Version 2.0 is a legacy release, and these documents are no longer being maintained.

Archival Institutions

Archival institutions are one of the core entity types in AtoM and provide users with the means of managing information about repositories and other institutions and organizations that hold archival materials or other cultural heritage items and artifacts.

In AtoM, archival institution descriptions are structured into information areas based on the ICA’s International Standard for Describing Institutions with Archival Holdings (ISDIAH). The ISDIAH glossary describes an archival institution as: “An organization which keeps and preserves archival material and makes it accessible to the public.” While generally targeted at institutions whose primary function is to collect and keep archives and make them publicly available, the ISDIAH introduction goes on to note that:

…other entities such as cultural institutions (libraries, museums), businesses, families or individuals may hold archives. This standard, or an appropriate subset of its elements, can be applied to all entities which provide access to the records they hold.

Information captured in the archival institution description template is comprehensive, but relates specifically to the repository’s role collecting and providing access to cultural heritage materials. In addition to capturing identity and history information, the ISDIAH standard provides information areas to record information about collection policies,services offered, buildings, accessibility, and more. Consequently, the archival institution record should be considered distinct from, but complementary to, that of an authority record. The ISDIAH Introduction notes that:

As corporate bodies, persons or families, the holders of archival materials may be described in ISAAR(CPF) compliant authority records including the appropriate elements of description as indicated in ISDIAH. Otherwise, the description of holders may be included in separate authority files.

In AtoM, archival descriptions can be linked to archival institutions and the holdings of an institution can be browsed even when AtoM is used as a multi-repository system. On all related archival description view pages, the institition’s name and logo will appear as hyperlinks to the archival institution record; similarly, an archival institution’s page will list its holdings as hyperlinks to related archival descriptions. Institutions can also be themed in AtoM - when a background color is added to the archival institution, the same background color will appear behind all related archival descriptions to highlight the relationship.

An example of a themed archival institution page

Below are instructions for using the Archival institution module in AtoM to:

For information on working with specific fields with AtoM’s archival institution edit page, see:

  • International Standard for Describing Institutions with Archival Holdings (ISDIAH)

See also

Note

By default, only an authenticated (i.e. logged in) administrator can add, edit, update or delete an archival institution. For more information on edit privileges and user roles see: User roles. For information on logging in, see: Log in. Administrators can also change the access privleges associated with a user account - for more information, see: Edit user permissions.

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Add a new archival institution

This section contains instructions on how to Add a new archival institution in AtoM. There are three main ways to add an archival institution record in AtoM - doing so via the plus “Add” menu is the easiest, but to accommodate different workflows, archival institution records can also be added from an archival description or from the view page of another archival institution. Below are instructions to add a new archival institution:

For specific information on the fields in the archival institution’s edit page, see: ISDIAH template

Add a new archival institution from the main menu

A new archival institution can be added at any time, from anywhere in the application, via the main menu.

Note

Administrators must be logged-in in order to add a new archival institution. For more information on logging in, see: Log in. See User roles for more information on groups and default permissions in AtoM.

To create a new archival institution:

  1. In the main menu located in the header bar, click the plus “Add” menu and select “Archival institution” from the drop-down menu.
  2. AtoM takes you to a blank edit page for data entry.
An image of a new archival institution edit page
  1. On loading, the edit page displays the record with all information areas closed; click on an information area to access the fields grouped under it. Enter data as required.
  2. You can quit the process at any time by clicking the “Cancel” button in the button block; any data already entered will not be saved and no new record will be added. Note that simply navigating away from the page by any other means, without first clicking “Create” will also result in no new record being created.
  3. To save a new record, click the “Create” button in the button block at the bottom of the record.
Click create to save your new archival institution

Once the new archival institution is saved, you will be redirected to the record’s view page, where you can review your work. Clicking “Edit” in the button block at the bottom of the record will re-open the archival institution in edit mode.

Add a new archival instituion from an archival description edit page

A new archival institution can be generated from an archival description record at any time; it does not first have to be created separately.

An archival institution can be added via a value list that appears in a drop-down menu - as you type data into the “Repository” field, the value list will narrow its options to present related suggestions. If the archival institution already exists, you can select the name from the values and a link will be created.

