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Curation Procedures and Fees
PROCEDURESUniform procedures for collections processing have been applied to all collections obtained since January 1, 1984. It is not necessary to detail those procedures here but a synopsis is provided. Each collection is entered into the collections register. The register lists the collection number, the source or owner of the collection, how and when the collection was obtained, and brief comments on the nature and origin of the collection, etc. The size of the collection is given as the number of lot of specimens, folders of documents, slides, and negatives. A single collection number ties all materials together, but separate inventories are made for specimens, documents, slides, and negatives. All collections are indexed by owner/source; specimens are further indexed by site number. A control file tracks the status of the inventories and indexes from initial compilation to completion of database entry and final printout. An accession file is created for each collection. The file contains pertinent administrative information on the collection and a collection report. The collection report summarizes the origin and nature of the collection and its obtainment, provides information on the size, contents, and organization of the collection, and includes a bibliography of reports pertinent to the collection. Specimens are packed into standard custom-made archival boxes. Photographic materials are placed in standard archival holders. Contact prints are made and filed in the laboratory for future use to minimize the need to access original slides and negatives. Documents are filed in archival folders and boxes. Oversize materials are placed in flat files. SUBMITTAL OF COLLECTIONSOur use of uniform materials and procedures means that we do not accept collections as ready for the repository. This increases our up front labor costs somewhat, but greatly facilitates collections management and access. Moreover, as these collections are curated for future research, we require that collections be complete. All specimens, records, photographs are to be included, as are copies of relevant reports. Collections that are high graded or lacking appropriate documentation are of limited use for research. If the submitting organization has a need for type collections or other materials, these can be provided under a formal loan agreement. Collection storage and maintenance fees are uniform. But preparation costs are determined by the nature of the collection and its condition and suggestions are offered below to help minimize this portion of the cost. We accession collections in a systematic manner. Moreover, to facilitate access to specific items in the collections, materials from different proveniences are not inventoried together (except crossmends). Bags and other containers must be in good condition. Rubber bands are not acceptable. Staples, paper clips, etc. are undesirable, but must be of archival quality if used. Therefore, to minimize curation costs, collections should be transferred in good condition. Materials should be bagged and boxed by provenience and/or category. If all material from a provenience is in one bag, with or without sub-bags by category, we will accession them all together. If the collection is organized by category, i.e. ceramics, worked lithics, debitage, etc., or if there are pulled type or reference collections, we will accession each of these separately rather than reestablish strict provenience bagging. The method of organization will necessarily vary, but some logical organization is required. Remember, though, that more bags means more time. The most time consuming, and thus costly, collections we have curated were those that came to us with large bags labeled "all decorated ceramics", "all pulled lithics", "sherds from Block 1", or whatever, and containing a lot of loose items. We will not accession these materials until they have been sorted back into provenience based lots. This can take three to four times the usual preparation time. If the collection fills several boxes, the boxes should be numbered and a box inventory provided. Some contractors send us all their survey collections once a year. These are usually accessioned as a single collection including multiple project collections. It is necessary, though, for us to have some way to associate all materials with their appropriate individual project. Cross references to the specific individual project are maintained in our inventories. If the collection is from multiple small projects it is useful to have all records for each project, including the report, in the same box as the specimens. Multiple record collections in one box can be placed in individual large manila envelopes and labeled. Multiple specimen collections can be sorted into large bags. Beginning January 1, 1996, materials should be in 4 mil zip lock bags. We will, however, recognize a transition period for those projects already in process or for existing collections from earlier projects. In these cases, ordinary kraft paper bags are acceptable to us for ordinary archaeological materials if the bags are in good condition and large enough to be securely closed without rubber bands, staples, etc. But the container should be appropriate to the type of material enclosed and any specific agency requirements must be met. We do not label artifacts prior to curation. Nor do we search for missing information on bags, etc. If collections come to us in bags with only a bag number, that is all we record. We will not go to bags lists or other records to determine exact provenience or other missing information. If you have specific contractual requirements on these or other matters, be sure they have been met. Now having noted what we do not do, let us hasten to add that we will be more than happy to perform any of these services or additional services as needed. But they are subject to additional cost. CURATION COSTSOur curation costs are divided into two components, preparation and maintenance. These are basically self-explanatory. Preparation costs are those costs incurred in preparing the collection for transfer to the repository: unpacking, organization, inventory, database work, etc. Preparation costs include wages and benefits and are subject to the current on campus overhead rate. Small charges for materials may be added if the collection is large or otherwise has special needs. The collection maintenance fee is for storage of the collection and its future maintenance. No overhead is ordinarily charged on the collection maintenance fee. Due to our experience with a variety of organizations we have developed several different methods of billing for curation. Curation project budgets can be fixed price, per box, or cost reimbursable. We prefer the latter type, particularly for large projects, given the highly variable nature of archaeological collections. Also, it has been our experience that the size of most collections is overestimated and that our repacking reduces the size of most collections by 10-15 percent. In cost reimbursable projects, we establish rates for labor, etc., and bill actual costs as per this agreement. Several of our standing arrangements are of this type. Agencies send us collections on an as needed basis, we curate them, and bill per the standing agreement. Fixed price projects are mainly for larger collections and usually are negotiated after inspection of the collection. Per box projects provide a flat rate for preparation and collection maintenance. These agreements are primarily to meet the needs of private contractors who need a flat fee for their preparation of technical proposals and budgets in response to scopes of work. There are some restrictions on these arrangements. The collections must be of an ordinary archaeological nature. The bags or other containers must be in good condition. The collection must be well organized and documented. We also have two ways of handling just the collection maintenance fee. In almost every case, this is a one time payment. The fee is placed into an income generating account, essentially a collections endowment, and the proceeds used for maintaining the collection. There are some agencies, however, which are prohibited from entering into such an agreement. For these cases we have an established annual fee, to be renegotiated every ten years. Due to the additional paperwork of these agreements, these curation fees are subject to overhead at the on campus rate at the time of billing. The final method is the minimum charge. This can be used as a one time payment for very small collections on an individual submittal basis. This fee is set to cover the administrative costs of curation, which are basically the same regardless of the size of the collection. This is not a cost effective approach for most situations, but we have established the fee at the request of one consultant. In our experience, the accessioning of ordinary collections usually takes four to six hours per box, more often the latter figure. This is a ball park estimate only, however. We have received poorly organized collections which have taken up to three times this long per box. Depending on the materials at hand, a box can contain a few large bags or hundreds of tiny samples. More specifically, ordinary collections take about five minutes per item. This is really not much time for unpacking, organization, inventory, repacking, database work, etc., etc CURATION FEES, JANUARY 1, 2000
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