accessionering

Accessioning is the formal process by which a repository records and integrates new materials into its holdings. It establishes provenance, documents ownership and access rights, and creates the official entry that tracks the item from receipt through its life in the collection. Accessioning serves as the starting point for the long-term management of materials, ensuring accountability and traceability.

The process is distinct from related activities such as cataloging and processing. Accessioning focuses on intake and the creation of an accession record; cataloging develops detailed descriptions for discovery; processing involves arrangement, conservation, and storage. Together, these steps move materials from acquisition to usable resources within the collection.

Typical steps in accessioning include receipt and initial intake, verification of title and donor agreements, assessment of condition, assignment of a unique accession number, and the creation of an accession record with basic metadata. This metadata often includes the source or donor, date of accession, scope and content, physical condition, access restrictions, and rights or copyright considerations. Materials may be labeled and then transferred to appropriate storage or processing streams.

In modern repositories, accession records are maintained in an information management system and linked to related catalog entries, finding aids, and preservation metadata. This enables provenance research, supports access decisions, and informs ongoing collection management. The accessioning stage is important for legal compliance, donor relations, and ensuring a transparent, auditable history of the collection.