If the archival institution does not already exist, however, new names can be added “on the fly” by typing and entering the name of the archival institution in the designated field; an archival institution record will be automatically created once you click the “Create” button in the button block at the bottom of the record.

Whenever a new archival institution is added to an archival description, a new record for that name will be generated when the archival description is saved. Because each edit template uses different labels for the field to add a new archival institution, template specific instructions have been included below.

ISAD(G) edit template

  • In the “Context area” information area of the ISAD(G) template, navigate to the “Repository” field and enter a new name.
  • The name will be saved as a new archival institution when you save the archival description.

Rules for Archival Description (RAD) edit template

  • In the “Title and statement of responsibility area” information area of the RAD template, navigate to the “Repository” field and enter a new institution name.
  • The name will be saved as a new archival institution when you save the archival description.

Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS) edit template

  • In the “Identity elements” information area of the DACS template, navigate to the “Name and location of repository” field and enter a new name.
  • The name will be saved as a new archival institution when you save the archival description.

Dublin Core Version 1.1 (DC) edit template

  • In the “Elements area” information area of the Dublin Core template, navigate to the “Relation(isLocatedAt)” field and enter a new name.
  • The name will be saved as a new archival institution when you save the archival description.

Metadata Object Description Schema (MODS) edit template

  • In the “Elements area” information area of the MODS template, navigate to the “Repository” field and enter a new name.
  • The name will be saved as a new archival institution when you save the archival description.

The newly created archival institution will then have to be edited to include necessary data. To edit the archival institution record, see the Edit an existing archival institution section of this page.

Add a new archival institution from the view page

A new archival institution can also be added to AtoM from the view page of any other archival institution via the Add new button in the button block. To do so:

  1. Navigate to an existing archival institution in AtoM. You can do this by browsing or by searching for a specific archival institution - see Access content for more information on navigation in AtoM.
  2. At the bottom of the archival institution view page, you will see the button block with several options (Edit, Delete, and Add new). Click the Add new button.
Click Add new to create a new repository
  1. AtoM takes you to a blank edit page for data entry. On loading, the edit page displays the record with all information areas closed; click on an information area to access the fields grouped under it. Enter data as required.
An image of a new archival institution edit page
  1. You can quit the creation process at any time by clicking the “Cancel” button in the button block; any data already entered will not be saved, and no new record will be created. Note that simply navigating away from the page by any other means, without first clicking “Create” will also result in no new record being created.
  2. To save the new record, click the “Create” button located in the button block at the bottom of the record.
Click create to save your new archival institution

Once the new archival institution is saved, you will be redirected to the record’s view page, where you can review your work. Clicking “Edit” in the button block at the bottom of the record will re-open the archival institution in edit mode.

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Edit an existing archival institution

This section contains instructions on how to edit an existing archival institution, after it has been created. For information on how to theme your archival institution, see below.

Note

Only an authenticated (i.e. logged in) administrator user can edit or update an archival institution. For more information on edit privileges and user roles see: User roles.

An archival institution’s description can be edited at any time.

To edit an existing archival institution:

  1. First, navigate to the archival institution you wish to edit. You can do this by browsing or searching for the archival institution by name. See access content for more information on navigation in AtoM.
  2. Switch from view mode to edit mode by clicking the “Edit” button in the button block located at the bottom of the record, or by clicking on one of the information area headings; this takes you to the record’s edit page.
Click create to save your new archival institution
  1. On loading, the edit page displays the record with all information areas closed; click on an information area to access the fields grouped under it.
On loading, all information areas are closed; click one to expand
  1. Add and/or revise data as required. See ISDIAH template for field-specific guidance.
  2. You can quit the create process at any time by clicking the “Cancel” button in the button block; any changes made will not be saved. Note that simply navigating away from the page by any other means, without first clicking “Save” will also result in no changes being saved to the archival institution.
  3. To save your edits, click the “Save” button located in the button block at the bottom of the record.
Click to save your new archival institution

You will be redirected to the view page for the edited archival institution, where you can review your work.

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Edit the theme for an existing archival institution

AtoM 2.0 introduces a new design feature for users that allows them to customize their archival institution’s page by adding/editing an institution logo and/or banner, as well as choose a specific background color for their institution’s page. Once added, the background color and logo will appear on all of the institution’s related archival descriptions (see above for information on how to create a link between an archival description and an archival institution).

