Archival processing
Archival processing is the act of surveying, arranging, describing, and performing basic
Ideally, when an
Collection surveying
The first step in archival processing is to survey the collection. The goal of a survey is to gain an understanding of the originator, determine the context of the creation of the collection, to observe the material's overall size and scope, to ascertain if the collection has access limitations, to locate any existing finding aids submitted with the collection, and to discover any underlying organizational scheme in the collection or record group.[2]
Collection surveys should be carried out with an archival principle, respect des fonds, in mind. In following respect des fonds, which may be translated as "taking into consideration the entirety of the collection",[3] the survey must include activity to ascertain whether the materials in hand are all, or only a portion, of the entire fonds. If the archivist is in a repository that holds other parts of the fonds, he or she should assemble a plan of work that encompasses, or at least acknowledges, the entire set of materials from the same originator.
Surveying collections is a strictly observational task, without making any changes or rearrangements to the materials.[4] Because many organizations require use of a template or worksheet to ensure the surveys are thorough and consistent, the typical end products of a collection survey is a completed survey worksheet and a processing plan.[5] After the completion of the survey, the materials may be made available to researchers without additional processing, stored for future processing when resources are available, or progress to processing immediately.
Arrangement
Arrangement of materials should be completed with two archival principles that fall within respect des fonds in mind: provenance and original order.
According to the principle of provenance, an originator's materials should be maintained together and separated from those of other originators. Under the rules of provenance, maintenance of the materials must include making them searchable and retrievable together (known as their intellectual arrangement) and could include keeping them physically together, if it is practical to do so. Additionally, if the materials have changed hands beyond the originator, the provenance of an item includes all those who came after the creator and any changes they make to the collection such as insertions, deletions, rearranging.[6]
According to the principle of original order, the originator's arrangement of the materials holds value, because it reflects how they originally used and accessed the collection, as well as how the records relate to each other, which can both inform the initial purpose of the records.
If arrangement tasks are required, arrangement is the first phase of physically processing the materials after the survey. In addition to rearranging the materials, there may also be weeding of material that does not meet a repository's collecting guidelines, as well as the preservation activities described below.[8]
Description
Levels of description
More detailed descriptions than that which results from a collection survey of the material are generally attempted. Beyond the survey, the individual processing the collection may create a listing of the "series"[9] and "sub-series",[10] listing of box contents (also called box-level description), folder lists (folder-level description), or even complete inventories[11] that include administrative histories or biographical notes, scope notes, acquisition information, and information as to the archival processing treatment the material has received.[12][13] Some repositories will conduct item-level description of selected documents within a collection or group of records, if the research value is deemed to be extremely high, heavy use is expected, or the risk of theft is heightened.[5]
Finding aids
The written description of a collection is generically termed a
Standards
Several
The
The Archives and Records Association, the British equivalent of the SAA, has published a number of best practices for U.K. archivists on topics ranging from school records retention to historical accounting records.[19]
The Australian Society of Archivists published Describing Archives in Context: A Guide to Australasian Practice in 2004, which provides the basis for description using the Australian Series System.[20] Series description is based on the primacy of the series as a basis for arrangement and description, rather than on fonds as is the practice in other jurisdictions.
Preservation activities
Archival processing often includes basic
See also
- Archival science
- Manuscript culture
- Finding aid
- ISAD(G)
- Records in Contexts
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Encoded Archival Description
- Manual of Archival Description
- International Standard Archival Authority Record
Notes
- ^ doi:10.17723/aarc.68.2.c741823776k65863. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2022-10-31. Retrieved 2018-10-23.
- ^ Mengel, Holly; Smerz, Courtney (March 2012). "Surveying and Minimal Processing Manual - Hidden Collections Processing Project" (PDF). PACSCL Hidden Collections Processing Project. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 21, 2015. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
- ISBN 978-1-56024-150-8.
- ^ Kruse, Matthew. "Guides @ UF: Archival Processing: Surveying". guides.uflib.ufl.edu. Retrieved 2018-11-02.
- ^ a b c d e "Processing Manual for Archival and Manuscript Collections". University Archives and Special Collections University of Massachusetts Boston. February 2017. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
- ^ "Statement of Principles | Society of American Archivists". www2.archivists.org. Retrieved 2018-11-02.
- ^ "3.1 Provenance and Original Order | Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library". beinecke.library.yale.edu. Archived from the original on 2018-06-24. Retrieved 2018-11-02.
- ^ "arrangement | Society of American Archivists". www2.archivists.org. Retrieved 2018-11-02.
- ^ "series | Society of American Archivists". www2.archivists.org. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
- ^ "subseries | Society of American Archivists". www2.archivists.org. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
- ^ "depth of description | Society of American Archivists". www2.archivists.org. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
- ^ "level of description | Society of American Archivists". www2.archivists.org. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
- ^ Kruse, Matthew. "Guides @ UF: Archival Processing: Finding Aid Notes". guides.uflib.ufl.edu. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
- .
- ^ Berner, Richard (1983). Archival Theory and Practice in the United States: A Historical Analysis. University of Washington Press.
- ^ "calendar | Society of American Archivists". www2.archivists.org. Retrieved 2018-11-02.
- JSTOR 40294437.
- ^ "Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS), Second Edition | Society of American Archivists". www2.archivists.org. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
- ^ http://www.archives.org.uk/publications.html Society of Archivists: Publications Archived October 2, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ISSN 0004-8623.
- ^ "Processing Manual for Archival and Manuscript Collections" (PDF). University of Maryland Libraries College Park, MD. September 2011. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
Further reading
- Michael Cook & Kristina Grant Manual of Archival Description. London: Society of Archivists, 1984 ISBN 0902886223
- Margaret Procter & Michael Cook Manual of Archival Description; 2nd ed. Aldershot: Gower, 1989 ISBN 0566036347
- Margaret Procter & Michael Cook Manual of Archival Description; 3rd ed. Aldershot: Gower, 2000 ISBN 0566082586
- Michael Cook gained a Ph.D. at the University of Liverpool in 1998 for his collected works on Archives Management, which included the manual and other writings.
External links
- Society of American Archivists
- Archives & Records Association (UK & Ireland)
- Australian Society of Archivists
- Standards for Archival Description: A Handbook
- A Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology
- SAA publications
- Arranging and Describing Archives and Manuscripts
- "More Product, Less Process", Greene and Meissner