Processing rates vary a great deal from collection to collection. The following guidelines have been useful and reliable within the Beinecke Manuscript Unit, and should provide a rough estimate of the time necessary to process a collection. The rates include all processing steps, from survey to final revisions of finding aids. Processing estimates are derived from preliminary examinations of materials and can be revised if complications are encountered during processing.
Factors to consider when determining a rate of processing
Proposed level of processing for the collection or parts thereof
Language and/or difficulty in deciphering handwriting
Preservation considerations for the material (fragility, multiple formats, etc.)
Economies of scale (larger collections take fewer hours per linear foot)
Processing of formats that cannot meaningfully be represented in linear feet (e.g. electronic files and audiovisual materials) cannot be estimated by these measures. Additional time should be added if these materials are present in significant quantities.
Processing Rate D (10 or fewer hours per linear foot)
Used for collections that have no significant organizational problems. A minimum amount of arrangement is necessary. Staff time will be expended chiefly on the basic work required for all collections: box, folder, list, and describe the contents of the papers. Records of organizations and collections that consist primarily of manuscripts of published works often fall into the D category, as does most Baseline processing.
Processing Rate C (10 to 20 hours per linear foot)
Used for collections that have mild organizational problems. Papers may have some order and sections of the collection may be properly sorted, although significant portions must be arranged. Most collections can be processed at this rate.
Processing Rate B (20 to 30 hours per linear foot)
Used for collections that have little or no apparent arrangement. Different kinds of materials are mixed together, correspondence is unsorted or stored in original envelopes, some papers and correspondents are unidentified, and extensive preservation work may be required.
Processing Rate A (30 to 40 hours per linear foot)
Used for collections that must be described at the item level, such as high-profile autograph collections. Very rarely used.
A preliminary analysis of a collection may indicate that the degree of processing difficulty may fall at the high or low end of a category. Thus:
Processing rate A/B (35 hours per linear foot)
Processing rate B/C (25 hours per linear foot)
Processing rate C/D (15 hours per linear foot)
Total processing time is determined by multiplying the estimated linear footage by the processing rate.
4.5 linear ft. x 20 hours per ft. = 90 hours