# ACCESSION RECORD ELEMENTS

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{% tab title="SECTION 16: WHAT IS AN ACCESSION RECORD?" %}
[BEST PRACTICE 16.1 ➤ Identify who is responsible for creation of the accession record](#bp16-1)

[BEST PRACTICE 16.2 ➤ Avoid editing existing accession records](#bp16-2)

[BEST PRACTICE 16.3 ➤ Be transparent about unknown information](#bp16-3)
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{% tab title="SECTION 17: ELEMENTS OF AN ACCESSION RECORD" %}
[Required Elements](#required-elements)

[Optional Elements](#optional-elements)
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## SECTION 16: WHAT IS AN ACCESSION RECORD? <a href="#section16" id="section16"></a>

The Society of American Archivists’ *Dictionary of Archives Terminology* defines an accession record as “a consistent and normally internal set of data detailing an archives’ acquisition, documenting legal and physical transfer, and supporting description.” By definition, it is the record of an individual accession that is created and maintained by a collecting institution. Regardless of the format of this record, it consists of a list of specific elements that document critical information about the accession. The accession record is complete when this element list has been filled by the accessioner. Its output serves as the official record of material entering a collection.

An accession record:

* safeguards the integrity and authenticity of archival materials,
* documents receipt and custody,
* facilitates internal communications, and
* serves as the basis for future descriptive work.

{% hint style="warning" %}
**The accession record is a historical record of receipt that documents the singular moment in time for an acquisition.**
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### The Role of DACS and Other Standards in the Design of the Accession Record Elements Set

The accession record element set is designed to comply with *DACS* and complement *ISAD(G)*, its international equivalent. It also takes inspiration from the *Canadian Archival Accessioning Information Standard (CAAIS)*. These recognized content standards inform elements of the accession record that are either required or optional and advise how to indicate when information is unknown. *See* [*Appendix A for a crosswalk between the accession record elements*](https://accessioning.gitbook.io/archival-accessioning-best-practices/appendices/appendix-a.-accession-record-elements-crosswalk) *and their relation to* DACS, ISAD(G), *and* CAAIS.

This element set is intended to guide archival repositories to make the majority of information in accession records reusable and quickly discoverable, per *DACS*, *ISAD(G)*, and *CAAIS* principles, but this is at the discretion of the repository and its mission.

Additionally, in adherence to *DACS* Principle 3 indicating that descriptive rules apply to all archival materials, regardless of format, carrier type, content, or genre, the accession record element set is informed by standards and best practices for the acquisition and description of born-digital content, including PREMIS, OAIS, and TRAC.

The accession record’s required element set reflects three specific attributes of *DACS*:

1. **These rules are output neutral**, meaning that rules for description apply to accession records as much as they apply to any other forms of archival description.
2. The accession record must at least follow the **single-level minimum element set**.
3. The accession record elements are **system-agnostic** and can be expressed in any tool or system.

*DACS* Principle 6 for archival description encourages archivists to “document and make discoverable the actions they take on records.” This element set records interventions like appraisal and transfer and documents pre-custodial information about archival materials like provenance and chain of custody.

#### <mark style="color:blue;">BEST PRACTICE 16.1 ➤  Identify who is responsible for creation of the accession record</mark> <a href="#bp16-1" id="bp16-1"></a>

These best practices do not prescribe *who* in a repository should be responsible for collecting and recording the various elements of an accession record. Determining who is responsible for each part of the record, who creates it, and how all stakeholders know that an accession record has been completed is an important internal workflow decision that must be determined, documented, and communicated clearly.

#### <mark style="color:blue;">BEST PRACTICE 16.2 ➤  Avoid editing existing accession records</mark> <a href="#bp16-2" id="bp16-2"></a>

An accession record documents a specific moment in time. It should reflect the full extent of what is known about the materials at the time of accessioning. Avoid making changes that alter the original details of the acquisition. Consider legacy accession records products of their own times and practices; avoid updating these records unless there is a compelling use case to do so.