Additionally, users can add custom HTML and inline CSS to a description area for specific highlighted content. These features can be especially useful in a multi-repository system as they help users visually identify where archival descriptions are held, and allow for an institution in a multi-repository system such a network or provincial/state portal to better match their institution’s local branding. Editing the theme of your archival institution is comprised of four main elements:

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Change the background color of an archival institution

This new design feature allows authenticated (i.e. logged in) administrators to customize their archival institution record by changing the background color of the page. Users can choose and modify (i.e. hue, tint) a color from a pre-determined color pallette. Changing the background color in an archival institution edit page will automatically change the background color of all the archival description pages linked to that specific institution.

To change the background color of an archival institution page:

  1. First, navigate to the archival institution whose theme you wish to edit. You can do this by browsing or searching for the archival institution by name. See access content for more information on navigation in AtoM.
  2. Click on the “Edit theme” button in the button block at the bottom of the archival institution’s edit page.
An image of the edit theme button in the button block
  1. AtoM will reload load the institutions theme edit page. From here, authenticated users can change the background color, upload a logo and/or banner, and add custom content.
An image of the theme edit page in AtoM
  1. In the “Style” area, click on the Background color (you can click on the title, the color swatch, or text box showing the hex color code). A color picker will appear as a drop-down menu.
An image of the color picker in the Edit Theme page An closeup of the color picker in the Edit Theme page
  1. Select the color that you would like to use as the background for your archival institution record. This color will appear as the background for all related archival descriptions as well. Use the slider on the right of the color picker drop-down to select a hue - you can click or drag the slider bar to dynamically change the color in the pallette. Use the pallette to select a tint - you can click or drag in the pallette to dynamically change the color. There is also a text-box provided where you can manually enter a hex color code if you with. The selected color will be displayed in the small preview box next to the hex color code text-box. You can click anywhere outside of the the color picker to hide the drop-down.
  2. You can quit the theming process at any time by clicking the “Cancel” button in the button block; any changes made will not be saved. Note that simply navigating away from the page by any other means, without first clicking “Save” will also result in no changes being saved to the archival institution.
  3. When you have selected your new background color, click “Save” in the button block at the bottom of the page. AtoM will reload the archival institution in view mode, where you can review how the new color looks. If needed, you can repeat steps 2-6 until you are happy with the selection.
An image of an archival institution with a custom color

Important

Be sure to check the appearance of titles, text, and hyperlinks on your archival institution page and on any related archival descriptions. Some color choices make decrease accessibility, and make titles, text, and hyperlinks harder for users to read.

Add/edit a logo to an existing archival institution

Authenticated (i.e. logged in) administrators also have the option to customize the archival institution record by adding a logo to the institution’s page. Below are instructions to add a logo and edit and/or delete an exisiting logo for an archival institution.

Add a logo for an archival institution

  1. First, navigate to the archival institution you wish to edit. You can do this by browsing or searching for the archival institution - see Access content for more information on navigation in AtoM.
  2. Switch from view mode to edit mode by clicking “Edit theme” button in the button block.
An image of the edit theme button in the button block
  1. From here, authenticated users can upload a logo. In the “Style” area, under the “Logo” field, click the “Browse” button.
An image of the logo upload in the Style area
  1. A separate window will open; select the image on your computer that you’d like to add as the logo for the institution. Note that AtoM supports only specific sizing requirements with regards to the logo images (See below).

Note

AtoM requires that the image uploaded as the institution logo be in PNG format. The image cannot exceed 256k in size. If the image selected for upload does not meet these requirements, you will receive an error message below the “Logo” field after clicking the “Save” button, and your upload will not be saved.

Ideally, the image size should be between 200x200 and 270x270 pixels square. If the image you upload does not meet these sizing specifications, it will be automatically cropped by ImageMagick to meet the requirements listed above.

