--- title: Identifiers and Numbering description: Configure accession, object, intake, and loan numbering schemes and assign museum numbers as you catalog, import, and accession. section: guides order: 15 updated: 2026-06-22 verified: 2026-06-22 related: [guides/working-with-artifacts, guides/importing-photos, reference/roles-and-permissions] features: [identifiers] --- # Identifiers and Numbering You'll set up how your institution numbers its acquisitions and objects, then assign those numbers as you create, import, and accession items — without ever hand-tracking the next number. Museum numbers are structured and permanent: an accession number for each acquisition (`2026.012`), an object number for each cataloged item (`2026.012.003`), and optional temporary intake and loan numbers. Preservated generates them from configurable **schemes**, guarantees they're unique, and keeps a registry of every number it has issued. :::info Find everything below under **Admin → Identifiers** (`/your-institution/admin/identifiers`). Configuring schemes requires the **admin** role; assigning numbers requires **editor** or higher. See [Roles and permissions](/docs/en-US/reference/roles-and-permissions). ::: ## How numbering works Four number types are supported, each with its own scheme: - **Accession** — identifies an acquisition event (gift, purchase, transfer), e.g. `2026.001`. - **Object** — identifies a cataloged item, often derived from its accession, e.g. `2026.001.003`. - **Temporary intake** — an optional pre-accession number, e.g. `2026-TMP-0001`. - **Loan** — optional incoming/outgoing loan tracking, e.g. `2026-L-0001`. The first time you open the Identifiers page, Preservated seeds a sensible default scheme for each type. You can rename, replace, or add schemes at any time. :::warning Changing a scheme never rewrites numbers that already exist. It only changes what gets **allocated next** and how richly old numbers are explained. Existing numbers are permanent identifiers. ::: ## Configure schemes The **Settings** tab lists the schemes for each type, showing the default, the template, and a live example. Use **New scheme** (top of the page) to pick a preset (year + accession, year + accession + item, prefix + sequence, simple sequence, …), name it, and optionally make it the default; a live example shows what numbers it will produce. Each scheme row has an actions menu (**⋯**) with: - **Edit** — rename a scheme or change whether it's the default or enabled. - **Set default** — the default scheme is the one used to allocate new numbers of that type. There is exactly one default per type; choosing a new default replaces the previous one. - **Disable** — stops a scheme from issuing new numbers while still recognizing the numbers it issued before (useful when you switch formats). - **Duplicate** — copy a scheme as a starting point for a variant. ## Assign numbers while cataloging When you create an artifact, the **Acquisition** picker and the number field together assign its number. The picker is one searchable list of every acquisition the object can belong to — accession groups, incoming loans, and temporary receipts — found by typing any of its details (type "Jones" to find "Gift from Richard and Mary Jones"). The kind you pick decides the kind of number the object gets — and the field is labelled to match (**Object number**, **Loan number**, or **Temporary number**): - **Accession group** → an **object number** derived from the accession (e.g. `2026.001.003`). - **Loan** (an object borrowed *by* your museum) → a **loan number** (e.g. `2026-L-0005`). Loans are tracked but never accessioned — you don't own them. - **Temporary** (an object received but not yet accessioned) → a **temporary number** (e.g. `2026-TMP-0004`), for items awaiting an acquisition decision. Don't have the right one yet? **Create accession… / loan… / temporary…** at the bottom of the list opens a short form for that kind (a loan records the lender and dates; a temporary records who it came from and why) and selects it. The number field then shows the number, with an **Auto / Manual** toggle: **Auto** previews the next number for the chosen acquisition; **Manual** lets you type one (shown with an `e.g., 2026.001.001` hint), checked for uniqueness as you go ("Verified unique"). The number is a live preview — it's reserved **when you save**, so editing before saving never consumes a number, and if two people save at once Preservated assigns the next free number. ### On the Edit screen The same **Acquisition** picker and number field appear when editing — for object, loan, and temporary numbers alike, with the field labelled by kind (**Object number**, **Loan number**, or **Temporary number**). The picker offers every acquisition (accession groups, loans, and temporary sources), just like on the New screen. The number is already set and shown read-only, so the toggle reads **Assigned**. Two ways to change it: - **Change the accession** in the picker — the toggle switches to **Auto**, previews the new number, and asks for a reason. Saving retires the old number and issues the new one under the chosen acquisition, keeping a linked history. This works across kinds too: pick an accession group for a loaned item and it's reclassified to an object number, with the old loan number retired (not left behind). - Switch the toggle to **Override** to type a corrected value with a required reason. Either way the old number is deprecated and linked to the new one rather than edited over, so the trail stays intact. ## Assign numbers in bulk When some artifacts don't yet have an object number, the **Settings** tab shows a prompt with the count and a link to **Assign object numbers**. That page lists every artifact still missing an object number in a searchable, filterable grid: - Pick the **accession group** to assign under — its year and number are inherited by the object numbers. - **Select all** the matches, or filter and select a subset. - **Assign N identifiers** reserves and applies one number to each selected item in counter order. Run it again to number items under a different accession group. Assigned artifacts drop off the list as you go. Use **Done** (or the breadcrumb) to return to the Identifiers page. ## Numbering on import Imported records often already carry identifiers. By default Preservated **keeps the source identifier** verbatim and records it on the artifact, so provider or spreadsheet numbers survive the import. Two other policies exist — **renumber** from your default object scheme, or **keep the source id with an institutional prefix** (e.g. `NYPL:123`) — each with an on-collision behavior (suffix, skip, or error) for duplicate values. During import, the **Detect numbering scheme** step samples the identifier column and offers to adopt a matching scheme plus baseline counters so newly generated numbers continue past your existing ones. :::note Choosing the import numbering policy per import — rather than once for the whole institution — is moving into the import wizard's options. Until then, imports keep source identifiers by default. ::: :::tip "Renumber" needs a default object scheme that doesn't depend on an accession (for example a prefix or simple-sequence scheme), because imported records have no accession event. ::: ## Browse the registry and re-scan The **Registry** tab shows what's been numbered: - An **artifact grid** you can filter to all artifacts, those that **have** an object number, or those **missing** one — with the same search and sorting as the main artifact list. - An **Other identifiers** list for numbers an artifact grid can't show — accession-event numbers, numbers reserved for labels, and retired/released history — with counts by status and source. **Re-scan identifiers** (on the Settings tab) re-interprets imported and manually entered numbers after you change schemes, so their breakdowns stay accurate. Generated numbers are never touched. ## Intake and loan numbers Intake and loan numbers are allocated from their schemes like any other number. When a temporary intake item is accessioned, **promoting** it retires the intake number and links it to the new accession number, leaving a clear trail.