During deposit
This section of the toolkit highlights the essential information to collect and record at the time of deposit. It explains how to ensure this information remains accessible in the long term. It also encourages archive services to consider involving depositors in this process where appropriate, including the accessioning.
- Once a deposited collection has been received, a receipt and/or written acknowledgement should be issued to the depositor.
- The collections should be accessioned – it is particularly important to record the contact details of the depositor, terms of transfer (e.g. clearly state deposit, not donation/gift) and the date when the agreement ends.
- Collate any supporting documentation into a ‘collection file’, ‘accession file’ or ‘depositor file’, including correspondence and the signed agreement.
- The documentation should be arranged in a structured and consistent way, stored securely and properly preserved.
- Depositors will have valuable expertise, knowledge and perspectives on the collection – think about how to involve them in the accessioning and any preliminary cataloguing.
Once a deposited collection has been received by an archive service, a receipt and/or written acknowledgement should be issued to the depositor. This should include:
- Date received
- Terms of transfer (deposit)
- Accession number
- Title of collection
- Short description (or any draft list/manifest)
- Extent
- Depositor’s contact details
- Staff member’s signature with contact details
If the signed deposit agreement has not yet been received, follow up at this stage.
Accessioning is the process of formally receiving a collection into an archive service. This should be documented in an accession register. The National Archives provides advice on what to capture in an accession register in their Deposit agreements and accessions registers guidance – including accession number, date of accession, title/creator, description, date range of collection, formats, etc. The Scottish Council on Archives also has an Accession register template.
Your approach to accessioning should be outlined in a Collections Information Policy and associated procedures, including any procedures specifically for deposited collections. For deposited collections, it is particularly important to record:
- Name and contact details of the depositor. For organisations, also collect the contact details of a second person. For individuals, also collect the details of any heirs. This will help future relationships management.
- Terms of transfer, e.g. clearly state deposit (not donation/gift).
- Location of the deposit agreement and any supporting documentation.
- Any restrictions (e.g. copyright, reuse, access) and whether the collection includes personal information.
- The date when the agreement ends or requires renewal.
If you acquire deposited collections frequently, consider using the archive service’s collections management system to record the depositor’s contact details (with links to the accession records) or create a depositors database. This will make it easier to manage contact information and related details in the future.
“The accession register is a fundamental collections management tool, which logs essential information on the nature and circumstances of each acquisition, including provenance and ownership. The register is essential for providing a repository with overall intellectual control over incoming records.”
Richard Wiltshire, “Acquisition, appraisal, arrangement and description” in Alison Turton (editor) (2017), The International Business Archives Handbook, p.191.
Alongside the accession register, it is essential to collate any supporting documentation. This is sometimes referred to as a ‘collection file’, ‘accession file’ or ‘depositor file’. For a deposited collection, this might include:
- Receipt
- The signed deposit agreement
- Contact information for the depositor and their heirs
- Any emails or correspondence with the depositors
- Any partnership agreement with the depositor
- Any documentation about rights and ownership
- Any documentation about data protection responsibilities
- Existing box lists or catalogues and any other context about the collection
- Digital preservation metadata, including checksums, directory listings/manifests and virus scans (for digital materials)
The documentation may be physical, digital or both. It should be arranged in a structured and consistent way. For example, by accession number or the collection name/reference number. It should be stored securely and properly preserved, as it will need to be retained for as long as the archive service holds the collection. If the archive service has a digital preservation system, it may wish to consider using it to manage its accession/depositor documentation in digital format.
“A collection file, also known as an accession file, case file, control file, or donor file, is a record of legal and administrative documentation about a given archival collection, fonds, donor, creator, or source. It holds critical background information on the selection and acquisition process and documents actions taken during the accessioning process. Much of the information about a collection that is later recorded in the accession record is drawn from the collection file.”
National Best Practices for Archival Accessioning Working Group (2025). Accessioning Best Practices. Reproduced using a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
Depositors will have valuable expertise, knowledge and perspectives on the collection. At this stage, it is important to think about how to capture this information, so consider interviewing the depositors or capturing their knowledge in writing. Let depositors review accession records and check information like names, dates and descriptions. Even better, if you are developing an ethical and equitable relationship with a depositor, they or their communities may wish to carry out the accessioning themselves, including any preliminary cataloguing, with support from the archive service. This advice is also relevant for donations.
“As an organisation whose values are rooted in the ethos and practice of DIY and community empowerment, and in recognition of the ways in which marginalised communities are often described and written about by people who do not share their experiences and identities, it felt natural and necessary that GZL’s catalogue should be created in collaboration with the communities that the zines in our collection represent.”
Kate Guariento and Nic Munogee, Accessibility and Archives: Preserving Community Stories – Collective Cataloguing at the Glasgow Zine Library
Digital Preservation Coalition. Digital Preservation Handbook: Acquisition and appraisal
Kate Guariento and Nic Munogee. Accessibility and Archives: Preserving Community Stories – Collective Cataloguing at the Glasgow Zine Library
High Life Highland. Collections information policy (good example of a policy)
The National Archives. Deposit agreements and accessions registers
The National Archives. Digital preservation workflows
National Best Practices for Archival Accessioning Working Group (2025). Accessioning best practices (US guidance covering accessioning)
National Records of Scotland (2024). Depositor Guidance for the Transfer of Archival Born Digital Records
Scottish Council on Archives. Community Archives Toolkit: Accessioning (includes a template)
Case study. Highland Archive Service: new policies
The Highland Archive Service collects, conserves and makes accessible records which reflect the history and diversity of the Scottish Highlands and its inhabitants for the benefit of present and future generations. In 2022, they achieved Archive Service Accreditation. As part of the work leading up to this, they reviewed all their policies, including those relating to depositors.
Why:
- Archive Service Accreditation provided an opportunity to revise existing policies and create new ones to ensure consistency between the service’s four offices.
- Acknowledgement that there are legacy issues with deposited collections and they have been managed differently across the four offices.
- Although long-serving members of staff may remember the cause of legacy issues, this is not the case for newer staff. There was a strong desire to ensure all staff across all sites had equal knowledge.
- Wanted to create a scenario going forward, where there would be fewer legacy issues.
What they did:
- Held conversations across all four offices about what the new policies should include, including the Collections Information Policy.
- Used the Archive Service Accreditation guidance to create a framework of what the policy should include.
- Included learning gained by members of staff studying Archives and Records Management at the University of Dundee, who had access to new thinking about archival processes and procedures.
- Looked for examples of good practice in other services with multiple offices.
- Drafted the guidance collaboratively, carefully mapping information required in the accession register against the policy.
- Used plain language and redrafted slightly as part of a website update, which removed the policy as a PDF and turned it into a webpage to improve accessibility.
- Used feedback from the initial Archive Service Accreditation panel to get sign-off on the policy from senior management, creating an opportunity for advocacy about the role of the service.
Outcomes:
- Created a new Collections information policy which covers the deposited collections, accessioning and information held about depositors.
- Became an accredited archive service!
- Although this was a large piece of work, it increased staff confidence across the four offices in dealing with deposits and legacy issues.
- Created greater stringency across the team when completing the accession register, resulting in improved practice.
- Brought the policy, accession register and the practice together.