  1. You can quit the theming process at any time by clicking the “Cancel” button in the button block; any changes made will not be saved. Note that simply navigating away from the page by any other means, without first clicking “Save” will also result in no changes being saved to the archival institution.
  2. When you have selected your logo, click “Save” in the button block at the bottom of the page. AtoM will reload the archival institution in view mode, where you can review the logo. If needed, you can repeat step 2 through 4 until you are happy with the selection.
An image of a user uploading a logo

Once uploaded, the logo will appear above the “Upload limit” section of the Context menu, in the top left-hand corner of the archival institution’s view page. This logo will also appear when browsing archival institutions in AtoM, appearing above the name of the archival institution, as well as on any archival description page linked to the archival institution.

An image of an archival institution with an uploaded logo

Edit/remove an exisiting logo for an archival institution

To edit an exisiting logo:

  1. Navigate to the archival institution you wish to edit. You can do this by browsing or searching for the archival institution - see Access content for more information on navigation in AtoM.
An image of an archival institution with an uploaded logo
  1. Switch from view mode to edit mode by clicking “Edit theme” button in the button block.
An image of the edit theme button in the button block
  1. From here, navigate to the “Style” area, under the “Logo” field, click the “Browse” button under the exisiting logo.
Selecting the "Browse" button to upload a new logo
  1. A separate window will open; select the image on your computer that you’d like to replace the existing logo with. See the previous section for direction on AtoM sizing requirements for logo images.
  2. You can quit the theming process at any time by clicking the “Cancel” button in the button block; any changes made will not be saved and the existing logo will remain as such. Note that simply navigating away from the page by any other means, without first clicking “Save” will also result in no changes being saved to the archival institution.
  3. Once you’ve selected your logo, check the box next to “Remove the current file”, located below the existing logo, and click “Save” in the button block at the bottom of the page. AtoM will reload the archival institution in view mode.
A image of the institution after a successful logo change

Important

You must refresh your browser in order to see the changes made to archival institution’s logo!

  1. If needed, you can repeat step 2 through 4 until you are happy with the selection of your logo.

To remove an existing logo:

  1. Navigate to the archival institution you wish to edit. You can do this by browsing or searching for the archival institution - see Access content for more information on navigation in AtoM.
  2. Switch from view mode to edit mode by clicking “Edit theme” button in the button block.
An image of the edit theme button in the button block
  1. From here, navigate to the “Logo” field under the “Style” area; check the box next to “Remove the current file”, located under the current logo image.
An image of the checkbox to remove a logo
  1. You can quit the theming process at any time by clicking the “Cancel” button in the button block; any changes made will not be saved and the existing logo will remain as such. Note that simply navigating away from the page by any other means, without first clicking “Save” will also result in no changes being saved to the archival institution.
  2. Once you’ve checked the box, click “Save” in the button block at the bottom of the page. AtoM will reload the archival institution in view mode, where the logo will have been removed.

A new logo can be added again at any time. See Add a new logo.

Add/edit a banner to an existing archival institution

Authenticated (i.e. logged in) administrators can further customize their archival institution page by adding a banner. Once uploaded, the banner will appear on the archival institution’s view page, below the institution’s name. Unlike the institution’s logo, the banner will not appear on any archival description pages linked to the archival institution. Below are instructions to add a banner and edit and/or delete an exisiting banner for an archival institution.

Add a banner for an archival institution

  1. Navigate to the archival institution you wish to edit. You can do this by browsing or searching for the archival institution - see Access content for more information on navigation in AtoM.
An example of an institution without a banner
  1. Switch from view mode to edit mode by clicking “Edit theme” button in the button block.
An image of the edit theme button in the button block
  1. From here, authenticated users can upload a banner. In the “Style” area, under the “Banner” field, click the “Choose file” button.
An image of the upload banner area in the edit theme page
  1. A separate window will open; select the image on your computer that you’d like to add as the banner for the institution. Note that AtoM supports only specific sizing requirements with regards to the banner images (See below).
  1. You can quit the theming process at any time by clicking the “Cancel” button in the button block; any changes made will not be saved. Note that simply navigating away from the page by any other means, without first clicking “Save” will also result in no changes being saved to the archival institution.
  2. When you have selected your banner, click “Save” in the button block at the bottom of the page. AtoM will reload the archival institution in view mode, where you can review the banner. If needed, you can repeat step 2 through 4 until you are happy with the selection.
An image of an institution with a banner added

Edit/remove an existing banner for an archival institution

To edit an existing banner:

