Overview

Depending on the stipulations in the gift agreement, separated material can either be destroyed or returned to the donor. See this decision-making guide for more information on how to locate separations (internal link).

Processors will then need to follow the workflow described in the "Separations" checklist on the Checklist templates card on the Processing Team Trello board (internal link) once the separated material has been separated.

Field and processing archivists will add a variety of documentation to donor files over the course of their work. These kinds of documentation include, but are not limited to:

• Printed accession records that document the material brought into the Bentley.

• Correspondence with donors, including summaries of correspondence between field archivists and donors.

• Gift agreements and addenda.

• Signed interview release forms.

• Physical and digital inventory lists, such as box-level inventories.

• Separation records.

The field or processing archivist should add the donor number to the upper-right hand corner of the physical document being placed in the donor file if that number is not present on the documentation itself. This will reduce the chance that documents are misplaced in other donor files.

As of July 1, 2025, the processing team is creating digital donor files that exist alongside physical donor files. See this document (internal link) for an explanation of expectations for processors. 

Once a processing project has been completed and any separated material has been moved to the appropriate place(s), the appropriate field archivist(s) should be notified.