Any edits should be made in a consistent manner so that an audit trail is available. If an accession record is edited at a later date, the date, purpose, and author of the edit should be recorded. Archivists pursuing systems migrations or data normalization projects might consider updating existing accession records for the sake of data integrity and internal usability.

#### <mark style="color:blue;">BEST PRACTICE 16.3 ➤  Be transparent about unknown information</mark> <a href="#bp16-3" id="bp16-3"></a>

As stated in Principle 5 of *DACS*, “**Archival description must be clear about what archivists know, what they don’t know, and how they know it.**” Transparently state circumstances in which information cannot be ascertained or is unknowable. Legacy acquisitions often lack documentation; aim to embrace these knowledge gaps rather than hiding them. This assists the next person who needs information about the accession. Using “unknown” is not recommended if information is pending or will be determined later.

## SECTION 17: ELEMENTS OF AN ACCESSION RECORD <a href="#section17" id="section17"></a>

The following elements set was developed through research of adjacent content standards (*refer to* [*Appendix A. Accession Record Elements Crosswalk*](https://accessioning.gitbook.io/archival-accessioning-best-practices/appendices/appendix-a.-accession-record-elements-crosswalk)) and structured discussions within the National Best Practices for Archival Accessioning Working Group. The result attempts to balance clear and actionable guidelines with the flexibility necessary for a variety of use cases in local practice.

Required elements ensure a complete accession record. Optional elements can be used when relevant to the accession at-hand, to be determined at a local level. These elements are explained in more detail below.

### **Required Elements**

1. [Name and Location of Repository](#required-element-1-name-and-location-of-repository)
2. [Date Accessioned](#required-element-2-date-accessioned)
3. [Accession Identifier](#required-element-3-accession-identifier)
4. [Title](#required-element-4-title)
5. [Material Date(s)](#required-element-5-material-date-s)
6. [Extent(s) Retained](#required-element-6-extent-s-retained)
7. [Creator(s) of Materials](#required-element-7-creator-s-of-materials)
8. [Scope and Content of Materials](#required-element-8-scope-and-content-of-materials)
9. [Conditions Governing Access](#required-element-9-conditions-governing-access)
10. [Conditions Governing Use](#required-element-10-conditions-governing-use)
11. [Languages and Scripts of Materials](#required-element-11-languages-and-scripts-of-materials)
12. [Immediate Source of Acquisition](#required-element-12-immediate-source-of-acquisition)
13. [Rights Statements for Archival Description (when relevant)](#required-element-13-when-relevant-rights-statements-for-archival-description)

### **Optional Elements**

14. [Date Acquired](#optional-element-14-date-acquired)
15. [Extent(s) Received](#optional-element-15-extent-s-received)
16. [Condition Description](#optional-element-16-condition-description)
17. [Custodial History](#optional-element-17-custodial-history)
18. [Appraisal Decisions](#optional-element-18-appraisal-decisions)

#### <mark style="color:blue;">REQUIRED ELEMENT 1 ➤  Name and Location of Repository</mark>

This element identifies the name and location of the repository that holds the materials being accessioned.

**Guidelines:**

* This information is typically kept in an information system and universally applied to all records therein; it usually does not need to be explicitly recorded, but any output of the record should be sure to include this element.

***DACS*****&#x20;element:** *2.2, Name and Location of Repository*

#### <mark style="color:blue;">REQUIRED ELEMENT 2 ➤  Date Accessioned</mark>

This element documents the date the accession record was either created or completed.

**Guidelines**:

* Individual institutional practices will determine which date your institution will use for Date Accessioned (e.g., date accessioning commenced, date accessioning completed). **Pick one approach and consistently apply this date type in the Date Accessioned element to all accession records.**
* The date accessioned can be recorded via the timestamp the accession record was created when using databases.
* The date the accession record was created or completed may not be the same as the date the collection was acquired. The date the collection was acquired should be put into the [Immediate Source of Acquisition element](#required-element-12-immediate-source-of-acquisition) and/or the [Date Acquired](#optional-element-14-date-acquired) element.

