Archival processing
Encyclopedia
Archival processing is a term used in the United States of America to refer to the act of arranging and describing the papers of an individual or family or the records of an organization. A person who is engaged in this is known as an archival processor or archivist
.
Ideally, when an archives receives a collection of papers or a group of records, they will have been arranged by the originator (the original person, persons, or organization that created or assembled the collection or records) and boxed up for the move to the archives in such a way that this order has been preserved. However, collections and record groups are often only semi-organized; sometimes they lack any organization at all. Observing this organization, or imposing one where it is lacking, and then describing the organized material, are the tasks which archivists refer to as "archival processing" or "arrangement and description".
Both of these activities should be carried out with two archival principles in mind: respect de fonds and respect for original order.
In regard to the first, which may be translated as "taking into consideration the entirety of the collection," 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.
In regards to the second, the archivist must attempt to maintain the original order of the materials if the very act of record-keeping or if the record-keeping practices of the originator are in themselves evidence of the originator's activities or processes.
The level of processing to be done is determined by a number of factors, which include but are not limited to the orderliness of the material, the probable researcher
interest in the collection, and the policy and resources of the repository.
. These vary in length and fall into several categories by type, with the inventory predominating in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The earliest finding aids were known as "calendars" and generally consisted of a listing of individual documents.
s govern archival description, some national and some international. ISAD(G)
, the General International Standard Archival Description, defines the elements that should be included in a finding aid. Other content standards also pertain. In the United States, proper names may be checked against the Library of Congress
Name Authority Files and subject headings are drawn from the LCSH. Genre terms are often taken from the Art & Architecture Thesaurus
. Many finding aids are encoded (marked up
) in XML
; in such cases, the Encoded Archival Description
(EAD) standard can be used. In addition, repositories may follow local practices designed to make finding aids serve their particular mission.
The Society of American Archivists
(SAA) has published a number of best practices for American archivists; two important ones are Archives, Personal Papers and Manuscripts, often abbreviated as APPM, and Describing Archives: A Content Standard
(DACS). SAA's publication Standards for Archival Description: A Handbook provides an overview of relevant standards for all phases of archival and manuscripts processing. The Research Libraries Group
has published a best practices document for use with EAD.
The Society of Archivists, 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.
practices such as removing staples and paperclips, placing materials in acid-free folders and boxes, isolating acidic materials to avoid acid migration, photocopying damaged or acidic documents, and unfolding papers. There has been a trend for archives and manuscript
repositories in the past few years to try new ways to reduce backlogs and provide access to materials as quickly as possible, described and encouraged by the 2005 article “More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing” by Mark A. Greene and Dennis Meissner. Their method discourages these basic practices in the interest of accelerating processing to provide quicker access to researchers. It is dependent on proper climate control, which would slow the deterioration of acidic paper and reduce the likelihood that metal fasteners will rust.
Archivist
An archivist is a professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to information determined to have long-term value. The information maintained by an archivist can be any form of media...
.
Ideally, when an archives receives a collection of papers or a group of records, they will have been arranged by the originator (the original person, persons, or organization that created or assembled the collection or records) and boxed up for the move to the archives in such a way that this order has been preserved. However, collections and record groups are often only semi-organized; sometimes they lack any organization at all. Observing this organization, or imposing one where it is lacking, and then describing the organized material, are the tasks which archivists refer to as "archival processing" or "arrangement and description".
Surveying
The first steps in archival processing are to gain an understanding of the originator, to observe the material's overall size and scope, and to discover any underlying organizational scheme in the collection or record group. The first of these is needed in order to understand the context in which the papers or records were created. These last two are called "surveying" the material.Both of these activities should be carried out with two archival principles in mind: respect de fonds and respect for original order.
In regard to the first, which may be translated as "taking into consideration the entirety of the collection," 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.
In regards to the second, the archivist must attempt to maintain the original order of the materials if the very act of record-keeping or if the record-keeping practices of the originator are in themselves evidence of the originator's activities or processes.
Levels of processing
More detailed descriptions than that which results from a mere survey of the material are generally attempted. Beyond the survey, there may weeding of material that does not meet a repository's collecting guidelines, listing of box contents (also called box-level description), folder lists (folder-level description), or even complete inventories that include administrative histories or biographical notes, scope notes, acquisition information, information as to the archival processing treatment the material has received, and organization of the entire collection or record group into categories, known as "series" and "sub-series". Some repositories will even do document-level processing of selected documents within a colleciton or group of records. While there are certain series and subseries that are commonly encountered, such as Correspondence, or Writings, each collection or record group has its own categories of material, and these must be respected.The level of processing to be done is determined by a number of factors, which include but are not limited to the orderliness of the material, the probable researcher
Researcher
A researcher is somebody who performs research, the search for knowledge or in general any systematic investigation to establish facts. Researchers can work in academic, industrial, government, or private institutions.-Examples of research institutions:...
interest in the collection, and the policy and resources of the repository.
Finding aids
The written description of a collection is generically termed a finding aidFinding aid
A finding aid is a document containing detailed information about a specific collection of papers or records within an archive. They are used by researchers to determine whether information within a collection is relevant to their research...
