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14.3 Further Event Types

The following are further Event Types relating to Item - Acquisition, Loan and Inspection Events. Those institutions which use systems that do not have or use Events will usually capture this data in fields embedded within the Item record or linking to records in another database, e.g. a possible separate Donors database with its own acquisition records capturing names, dates, etc.

14.3.1 Acquisition

The acquisition of a particular Item for an institution’s collection.

An Acquisition Event may be associated with instances of Agent in the role of e.g. the institution or a person or set of persons in charge of acquisitions for the institution, etc. and may also be associated with instances of “Other” relationship(s).

Record all the existing relationships for the Acquisition Event, if the information is known and considered of relevance.

An Acquisition Event information consists of the following sub-elements:

  • Acquisition type
  • Acquisition date
  • Acquisition source
  • Acquisition detail
  • Accession date

Acquisition type

Describes the means by which the Item was acquired. Select from a controlled list of terms, for e.g.

  • Donation
  • Exchange
  • Loan
  • Purchase
  • Off-air recording

Acquisition date

The date on which the Item was physically, or contractually, acquired. Using this ‘entry date’ can be problematic, as items can arrive onsite before agreement is signed, or can arrive without any form of signature or indeed knowledge that it is in transit i.e. receipt of an unsolicited deposit. Therefore it is recommended to use the signature date. This date is distinct from an Accession date, which should be entered only once any required assessment has been completed, and the Item has been formally added to the inventory of the collection. (Dates should be formatted according to ISO 8601 or some other recognised standard.)

Acquisition source The name of the person or organisation from which the Item was obtained, indicating whether the acquisition was direct from, for example, the donor or via an intermediary or agent. Select from a controlled list of terms, e.g.

  • Donor
  • Agent
  • Intermediary

Acquisition detail

Information describing the acquisition of the Item in greater detail.

Accession date

Captures the date on which the Item formally entered the collection of the archive. Often this definition is dependent on formal documentation within the archive’s collections management system, with a unique accession reference / identifier assigned. (Dates should be formatted according to ISO 8601 or some other recognised standard.)

14.3.2 Loan

This section outlines the properties that are specific to Loan agreements, distinct from Acquisitions

Lender

Represents the person or institution from which the archive is receiving the loan. Where possible, this should take the form of a link to a record within the archive’s Agents (i.e. People, Organisations, etc.) authority dataset.

Lender type

Qualifies the relationship between the Lender and the Acquisition source – i.e. is the lender the legal owner of the item, or are they the authorised agent of the owner acting on their behalf.

Lender contact details Captures the contact details of the lender, primarily their postal address. Alternatively, where possible, this could be captured in the associated Agent record.

Loan start date

Captures the agreed date from which the loan commences.

Loan end date

Captures the end date of the loan, as defined prior to the commencement of the loan.

14.3.3 Inspection

The inspection of a particular Item for the purposes of assessing and recording the condition or treatment of the Item. This frequently ties in with a Preservation/Restoration Event [ADD LINK TO THAT]

An Inspection Event may be associated with instances of Agent in the role of e.g. inventory archivist, lab technician, projectionist, etc.

An Inspection Event may be associated with instances of “Other” relationship(s).

Record all the existing relationships for the Inspection Event, if the information is known and considered of relevance.

Inspection Event information consists of the following sub-elements:

  • Inspection type
  • Inspection date
  • Inspection detail

Inspection type

The general type of inspection activity performed.

If desired and if applicable, record one or more general type(s) of the inspection activity performed (e.g. projection prep, inventory). Selection should be made from a controlled list of terms. This includes statements about past or future inspections scheduled for the item. [NB. DO WE HAVE A POTENTIAL SMALL LIST OF EXAMPLE TERMS WE COULD ADD HERE?]

Inspection date

The date or time span in which the inspection activity was performed. (Dates should be formatted according to ISO 8601 or some other recognised standard.)

Inspection detail

Information describing the condition of the Item in greater detail. In many cases there will be fields embedded in Item records that relate to condition and different inspections. [ADD LINK TO COPY CONDITION BASE/EMULSION, COPY CONDITION PERFORATIONS, AND iTEM SURFACE DEPOSIT sections in Items - elements_of_a_moving_image_item]