Documenting Your Collections
Info-Muse Network Documentation Guide

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Accession Date (Source)

Definition:

Observation:

• This field is used in conjunction with the Acquisition Mode and Source fields.
  Example

  A specimen bequeathed by Father Joaqim Ronaldo on May 22, 1912

  	Acquisition Mode	bequest
  	Accession Date	1912-05-22
  	Source	Ronaldo, Joaqim, Father

Entry rules:

1. Enter the date in the form YYYY dash MM dash DD, in numbers only (Y for "year," M for "month," D for "day").
   Example

   A specimen purchased from the store of taxidermist Gilbert Sullivan on July 24, 1972

   	Acquisition Mode	purchase
   	Accession Date	1972-07-24
   	Source	Taxidermist Gilbert Sullivan reg.

2. If only the year of acquisition is known, enter it in the form YYYY (Y for "year").
   Example

   	Accession Date	1929

3. If you are unsure whether your information is correct, include a space and a question mark after the date.
   Example

   	Accession Date	1956-12-01 ?

4. If you know that a specimen was in your collections on a specific date, but you have no information on the accession date, enter the date indicated in your files, followed by a space and the abbreviation "P" for "prior to."
   Example

   A naturalized bluebird for which there is a date of assessment of its condition (Current Condition Date field), but no accession data.

   	Discipline	ornithology
   	Genus	Sialia
   	Species	currucoides
   	Current Condition	excellent
   	Current Condition Date	1959-04-19
   	Acquisition Mode	unknown
   	Accession Date	1959-04-19 P
   	Source	unknown

5. If you are unable to determine the accession date despite your research, enter "unknown".
   Example

   A specimen for which there is no information on its source.

   	Acquisition Mode	unknown
   	Accession Date	unknown
   	Source	unknown

6. This field may not contain more than one entry.