We\u27re Bringing Spacers Back: Secondary Processing at Utah State University Archives

Processing can be an iterative process but finding time and resources to re-evaluate existing collections is difficult, especially with backlogs and new acquisitions. However, secondary processing can greatly improve access, discoverability, and the physical condition of the materials. This session examines the process in which Utah State University Archives, as part of a larger cataloging project to modernize University began and carried out an evaluation of collections for secondary processing and rehousing

University Treasure – Collections of Secrets: How Utah State University Libraries Modernized Their University Archives

Starting in 2018, Utah State University Libraries undertook a largescale cataloging project to modernize the University Archives. Before 2018 the University Archives was largely inaccessible to patrons with only 2% of collections having online finding aids and no existing electronic shelf list inventory. Using a workflow-driven approach, a team of catalogers, archivists, and student technicians embarked on a four-phase journey to inventory over 21,000 items, create EAD finding aids and MARC catalog records for over 2700 unique collections, and ingesting all collections into the Library’s newly implemented archival management system. Presenters will discuss the process developed, tools used, and outcomes of the project

It\u27s Time for an EAD Glow Up! How to Make Finding Aids More Attractive to Users

USU Libraries investigated discoverability of local Encoded Archival Description (EAD) finding aids using different levels of description. The research team created two dueling finding aids of the same collection; one with an MPLP stripped down box level inventory, and the other with a more robust item level of description. Both finding aids were posted online simultaneously and left untouched for over a year. The data was then pulled and assessed for each collection with the more \u27glowed up\u27 item level finding aid being, on average, 61x more discoverable than the finding aids described at the file level. Presenters will discuss the methodology of the project, what tools were used to conduct the research and analyze results, how these results have informed internal metadata practices, and next steps to expand this research by \u27retouching\u27 other existing legacy finding aids

The Revised DACS Principles in Action: Applying Modern Practice to Legacy Description

Since SAA revised DACS\u27s archival description principles from 8 concepts into 11 reworked value statements in 2019, archivists have wondered how to incorporate the revised principles into existing description practices. Archivists from BYU and USU libraries have undertaken large projects on legacy collections informed by these principles. We invite attendees to learn from our experiences in implementing current DACS principles while grappling with less-than-ideal records. BYU will describe a project to revise the description of a significant collection of Mesoamerican materials after discovering the finding aid had serious problems introduced by previous revisions by archivists. USU will describe an undertaking to create over 2,500 University Archives collection descriptions from a shelf list and revising based on the new DACS principles. This joint session will demonstrate straightforward ways that two academic libraries have incorporated the DACS principles into archivists\u27 day-to-day work