***DACS*****&#x20;element**: *8.1, Description Control*

#### <mark style="color:blue;">REQUIRED ELEMENT 3 ➤  Accession Identifier</mark>

This element assigns a unique identifier that distinguishes it from other accessions.

The process for designing any identifier should be guided by core information management principles but may be designed in whatever way works best for the needs of the repository. Many repositories already use an accession identifier scheme; **remain consistent with what is already in place** unless there is a compelling reason to change it. Be sure that any change is well documented and public.

**Guidelines**:

* **Keep accession identifiers simple**. The purpose of an accession identifier is to mark new acquisitions as **distinct entities** and associate them with information kept in the accession record. Avoid using accession identifiers to convey information about the accession’s content, formats, or collecting area.
* Make accession identifiers **human-readable**. They should convey clear and unique information to staff and researchers at first glance.
* Make accession identifiers **machine-parsable**. For example, use full years (2023 instead of 23) and pad incrementing numbers with leading zeroes (2023-00001 instead of 2023-1).
* **Avoid including information in your identifier that may change**, such as storage location, access restrictions, handling concerns, processing status, or legal status.
* **Do not reassign or delete identifiers that have been used** or referenced by internal staff or the external public. An accession record is documentation of the acquisition of materials by an archival repository. Deaccessioning, loss, transfer, or other activities that affect the subsequent custody or status of an accession do not change the facts of that original record.
* **Consider these possible parts of an accession identifier:**
  * **Accession year**. This may be the fiscal year, the calendar year, the academic year, or any other clearly—and publicly—documented scheme.
  * **Incrementing integer.**
    * Each should be unique.
    * It is not necessary for these numbers to be in the same order as materials were acquired (chronologically), since this information can be determined as part of the accession date.
    * Do not append letters or decimals to the incrementing integer to inter-file materials—this is not necessary and invites mistakes.
    * To avoid numbering mistakes, consider implementing software that performs validation and/or automatically increments accession identifiers.
  * **Repository code.** Particularly within institutions with more than one repository, it can be useful to understand which repository materials belong to.

***DACS*****&#x20;element**: *2.1, Reference Code*

#### <mark style="color:blue;">REQUIRED ELEMENT 4 ➤ Title</mark>

This element is an initial descriptive phrase by which an accession is identified.

**Guidelines**:

* Create *DACS*-compliant titles for the accession at-hand.
* Be specific enough to identify the material in the accession.
* For accretions to existing collections, the accession title may be different than the collection title. This helps distinguish different accretions to the same collection.

***DACS*****&#x20;element**: *2.3, Title*

#### <mark style="color:blue;">REQUIRED ELEMENT 5 ➤  Material Date(s)</mark>

This element records the date(s) of the materials within an accession.

**Guidelines**:

* Date(s) of materials can often be determined by a cursory survey of transferred materials and by referencing information provided during pre-custodial conversations with creators.
* **Do not leave the date field empty** in the expectation that this will be determined in the future or to produce an “undated” value.
* Estimated date ranges are acceptable and can be viewed as a foundational step in an iterative or extensible mindset.

***DACS*****&#x20;element**: *2.4, Date*

#### <mark style="color:blue;">REQUIRED ELEMENT 6 ➤  Extent(s) Retained</mark>

This element records the extent and physical nature of the materials **at the end of all accessioning activities**. Recording the extent retained supports long-term collections management practices.

**Guidelines**:

* **Standardize description using common units** (e.g., linear feet, gigabytes, number of containers). Consistency aids in reporting and aggregation.
* This element is repeatable. **Consider creating multiple extent statements for the accession**. Optionally record quantities of specific formats in separate extent statements (e.g., audiocassettes, digital files, maps, photographs).
* If different, optionally record the extent of the materials received using the [Extent(s) Received](#optional-element-15-extent-s-received) element.
* Explain appraisal actions that account for discrepancies in the extent received and retained using the [Appraisal Decisions](#optional-element-18-appraisal-decisions) element.

