Some archives maintain accession records/numbers for each item/group/folder/box that arrives and then a separate numbering/storage system for the collections them- selves. I don't do this here, but I can see how it keeps a record of everything arriving in the Department, even if you decide not to keep it, or combine it with something else, etc. Here we give collections a number that is both an accession and collection number...e.g. M2006-01, M2006-02, M2006-03, etc. That preserves both the accession sequence and also simplifies storage on the shelves. I generally in appraising a collection, do not give it a number if it is going to be combined into another collection (latest arrival of newspaper clippings, or additional Faculty Senate minutes) or if it obviously not going to be kept. I do maintain a monthly report that lists "acquisition" (e.g. Dept. of Management Annual Reports 2.0 c.f.) but we've found item accessioning to be inefficient. Since you're going to use month/day/year as an accession number, you might consider giving the collection a number close to that, e.g. 2006-06-15, Dean Dean DeBolt University Librarian, Special Collections John C. Pace Library, University of West Florida 11000 University Parkway Pensacola, FL 32514-5750 850-474-2213 [log in to unmask] A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List sponsored by the Society of American Archivists, www.archivists.org. For the terms of participation, please refer to http://www.archivists.org/listservs/arch_listserv_terms.asp. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to [log in to unmask] In body of message: SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname *or*: UNSUB ARCHIVES To post a message, send e-mail to [log in to unmask] Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <[log in to unmask]>