Inventorying for Archives

Inventorying collections is one of the most crucial parts of any collections management program. A complete inventory underpins good intellectual control, emergency preparedness and response, and security, as well as helps to determine processing and preservation priorities. In this webinar, DHPSNY Archives Specialist, Kate Philipson, will discuss the process and principles for carrying out a basic inventory of your archival materials, recognizing the unique challenges and opportunities inherent in working with collections of records in the aggregate. While this webinar will mainly focus on archival records, Kate will also touch upon what to do when you have a mixed collection that includes 3D objects or other non-archival materials. This program is considered a loose follow-up to our previous program, Inventorying Collections for Museums, which you can view here. You are welcome to watch this recording in preparation, but it is not required to participate in this program. We will be following up with additional webinars on the topic of inventorying soon. This webinar addresses Focus Area #2: Training and Engagement of the Foundation for the Advancement in Conservation’s (FAIC) Held in Trust Report on Collections Care and Preventative Conservation.  About our speaker: As the Archives Specialist for the Documentary Heritage and Preservation Services for New York (DHPSNY) program, Kate Philipson conducts on-site archival needs assessments and assists with archival and preservation planning. She also develops and presents educational programs and provides technical information to library and archival repositories in New York State. Kate has previously worked as a Media Preservation Assistant in the New York University Library’s Barbara Goldsmith Preservation & Conservation Department; at the La MaMa Experimental Theater Club Archives; the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Library and Archives; and served as an NYU Gallatin Global Fellow in Urban Practice to work with the Puerto Rican Cultural Center in Humboldt Park, Chicago on forming an archive of their community history. She also held various roles at Temple University’s Urban Archives and the Library Company of Philadelphia. Kate received her MA in Archives and Public History from NYU and her BA in Film and Media Arts and American Studies from Temple University. This webinar was recorded on February 19th, 2025.