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Policies, manuals, and inventory of the City
of Manhattan Beach Historical Collections
History Associates, Incorporated
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Inventory Statistics
Total linear feet inventoried: 370
• Collection material: 290 LF
• Non-collection material: 80 LF
Total number of objects surveyed: 1,121
• Collection objects: 923
• Non-collection objects: 198
Notable collection areas: Newspapers, Metlox ceramics, scrapbooks Non-collection items: Duplicates, merchandise, reproductions, “education collection” www.historyassociates.com
Manuals & Summary of Findings
Processing Plan:
Recommendations for ways to approach processing collections moving forward. Provides suggestions for organization schemes, preservation steps, and physical processing of archival collections.
Cataloging Manual:
Provides step-by-step instruction for processing and cataloging objects from the collection into the content management system, Re:Discovery Proficio Elements.
Summary of Findings:
Discusses the results of the inventory process. Highlights strengths, weaknesses, and recommendations. Helps to explain the thought process behind the manuals and policies.
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Collection Policy
The Collection Policy outlines all the elements of routine collection management, including:
• Scope of collections
• Acquisitions and accessions
• Deaccessioning and disposal
• Loans
• Documentation
• Access and use
• Collections care
The Collection Policy is a living document that should be revisited, edited, and updated at regular intervals.
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Next Steps
• We recommend full processing of the collections to get more intellectual control and increase accessibility.
• Digitization first step: Newspapers
• Confirm copyright eligibility
• Remote vs. Onsite
• OCR capabilities
• Hosting and access
• Digital content and collection documentation hosting
• Finding aids and inventory summary available online
• Research appointment booking
• Remote research capabilities