. These vary in length and fall into several categories by type, with the inventory predominating in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The earliest finding aids were known as "calendars" and generally consisted of a listing of individual documents.
Standards
Several standardStandardization
Standardization is the process of developing and implementing technical standards.The goals of standardization can be to help with independence of single suppliers , compatibility, interoperability, safety, repeatability, or quality....
s govern archival description, some national and some international. ISAD(G)
ISAD(G)
ISAD defines the elements that should be included in an archival finding aid. It was approved by the International Council on Archives as a standard to register archival documents produced by corporations, persons and families.-History:After initial activities since 1988 supported by UNESCO, a...
, the General International Standard Archival Description, defines the elements that should be included in a finding aid. Other content standards also pertain. In the United States, proper names may be checked against the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
Name Authority Files and subject headings are drawn from the LCSH. Genre terms are often taken from the Art & Architecture Thesaurus
Art & Architecture Thesaurus
The Art & Architecture Thesaurus is a controlled vocabulary used for describing items of art, architecture, and material culture. The AAT contains generic terms, such as "cathedral," but no proper names, such as "Cathedral of Notre Dame." The AAT is used by, among others, museums, art libraries,...
. Many finding aids are encoded (marked up
Markup language
A markup language is a modern system for annotating a text in a way that is syntactically distinguishable from that text. The idea and terminology evolved from the "marking up" of manuscripts, i.e. the revision instructions by editors, traditionally written with a blue pencil on authors' manuscripts...
) in XML
XML
Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
; in such cases, the Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description is an XML standard for encoding archival finding aids, maintained by the Library of Congress in partnership with the Society of American Archivists.-History:EAD originated in 1993, at the University of California, Berkeley...
(EAD) standard can be used. In addition, repositories may follow local practices designed to make finding aids serve their particular mission.
The Society of American Archivists
Society of American Archivists
The Society of American Archivists is the oldest and largest archivist association in North America, serving the educational and informational needs of more than 5,000 individual and institutional members...
(SAA) has published a number of best practices for American archivists; two important ones are Archives, Personal Papers and Manuscripts, often abbreviated as APPM, and Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Describing Archives: A Content Standard is a set of rules for describing archives, personal papers, and manuscript collections. The descriptive standard can be utilized for all types of archival material...
(DACS). SAA's publication Standards for Archival Description: A Handbook provides an overview of relevant standards for all phases of archival and manuscripts processing. The Research Libraries Group
Research Libraries Group
The Research Libraries Group was a U.S.-based library consortium which developed the Eureka interlibrary search engine, the RedLightGreen database of bibliographic descriptions and ArchiveGrid, a database containing descriptions of archival collections...
has published a best practices document for use with EAD.
The Society of Archivists, 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.
Preservation activities
Archival processing often includes basic preservationPreservation (library and archival science)
Preservation is a branch of library and information science concerned with maintaining or restoring access to artifacts, documents and records through the study, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of decay and damage....
practices such as removing staples and paperclips, placing materials in acid-free folders and boxes, isolating acidic materials to avoid acid migration, photocopying damaged or acidic documents, and unfolding papers. There has been a trend for archives and manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
repositories in the past few years to try new ways to reduce backlogs and provide access to materials as quickly as possible, described and encouraged by the 2005 article “More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing” by Mark A. Greene and Dennis Meissner. Their method discourages these basic practices in the interest of accelerating processing to provide quicker access to researchers. It is dependent on proper climate control, which would slow the deterioration of acidic paper and reduce the likelihood that metal fasteners will rust.
See also
- Archival scienceArchival scienceArchival science is the theory and study of storing, cataloguing, and retrieving documents and items. Archival science evolved from mankind's need to classify the world around them...
- ArchivistArchivistAn archivist is a professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to information determined to have long-term value. The information maintained by an archivist can be any form of media...
- Finding aidFinding aidA finding aid is a document containing detailed information about a specific collection of papers or records within an archive. They are used by researchers to determine whether information within a collection is relevant to their research...
- FondsFondsFonds is an archival term used to describe an aggregation of documents that originate from the same source. More specifically, a fonds distinguishes itself from a collection through its organic nature, as archival documents that have been naturally accumulated by an individual, company,...
- Encoded Archival DescriptionEncoded Archival DescriptionEncoded Archival Description is an XML standard for encoding archival finding aids, maintained by the Library of Congress in partnership with the Society of American Archivists.-History:EAD originated in 1993, at the University of California, Berkeley...
- Manuscript cultureManuscript cultureManuscript culture uses manuscripts to store and disseminate information; in the West, it generally preceded the age of printing. In early manuscript culture monks copied manuscripts by hand, mostly religious texts. Medieval manuscript culture deals with the transition of the manuscript from the...
- Society of American ArchivistsSociety of American ArchivistsThe Society of American Archivists is the oldest and largest archivist association in North America, serving the educational and informational needs of more than 5,000 individual and institutional members...
- Society of ArchivistsSociety of ArchivistsThe Society of Archivists was the principal professional body for archivists, archive conservators and records managers in the United Kingdom and Ireland...