Posted on behalf of one of our Archivists ... When we plan to digitize unnumbered items in an archival file, we first number the entire contents of the file. We then add the item number to the end of the call number which we use for identification purposes. For example, in the call number M-1234-5-6, M-1234 represents the manuscript portion of the Smith family fonds; 5 represents the 5th folder in the Smith papers, and 6 represents the 6th page within the 5th folder. Boring perhaps, but the call number will always lead us back to the exact document from which the digital file was made.
We do not try to describe the actual item in the file title, as this information can be found in the finding aid. Susan Kooyman Archivist Glenbow Museum 130 - 9 Avenue SE, Calgary, AB. T2G 0P3 P: 403.268.4227 F: 403.262.6569 E: skooyman at glenbow.org -----Original Message----- From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of lauren boegen Sent: March-20-13 3:05 PM To: mcn-l at mcn.edu Subject: [MCN-L] File naming conventions for digitized archives Hi everyone, I'm wondering if anyone would be able and willing to share their experiences with file naming when digitizing an archive. We are struggling to find an efficient yet informative/functional way to assign file names to items in the collection that aren't individually identified at the item level. For example, we have several letters from John Doe to Jane Doe grouped in a folder and IDed as such in the finding aid, but we don't identify each individual letter by an accession number. The archive in question contains the business and family papers of an American astronomer and telescope maker and include mostly letters, invoices, and business materials related to telescope delivery. The best we've been able to come up with is a file name combining some sort of descriptor about what the image actually is (ie. letter_fromjohndoe_tojanedoe) and location (Clark_Series1_Box6_Folder2), but this seems unwieldy. I know someone out there's got to have figured out a better way, and any insight would be appreciated. Thanks! Lauren --------------------------------------------------------------------- Lauren Boegen Digital Collections Manager Webster Institute for the History of Astronomy The Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum phone: 312.542.2618 lboegen at adlerplanetarium.org
