Physical storage¶

Manage physical storage types¶

Institutions can change and manage the terms used to describe physical object containers and locations by using the Physical Object Type taxonomy:

Click on the Manage menu, then on Taxonomies. From the list, click on Physical Object Type.

By clicking on an object type, you can view the object type in the taxonomy, displaying hierarchical terms if applicable.

The default hierarchy in the Physical Object type taxonomy in AtoM is as follows:

The intended use is for “Containers” to include specific storage containers, such as box numbers, cabinet drawers, etc., and for “Locations” to include more general storage locations, such as “Cold storage,” “Vault,” etc. Storage types and uses can be customized to meet institutional practices, however in order to link a custom storage container to a new or existing archival description you must nest the storage container under “Container.”

For more information on working with terms and taxonomies in AtoM, see: Terms.

Edit storage types¶

All storage terms except “Artefact”, “Container” and “Location” can be edited or deleted by authenticated users (for more information about locked terms, see Terms).

Click on the name of a Physical Object Type, then click on edit:

From here, the name of the physical object type can be changed, and internal notes, codes and uses can be added.

By clicking on the Relationships area, the term’s placement in the hierarchy can be altered and new narrow terms can be added:

Click on save to save your changes.

Add storage types¶

New physical storage types can be created by clicking “Add new” in the button block located on the Physical Object Type taxonomy view page:

Another method of adding a new storage type is to click “Add new” when viewing an existing Physical Object type. This will automatically nest the new term as a child of the existing term.

Note

This is the method to use is you wish to add a storage container to link to archival descriptions. Find “Container,” and click “Add new.”

Link physical storage¶

Linking archival descriptions to physical locations is performed from the view page of the related archival description.

Add/change container links¶

Physical storage can be linked at any level of description. When viewing a description as a logged-in user, click on the “More” button in the button block, and then on “Link physical storage”:

If a link to a physical storage container or location already exists, it can be edited by clicking the pencil icon, or deleted by clicking the X.

Important

This edits the information associated with the Physical storage container and location. If you change this information the change will apply across all descriptions associated with the container.

To create a link with a different storage container, begin to type the container name in the Container field. AtoM will auto-suggest existing containers as you type.

Create new container¶

To link the archival description with a container that does not yet exist in AtoM, enter a container name, location and type and click save.

New containers can also be created from the Browse physical storage area, by clicking Add new (see below).

Browse physical storage¶

Physical storage can be browsed by authenticated (logged in) users through the Manage menu:

Once in Browse Physical storage, users have the option of sorting the storage entries by Name (of container) or Location by clicking in the first row of the Physical storage table:

When a user clicks on a container name, AtoM displays a list of the resources associated with that name:

By clicking the print icon users can produce a report for the storage container which includes the Reference code, Title, Dates, Part of (fonds or collection name) and Conditions governing access.

Click “close” to return to the container storage view.

Visibility¶

Administrators are able to choose to make physical storage information available to unauthenicated (not logged-in) users or not through the Visible elements section of the Admin menu.

To access the visible elements menu, click on the Admin menu in the main menu located in the header bar and select “Visible elements” from the drop-down menu.

Click on “Physical storage” to show the Physical storage check box. Check the box to allow unauthenicated users to see storage information or uncheck to disallow. Click save.

If visible, physical storage information will appear in the right hand column of the screen when viewing an archival description.

Back to top