  1. Navigate to the archival institution you wish to edit. You can do this by browsing or searching for the archival institution - see Access content for more information on navigation in AtoM.
  2. Switch from view mode to edit mode by clicking “Edit theme” button in the button block.
An image of the edit theme button in the button block
  1. From here, navigate to the “Style” area, under the “Logo” field, click the “Choose file” button under the exisiting logo.
  2. A separate window will open; select the image on your computer that you’d like to replace the existing banner with. See the previous section for direction on AtoM sizing requirements for banner images.
  3. You can quit the theming process at any time by clicking the “Cancel” button in the button block; any changes made will not be saved and the existing banner will remain as such. Note that simply navigating away from the page by any other means, without first clicking “Save” will also result in no changes being saved to the archival institution.
  4. Once you’ve selected your banner, check the box next to “Remove the current file”, located below the existing banner, and click “Save” in the button block at the bottom of the page. AtoM will reload the archival institution in view mode.
An image of the checkbox to remove the current banner

Important

You must refresh your browser in order to see the changes made to archival institution’s banner!

  1. If needed, you can repeat step 2 through 4 until you are happy with the selection of your banner.

To remove an existing banner:

  1. Navigate to the archival institution you wish to edit. You can do this by browsing or searching for the archival institution - see Access content for more information on navigation in AtoM.
  2. Switch from view mode to edit mode by clicking “Edit theme” button in the button block.
  3. From here, navigate to the “Banner” field under the “Style” area; check the box next to “Remove the current file”, located under the current banner image.
An image of the checkbox to remove the current banner
  1. You can quit the theming process at any time by clicking the “Cancel” button in the button block; any changes made will not be saved and the existing logo will remain as such. Note that simply navigating away from the page by any other means, without first clicking “Save” will also result in no changes being saved to the archival institution.
  2. Once you’ve checked the box, click “Save” in the button block at the bottom of the page. AtoM will reload the archival institution in view mode, where the banner will have been removed.
An image of the save button in the button block

A new banner can be added again at any time. See Add a new banner.

Add a custom description to an archival institution

Users can also add custom HTML and inline CSS to an archival institution page, to further customize its content and display. This can be used to add important information (e.g. holiday hours; emergency closures) either temporarily or permanently; to embed external content such as a YouTube video or a locally hosted image; to add shortcuts to custom searches (especially in a multi-repository system such as a network or portal site); and more.

An example of customized content on a repository page

The Guelph Public Library Archives has extensively customized their content in Archeion, the Archives Association of Ontario’s portal site. See it here.

To add a custom description to an archival institution

  1. Navigate to the archival institution you wish to edit. You can do this by browsing or searching for the archival institution - see Access content for more information on navigation in AtoM.
  2. Switch from view mode to edit mode by clicking “Edit theme” button in the button block.
An image of the edit theme button in the button block
  1. From here, users can add custom HTML and in-line CSS to personalize their archival institution page. Scroll down to the information area named “Page content”, where you will find a field named “Description.”
An image of the edit field for adding custom content to a repository
  1. Begin adding you custom HTML and in-line CSS. Content that is added to this area will appear, when saved, below an uploaded banner, and above the institution’s description information areas.
An image of adding content to the description field
  1. You can quit the theming process at any time by clicking the “Cancel” button in the button block; any changes made will not be saved and the existing logo will remain as such. Note that simply navigating away from the page by any other means, without first clicking “Save” will also result in no changes being saved to the archival institution.
  2. When you have finished adding your custom content, click “Save” in the button block at the bottom of the page. AtoM will reload the archival institution in view mode, where you can review your work. If needed, you can repeat steps 2 through 4 until you are happy with the outcome.
An example of custom content added to a repository view page

Add a Google map to an archival institution

Institution view page with Google map

Institution view page with Google map

Users can add a Google map to the view page for an archival institution showing the location of the institution. These instructions do require a systems administrator who can edit AtoM’s files from the server.

  1. First, you will need to set up a Google account if you do not already have one.
  2. Next, request an API key from Google.
  3. Add the API key to AtoM’s code in the apps.yml file (view code on Github here). Uncomment the google_maps_api_key value and add the API key.
  4. Save the changes to apps.yml and clear the cache.
  5. The map will appear on an institution page only if the latitude and longitude coordinates are added to the Contact information for the repository. See Edit an existing archival institution.
  6. When the institution record is saved the map will appear at the top of the view page.

