---
name: genealogy-archive-fieldwork
description: "Use when genealogy-mode or the user needs an onsite archive visit or a brief for a record agent, for material that is not online. Not for online catalogue searches."
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: Rodrigo Braz
disable-model-invocation: true
---

# Prepare Archive Fieldwork

Read the [shared research contract](../genealogy-mode/references/shared-contract.md) and [data model](../genealogy-mode/references/data-model.md) before writing case state. Resolve sibling skills by their declared names if the host uses different folder names. This suite assumes the coordinator is installed alongside its workflow skills. Read only additional references relevant to this task. Those files point on to the coordinator's [GPS policy](../genealogy-mode/references/gps-policy.md), [easy-use rules](../genealogy-mode/references/easy-use.md), [revisions and projections](../genealogy-mode/references/revisions-and-projections.md) and [host adapter contract](../genealogy-mode/references/host-adapter.md); read them when the task touches them.

## Inputs

Question; verified custodian and collection references; visit time; appointment/reader requirements; reproduction rules; already obtained material.

## Procedure

1. Confirm the repository and actual holdings using current official information. Check access, booking, identification, closures, ordering deadlines and reproduction restrictions; mark unverified details.
2. Prioritize a small request list by information value and dependencies. Include exact references, date spans, names/variants and the question each item could answer.
3. Prepare a capture sheet: repository, fonds/series, reference, title, volume, folio/page, image sequence, access date, missing pages and restrictions.
4. Instruct the visitor to capture covers, headings, pagination, full entries, continuation, margins and endorsements as permitted. Preserve page order and avoid damaging records.
5. Provide a time-boxed plan and fallback items. Include questions for staff about transfers, missing volumes and uncatalogued material; attribute any answers.
6. Separate preparation from actions performed by the user or onsite researcher. Never claim to have visited an archive yourself.
7. On return, inventory captured material, check missing/context pages, register sources and route extraction. Preserve original photographs and their sequence.

## Output contract

Visit/record-agent brief; prioritized call slips; capture checklist; staff questions; post-visit inventory.

Use the shared handoff envelope: case/question IDs, status, artifacts and evidence IDs, findings, uncertainties, actions actually performed, next actions and blockers. Store observations before conclusions; preserve field-level uncertainty.

## Quality gates and failure handling

Do not book, pay or contact third parties without applicable authorization. Do not promise availability based solely on a catalogue entry.

If a required capability is unavailable, record what was and was not done, use a documented available fallback, and return a specific handoff. Never simulate a successful external action or fabricate a source, citation, tool result or reviewer report.

## Tools and dependencies

Official service pages; request drafts; document/PDF generation; file inventory and source registration.

## Handoffs

Correspondence handles arrangements; acquisition preserves captures; extraction reads them.

## Example

With 45 minutes onsite, prioritize the file containing the original application and endorsements, then inventory what remains for a later visit.