donor.
  • Memorandum of Understanding – Use when MOU is signed by all appropriate staff AND added to accession folder (digital or physical).
  • Received – Use when material arrived to RMC premises.
  • Custody transfer – Use when content was transferred from a university office.
  • Appraised – Use when there was a monetary appraisal, not archival appraisal.
  • Deposited – Use when material is on deposit with RMC.
  • Conservation treatment – Use when content is treated by conservation.
  • Transferred – Use when you transfer a portion of a collection to another collection.
  • Lost – Use when something is confirmed as missing.
  • Loaned – Use when material is loaned to RMC, NOT when material is loaned to another institution.
  • Restriction lifted – Use when restriction is formally lifted from a collection. Move the previous restriction language to the “outcome note” on the event.
  • Digitized – don’t use unless you’ve talked to Erin.
  • Found – If you find material previously described with a “Lost” event.
  • Reprocessed – Use when you are processing work that RMC staff previously processed.

Legacy types that should not be used:

  • Cataloged
  • Deaccessioned
  • Photocopied
  • Microfilmed
  • Reformatted
  • Surveyed
  • Restricted

Outcome note (optional): Describe the outcome or nature of the event.

Outcome (do not use)

Event Date/Time (required)

Date/Time specifier (required): Select from the controlled vocabulary “Date Subrecord” – should be the default.

Label (required): Select from the controlled vocabulary “Event”.

Date type (required): Select from the controlled vocabulary “Single”.

Begin (required): enter the date in YYYY-MM-DD as the date the event finished.

Agent (required)

Role (required): Select from the controlled vocabulary. Certain events should have certain kinds of roles. See below for the association.

  • Implementer: Who did the action?
  • Transmitter: Who sent the output of this action?
  • Recipient: Who received the output of the action?
  • Authorizer: Who authorized the action?

Agent (required): Choose from agent list. See section on agent records if you need to create a new agent record.

Record Links (required)

This should be auto-generated by ASpace when you create an event from the record that it is supposed to attach to.

Role (required): Select from the controlled vocabulary. Should default appropriately to “Source”.

  • If event type is “Transferred”:
    • Source: choose the collection the material is removed from
    • Outcome: choose the collection the material is being transferred to

Record (required): Link to appropriate record type. Should default appropriately.

External documents (optional)

This is an optional sub-record used only when there is added documentation in either the digital or physical accession file. If you use this sub-record, the following fields are required:

Title (Required): Describe what the document is (ex: Conservation report)

Location (Required): Describe where the document lives. Options are “Digital accession file” or “Physical accession file”. Curator email is an inappropriate location.