External links
- Sections of a finding aid from Purdue University
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A finding aid, in the context of archival science and archival research, is an organization tool, a document containing detailed and processed metadata and other information about a specific collection of records within an archive. Finding aids often consist of a documentary inventory and description of the materials, their source, and their structure. [1] The finding aid for a fonds is usually compiled by the collection's entity of origin, provenance, or by an archivist during archival processing, and may be considered the archival science equivalent of a library catalog or a museum collection catalog. The finding aid serves the purpose of locating specific information within the collection. [2] The finding aid can also help the archival repository manage their materials and resources. [3]
The history of finding aids mirrors the history of information. Ancient Sumerians had their own systems of indexes to locate bureaucratic and administrative records. [4] Finding aids in the 19th and 20th centuries were paper documents, such as lists or index cards. In the 21st century, they can be created in electronic formats like spreadsheets or databases. The standard machine-readable format for manuscript collection finding aids, widely used in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Australia and elsewhere, is Encoded Archival Description. [5]
Finding aids exist as a central tool for user and archivist interaction with archival collections. Freund and Toms note that finding aids became the preferred means of user mediation with a collection, as a result of the print nature of most historical materials. They go on to explain that the finding aid within this print-based form is designed to describe a single collection or arrangement from a similar provenance. [6] Clayton McGehee argues that the finding aid became preferred by archivists and repositories as a means of organizing their collections because it allowed for them to intellectually and physically control the items they held. Archivists could acquire, deaccession, redact, and reorganize materials. The finding aids could reflect these changes to the collection, but also reflected that only the archivists would know about these changes to the collection. Paper based collections with finding aids ensured that patrons would have to rely upon the archivist to find and utilize materials. [7]
The contents of finding aids may differ depending on the types of material being described. Usually, a finding aid includes a description of the scope of the collection, biographical and historical information related to the collection, and restrictions on use of or access to the materials. [2] Finding aids may be detailed inventories that list contents. They may also include subject headings drawn from LCSH, AAT, or other controlled vocabulary, and may cross-refer to related collections in other repositories. The data elements essential to finding aids are defined by the International Council on Archives [8] in the General International Standard Archival Description (ISAD(G)). [9] Various national implementations of ISAD(G) exist, such as Describing Archives: A Content Standard , used in the US.
The process of creating a finding aid often begins with archival description. For example, Encoded Archival Description calls for a basic description of the collection, a list of controlled vocabulary terms, administrative information, biographical information, scope and content, arrangement, description of components, and other descriptive data. [10] In the absence of a universal standard for finding aids, [11] these elements are often used as a basis.
The Basic Description, Collection Overview, or Summary Information is usually the first section of a finding aid, containing information about the collection's creator, the physical space the collection occupies in the archive, and the date range and an abstract of its documents. [12] A Biographical/Historical Note describes a collection from the perspective of the time period it was created, providing background information on a person or organization. It can also describe the history of the collection. The Scope and Content note briefly explains the collection's provenance, its arrangement and date range, and in general what kind of materials it contains—letters, reports, photographs, audio/video, etc.
The Access and Use section that contains information about using the collection, such as terms of access and restrictions. Usage issues that may affect researchers could include donor agreements restricting access, copyright information, the collection's history of ownership, any additional formats the collection may have, and if the collection is accepting additions. Additional Information contains details of related materials, language, citation instructions, any sponsors, and the date of processing. Search Terms are generally a list of subject headings, any personal, corporate, or family names, geographical headings, and genre terms that relate to the contents of the collection.
Arrangement is the manner in which the collection has been ordered (generally in accordance, as far as practicable, with its original order). Hierarchical levels of arrangement are typically composed of record groups containing series, which in turn contain boxes, folders, and items. [13]
The Content List is a list of the collection's materials down to the box and folder level. [14] Series descriptions containing the title, dates of coverage, and a brief description of the contents of each series. Series descriptions may also include the range of containers, a statement of the type of arrangement, and a note on any restrictions for each series (for example, an embargo on public access for a set period for reasons of confidentiality).
