n. (also accessions register)a summary listing of acquisitions recorded as they are acceptedWilson 1966, 46When correspondence files, documents, and other records are accessioned, brief descriptions of the materials are recorded in an accession register. For control purposes, an accession number is assigned to the materials in sequence of accession; the records are placed in temporary storage pending analysis; and index cards are prepared to facilitate retrieval of any files requested in the interim by the office of origin.Bodem 1968, 365The forms studied in accessioning and arranging usually fell into several well-defined categories. Within the area are such forms as transmittal sheets, gift and loan agreements and receipts, requisition of records forms, accessions records, accessions registers and logs, accessioning and processing forms, work sheets, repair and rehabilitation control forms, labels, and manuals.Ziegler 1975, 196Finding aids include the accession register, inventories, logs, card indexes, and lists.Brichford et al. 1977, 307Intellectual control should be established immediately upon receipt of the material. The initial control may be in the form of an accessions register, an inventory worksheet from the sources of the records, an archives preliminary inventory, or a basic record series description that can be refined and extended after the record series or collection is processed.Campbell 1980, 264An accession register should be maintained, recording the date, title, office, bulk, condition of record, transferring officer or donor, and any restrictions on access.Leary 1988, 110Keeping the accession register simple will help to ensure minimum descriptive control for all new acquisitions as soon as they arrive.Roe 2005, 50Some archives also maintain an accession register or log as a summary tool for controlling new acquisitions.Wiedeman 2019a, 386Repositories often kept an internal system such as an accession register, but once archivists created any detailed description, it made sense to create one authoritative record instead of duplicating the information across multiple documents.Slate and Minchew 2021, 88The actual register itself can be a simple spreadsheet or a complex database. The type of accessions register to choose in a government repository depends upon may factors, such as the volume and scope of the collections, the complexity of the materials, and costs.
