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We’ve received two grants to digitize the Beckman and Bredig collections respectively; we have another one coming soon (the Dow collection). This is a quick overview of the current state of metadata and information architecture setup in ArchivesSpace and the Digital Collections, to make future conversations about these two websites easierThis overview of the data models in ArchivesSpace and the Digital Collections should make future conversations about these two websites easier.

Tabular vs. hierarchical metadata

The Digital collection is primarily a table of works, each with complete metadata. Each work has one or more assets, which are computer files stored in S3.

The metadata in ArchivesSpace is hierarchical, not tabular. Each level of description is understood to inherit all the metadata from levels above it, except where that metadata is explicitly overridden.

ArchivesSpace’s primary function is to provide intellectual control over archival collections, but it also keeps track of the physical locations of folders, boxes and so on. (e.g.: inventory of a physical box; inventory of an archival (intellectual) series).

Links between the two sites

The Digital Collections has pointers to both physical locations (boxes and folders, e.g.) and more abstract archival entities like series and sub-series (and of course collections).

ArchivesSpace has many pointers to individual works in the Digital Collections, but these are not currently accessible to the public.

Let’s take a look at a letter from the Beckman collection as an example.

Digital collections:

In the digital collections, the letter takes the form of a work: https://digital.sciencehistory.org/admin/works/wm117p03j

To place the work in the context of the collection’s archival arrangement, the D.C. gives you the following clues:

Collection

  • The letter is part of a collection, the Beckman Collection.

    • 💡 A work can be part of more than one collection, but

    • A collection cannot be part of another collection.

  • The letter work is part of a subseries sub-series and a series within the Beckman collection.

Series arrangement

Series and subseries In the digital collections, series and sub-series arrangement is stored as an unordered sequence of two strings attached to the work, as follows. In this case we have:

  • Series Arrangement

    • Series I. Arnold O. Beckman Files

    • Sub-series 1. Correspondence

  • Each string concatenates the type of metadata ( Sub-series), the identifier, (I.), and the title of the grouping: (Arnold O. Beckman Files)There’s no ordering information to . These are stored separately in ArchivesSpace.

  • The d.c. does not encode the fact that a series is more important than a subseries.There’s no way to order the subseries the series contains the sub-series, rather than vice versa.

  • Likewise, there’s no data in the digital collection that would allow you to order the sub-series within a given series, or to order the series within a collection.

ASpace Reference Number

The letter work also has an ASpace Reference Number: 118f36c4c5a373e4b4a81253ebc85fae.

  • This ASpace Reference number can tie a work or collection in the D.C. to a file, sub-series or series in ArchivesSpace - any level of archival arrangement in ArchivesSpace as long as that level is an “archival object”Practically speaking, this means works or collections in the D.C. can be associated with “file”s, subseries, or series in ArchivesSpacedescription level that is an archival object.

  • In this case the Reference Number refers to a file in ArchivesSpace (see below).

Physical Location

  • The letter’s A work’s physical location is encoded as set of seven keys (key-value pairs (the keys beingbox; folder; page; part; volume; shelfmark; and reel). Archival records in the D.C. so far have only used box, folder, and reel. (The others are in use by the to catalog rare books and museums staffitems).

  • For this letter work, all the keys except box and folder are blank;

    “Box” has as its value

    .

    • box is the string “1”; “Folder” has as its value 1; folder is the string “29” 29.

ArchivesSpace:

Digital object

...

In ArchivesSpace, the letter takes the form of a “digital object”:

...

URL: https://sciencehistory.libraryhost.com/admin/digital_objects/247#tree::digital_object_247

digital object.

  • ArchivesSpace maintains a distinction between a digital object and an archival object.

  • Like all digital objects, it has been unpublished since 2022.

  • Title is the same as the D.C. work title.

  • The “digital object” contains as part of its metadata the URL Metadata contains a link to the “work” work in the digital collections. The “digital object” is NOT an “archival object”.(The work does not have a link back to the digital object, but the work does have a link to the file the digital object is part of.

  • URL: https://sciencehistory.libraryhost.com/admin/digital_objects/247#tree::digital_object_247

  • Digital objects were not part of the earliest versions of ArchivesSpace (as item-level description is a fairly uncommon in archival practice as it’s unsustainable at scale).

  • It The digital object is part of what ArchivesSpace calls a “file”.

  • The digital object has a link to the work in the digital collections. (The work does not have a link back to the digital object.)

File

  • The a file.

Item

For completeness' sake, note that we do (rarely) describe individual physical objects (e.g. this film reel) as items.

  • Items are archival objects and thus have Ref IDs. (Technically any archival object can contain another archival object, but in the case of an item this would be very unlikely.)

File

  • In this case, the file is a digital surrogate for a particular manila folder (folder 29 in box 1) which contains the letter.

    • The name is confusing; this has nothing ⚠️ Nothing to do with a computer file .

    A file is the lowest level of standard archival description as usually practiced in ArchivesSpace

    • in the operating system sense.

  • Title: “Los Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce - Air Pollution Committee, 1951-1954”1954

  • URL: https://archives.sciencehistory.org/repositories/3/archival_objects/10615

  • Is an “archival object” ( archival object, as opposed to a “digital object”).Files digital object.

    • In theory, any archival object can contain another archival object.

    • In practice, at least for the Beckman collection, the file is the lowest level of archival description above the digital object.

  • Items, files, sub-series and series are all considered “archival objects”. “Digital objects” and “collections” archival objects. Digital objects and collections are not.

  • All “archival objects” archival objects have a unique ID called a Ref ID.

  • The “file” has ref Ref ID:118f36c4c5a373e4b4a81253ebc85fae.

Subseries

...

Sub-series

...

Series

Collection

  • Title: Beckman Historical Collection

  • URL: https://archives.sciencehistory.libraryhost.com/adminorg/repositories/3/resources/1#tree::resource_1

  • External URL:

  • The collection is not an “archival object” archival object, but a “resource” resource.

    • Because of this Hence, it does not (and cannot) have a hexadecimal Ref ID Ref ID.

  • Has an accession number: 2012-002

    • Accession numbers are arbitrary strings and might contain digits, spaces, letters and punctuation.

  • Has an internal ID, like all resources: in this case the integer 1, which is at the end of its URL.

  • We use the ID as part of the file name at the EAD export page.