***DACS*****&#x20;element**: *2.5, Extent*

#### <mark style="color:blue;">REQUIRED ELEMENT 7 ➤  Creator(s) of Materials</mark>

This element records the corporate bodies, persons, and families associated with the creation, assembly, accumulation, and/or maintenance and use of the materials being accessioned so that they might be appropriately documented and used to create access points by which users can search for and retrieve descriptive records.

**Guidelines**:

* The principle of provenance requires that materials be organized according to the individual, family, or organization that created or received the items in a collection.
* If the creator is unknown, record that information.

***DACS*****&#x20;element**: *2.6, Name of Creator(s)*

#### <mark style="color:blue;">REQUIRED ELEMENT 8 ➤  Scope and Content of Materials</mark>

This element provides initial and high-level description for the accession.

**Guidelines**:

* Building on the initial descriptive statement made in the title, this element should also provide a high-level summary of what is known about the accession.
* This element provides a foundation for future description. Refer to documentation in the collection file, and repurpose information learned through the acquisition process.
* This element allows for additional initial discovery, which is especially critical for unprocessed accessions.

***DACS*****&#x20;element**: *3.1, Scope and Content*

#### <mark style="color:blue;">REQUIRED ELEMENT 9 ➤  Conditions Governing Access</mark>

This element documents decisions from the legal agreement regarding which parts, if any, of the accession may be restricted and to phrase those decisions in terms that will be legible to staff and to a typical researcher.

**Guidelines**:

* This information should be as concrete, specific, and explicit as possible to help avoid errors in providing access to researchers.
* If there are no restrictions, state that fact.

***DACS*****&#x20;element***: DACS 4.1, Conditions Governing Access*

#### <mark style="color:blue;">REQUIRED ELEMENT 10 ➤  Conditions Governing Use</mark>

This element documents decisions made in the legal agreement regarding the retention or transfer of intellectual property and phrases those decisions in terms that will be legible to staff and to a typical researcher.

**Guidelines**:

* If there are no restrictions, state that fact.
* If the existence of such conditions is unknown, record this.

***DACS*****&#x20;element**: *4.4, Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use*

#### <mark style="color:blue;">REQUIRED ELEMENT 11 ➤  Languages and Scripts of Materials</mark>

This element identifies the language(s) and script(s) present in the materials being accessioned.

**Guidelines**:

* This information should come from a preliminary review of the material or the collection file. It typically will not be comprehensive.
* When possible, leverage tools already used to analyze an accession to obtain some of this information.

***DACS*****&#x20;element**: *4.5, Language and Scripts of the Material*

#### <mark style="color:blue;">REQUIRED ELEMENT 12 ➤  Immediate Source of Acquisition</mark>

This element is used to document the source of acquisition, the date of acquisition, and the method of acquisition.

**Guidelines**:

* Identify the **source** of the acquisition (along with their contact information), the exact or estimated **date** that materials came into the custody of the repository, and the **method** of acquisition (e.g., gift, purchase, transfer).
* The person/persons (including specific individual(s) within an organization) responsible for transferring materials to the archival repository may or may not be the same person/entity as the creator.
* If the source, date, and/or method of acquisition is unknown, record that information clearly (e.g., “The provenance of this collection is unknown.”).

***DACS*****&#x20;element**: *5.2, Immediate Source of Acquisition*

#### <mark style="color:blue;">REQUIRED ELEMENT 13 (when relevant) ➤  Rights Statements for Archival Description</mark>

This element documents the conditions under which the archival description itself is available for use and reuse.

**Guidelines:**

* Repositories should establish a consistent policy about the rights granted.
* When accession information will not be discoverable by the public, it is not necessary to determine how and whether others can reuse this description. Make a repository-wide determination of this choice and for these records so that this decision can apply to future reuse.

