Step 2.1: Documentation (Description)

Once materials arrive at the Wade Center, the archival staff records information about each item to help identify and later locate it for patron use. Databases, inventory listings, and a variety of other methods are used in the documentation step to answer important questions, such as: Where did this object come from? What material is it made of? How is it connected to the seven Wade authors? What size is it? How can it be accessed? How is it stored? What condition is it in?

Above: A Wade Center archivist enters information from a new acquisition.