To populate the latitude and longitude values to all institutions in a multi-repository installation run in the command line:

tools:find-repository-latlng

This command will use Google to find the latitude and longitude based on the institutions’ addresses as found in the Contact information.

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Browse the holdings of an archival institution

When viewing an archival institution in AtoM, a list of holdings is displayed in the context menu on the the left-hand side of the institution’s view pages. The list that appears will be of holdings, or archival descriptions that have been linked to that institution. If you click on a holding, you will be redirected to that description’s view page.

An example of an institution's holdings list

In this example, the holdings list for the Regional Municipality of Waterloo has been outlined in red

Tip

For more information on linking an archival description to an : term:archival institution, see Link an archival description to an archival institution.

Only a maximum of 10 archival descriptions will appear at once; they will be listed alphabetically. If the archival institution has more than 10 holdings linked to its repository, a “Browse ## holdings” link will appear below the list, indicating the total number of holdings (in place of “##”) linked to that archival institution. Click on the link to be redirected to a browse page where all the holdings that have been linked to that institution will be listed. The results can be sorted by “Most recent” or “Alphabetical”; hover above the visible option next to the “Sort button”, on the right-hand corner above the results, to select the alternative from a drop-down menu. For more information, see: Facet filters.

An example of an institution's holdings browse page

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Set digital object upload limit for an archival institution

When viewing an archival institution in AtoM, an “Upload limit” bar is displayed in the context menu on the the left-hand side of the institution’s page.

Note

By default, only authenticated (i.e. logged in) users can view the “Upload limit” bar, and only an authenticated administrator can edit the upload limit. For more information on edit privileges and user roles see: User roles. For information on logging in, see: Log in.

To set the digital object upload limit for an archival institution:

  1. Navigate to the archival institution you wish to edit. You can do this by browsing or searching for the archival institution - see Access content for more information on navigation in AtoM.
  2. Click the “Edit” link located below the “Upload limit” bar on the left-hand side of the page.
An image of the archival institution upload limit settings
  1. A dialogue box will apear that will allow for 1 of 3 options:
    • Disable uploads will prevent users from uploading any digital objects.
    • Limit uploads to _____ GB will allow an administrator to set a specific upload limit per archival institution.
    • Allow unlimited uploads is the default setting in AtoM that places no restrictions on an authenticated user’s digital object uploads.
An image of the upload limit dialog
  1. You can quit the process at any time by clicking the “Cancel” button, or the exiting (i.e. clicking “X”) the window. Any changes made will not be saved.
  2. When you’ve made your selection, click the “Save” button. The archival institution’s view page will display your changes made according to :
    • If you selected Disable uploads, the Upload limit bar will automatically be removed and the Upload limit section will indicate that the uploads have been disabled.
    • If you selected Allow unlimited uploads, the Upload limit bar will automatically be removed and the Upload limit section will indicate the institution’s current uploaded amount, as well as the limit, which will be Unlimited (e.g. “2.65 GB of Unlimited”).
    • If you selected a specific number of GB as an upload limit, that number will appear below the Upload limit bar, alongside the institution’s current uploaded amount (e.g. “2.56 of 10 GB”).
  3. Additional changes to the Upload limit can be made at any time by following the steps 2 through 5.

Important

The limits set here are different than the execution limits set by your system administrator. For more information, see: Execution limits.

For more information on managing digital objects, see also:

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Delete an archival institution

Follow the instructions below to delete an archival institution in AtoM:

  1. Navigate to the archival institution record you want to delete. You can do this by browsing or Search for the archival description - see Access content for more information on navigation in AtoM.
  2. Scroll to the bottom of the institution’s view page and click the Delete button in the button block.
An example of the archival institution button block
  1. AtoM will provide a warning and prompts you to confirm that you really wish to delete the institution. To delete the record, click the Delete button.
An example of a delete confirmation request
  1. AtoM deletes the record and opens the archival institution browse results page.

Note

Deleting the archival institution record removes the archival institution from the repository field in linked archival descriptions but does not remove the archival descriptions themselves.

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Version 2.0

[Table of contents]

Contents

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