***DACS*****&#x20;element**: *8.2, Rights Statements for Archival Description*

#### OPTIONAL ELEMENT 14 ➤  Date Acquired

This element documents the date the materials were acquired by the repository.

**Guidelines**:

* Use a **machine-readable** date of acquisition as a companion to the [Immediate Source of Acquisition](#required-element-12-immediate-source-of-acquisition) element.
* Adopt a consistent local practice on how the date used for this element is determined, such as date of agreement or transfer of physical custody.&#x20;
* This element is particularly useful for retrospective accessioning of legacy materials.

***DACS*****&#x20;element**: 5.2.3, *Immediate Source of Acquisition*

#### OPTIONAL ELEMENT 15 ➤  Extent(s) Received

This element records the extent and physical nature of the materials **as received by the repository**. Recording the extent transferred serves as evidence of the acquisition.

**Guidelines**:

* **Standardize description using common units** (e.g., linear feet, gigabytes, number of containers). Consistency aids in reporting and aggregation.
* This element is repeatable. **Consider creating multiple extent statements for the accession**. Optionally record quantities of specific formats in separate extent statements (e.g., audiocassettes, digital files, maps, photographs).
* Record the extent of the materials retained at the end of accessioning using the [Extent(s) Retained](#required-element-6-extent-s-retained) element.
* Consider this element as a complement to acquisition documentation stored in the collection file.

***DACS*****&#x20;element**: *2.5, Extent*

#### OPTIONAL ELEMENT 16 ➤  Condition Description

This element records the condition of the materials at the point of accession; notes technical requirements or specific software/hardware required to access the materials; and documents additional stabilization actions or significant conservation concerns that will need to be addressed.

**Guidelines**:

* This information should come from a preliminary review of the material.
* Information on the physical nature of the materials and specific formats contained within the accession are recorded in the [Extent(s) Retained](#required-element-6-extent-s-retained) element.

***DACS*****&#x20;element**: *4.2, Physical Access; 4.3 Technical Access*

#### OPTIONAL ELEMENT 17 ➤  Custodial History

This element documents changes of ownership or custody of the materials being accessioned, from the time it left the possession of the creator until it was acquired by the repository. Documenting custodial history ensures the materials’ authenticity and integrity.

**Guidelines**:

* Record any known impact of these transfers on the materials themselves, such as materials being removed from the collection.
* Record contextual information about transfers in custody that is significant to the user’s understanding of the materials.

***DACS*****&#x20;element**: *5.1, Custodial History*

#### OPTIONAL ELEMENT 18 ➤  Appraisal Decisions

This element records the rationale for appraisal decisions and disposition actions.

**Guidelines**:

* Information regarding appraisal decisions will likely be held within the collection file. Consider recording this information within the accession record as well. Adopt a consistent institutional practice.
* Appraisal decisions may document the following:
  * **The decision to accept materials into the repository and the reasons for that decision.** Facilitate internal communication and subsequent resource description by documenting the reasons why materials were brought into the repository. Document the evidentiary or symbolic value of an accession or how it fits into the repository’s collecting landscape.
  * Institutional/political considerations that contributed to acquiring a collection that might not otherwise have been accepted under normal criteria.
  * **The decision to&#x20;*****not*****&#x20;accept materials** into the repository and the reasons for that decision. Record **pre-custodial appraisal decisions** for materials offered to the repository but not accepted as part of the acquisition.
  * **The identification of materials that are separated or sampled**, along with the rationale for this decision. Generally speaking, materials that are appraised and separated from the collection at the time of accessioning do not need to be held to the same documentary (and process) standards for deaccessioning as accessioned materials do. For this reason, review materials shortly after transfer to make choices about their retention.
  * **Policy information**. Information about rules defined by a retention schedule or collection development policy that affected the retention or disposition of the records in this accession. Provide enough information about this policy (including date referenced) to enable access by staff and researchers in the future.

***DACS*****&#x20;element**: *5.3, Appraisal, Destruction and Scheduling Information*

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