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) was created in 1998 for the use of finding aids in an online environment. Its creation allowed for a consistent national standard in the US for finding aid terminology. [15]
Candida Fenton writes, "Encoded Archival Description Document Type Definition (EAD DTD) is a non proprietary encoding standard which specifies the structure of an electronic archival finding aid. The standard was developed in response to the growing role of networks in accessing information describing archival holdings, and to enable the exchange of records between repositories." [16]
However, the hierarchical format of EAD finding aids has caused some controversy among users, as archivists have noted that it perpetuates the same confusions regarding finding aids for users. [17]
Freund and Toms asserted that collections become digitally accessible in greater frequency, archivists can no longer be expected to assist users at their every need. [6] Clayton McGehee expressed concern about the lack of interaction between finding aids of different libraries and repositories. He argued that in order to remain in touch with the rapid share and spread of information, finding aids must interact with digital libraries. Laura Farley argued that both of these concerns about the speed of changing information and the need to adapt, could be supplemented by adding user annotations to online finding aids. Farley also noted that user submissions can help archivists highlight useful items not indicated in the extant finding aid. She concludes that
Online participatory finding aids with user annotations are feasible for a repository of any size and budget, and will result in more complete resources for users and archivists...To be successful in reaching users, archivists must open themselves to new collaborations with diverse communities beyond the academic world, relinquishing the role of record gatekeepers and inviting in open communication with users. [18]
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An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located.
An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist can consist of a variety of forms, including letters, diaries, logs, other personal documents, government documents, sound or picture recordings, digital files, or other physical objects.
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 archivist and institutional members. Established in 1936, the organization serves upwards of 6,200 individual and member institutions.
In archival science, a fonds is a group of documents that share the same origin and have occurred naturally as an outgrowth of the daily workings of an agency, individual, or organization. An example of a fonds could be the writings of a poet that were never published, or the records of an institution during a specific period.
The Archives Hub is a Jisc service, and is freely available to all. It provides a cross-search of descriptions of archives held across the United Kingdom, in over 320 institutions, including universities, colleges, specialist repositories, charities, businesses and other institutions. It includes over 1,000,000 descriptions of archive materials on all manner of subjects, which represents over 30,000 archive collections. It also describes content available through topic-based websites, often created as a result of digitisation projects.
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) is a standard for encoding descriptive information regarding archival records.
Archival science, or archival studies, is the study and theory of building and curating archives, which are collections of documents, recordings, photographs and various other materials in physical or digital formats.
Archival processing is the act of surveying, arranging, describing, and performing basic preservation activities on the recorded material of an individual, family, or organization after they are permanently transferred to an archive. A person engaging in this activity is known as an archival processor, archival technician, or archivist.
Encoded Archival Context – Corporate bodies, Persons and Families (EAC-CPF) is an XML standard for encoding information about the creators of archival materials – i.e., a corporate body, person or family -- including their relationships to (a) resources and (b) other corporate bodies, persons and families. The goal is to provide contextual information regarding the circumstances of record creation and use. EAC-CPF can be used in conjunction with Encoded Archival Description (EAD) for enhancement of EAD's capabilities in encoding finding aids, but can also be used in conjunction with other standards or for standalone authority file encoding.
Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS) is a standard used for describing materials in archives. First adopted by the Society of American Archivists (SAA) in March 2004, DACS was updated with a Second Edition in 2013. DACS is broken down into a set of rules used in crafting archival descriptions, and guidelines for creating authority records in archives.
ISAD(G) (General International Standard Archival Description) defines the elements that should be included in an archival finding aid. It was approved by the International Council on Archives (ICA/CIA) as an international framework standard to register archival documents produced by corporations, persons and families.
Archival research is a type of research which involves seeking out and extracting evidence from archival records. These records may be held either in collecting institutions, such as libraries and museums, or in the custody of the organization that originally generated or accumulated them, or in that of a successor body. Archival research can be contrasted with (1) secondary research, which involves identifying and consulting secondary sources relating to the topic of enquiry; and (2) with other types of primary research and empirical investigation such as fieldwork and experiment.
Archon is an open source platform created by the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign which is designed to allow archival repositories to more easily create and publish finding aids to their collections. It was created in response to a lack of easy methods for archivists to publish finding aids online. While the archival community had previously created content and data structures, such as Encoded Archival Description, implementation of these standards was difficult for many in the profession.
"More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing" is a 2005 archival science article written by Mark A. Greene and Dennis Meissner that first appeared in the Fall/Winter 2005 issue of The American Archivist. The paper argues that traditional archival processing is too slow, and advocates for the use of minimal processing in order to reduce backlogs and provide access to archival collections as quickly as possible. The ideology presented in the article, abbreviated as MPLP, has since been widely adopted in modern archival theory with subsequent praise directed primarily towards the ability to increase user accessibility without prohibiting the option for future processing.
The Rules for Archival Description (RAD) is the Canadian archival descriptive standard. It provides a set of rules based on traditional archival principles, whose purpose is to provide a consistent and commonly shared descriptive foundation for describing archival materials within a given fonds. RAD was first published in 1990 after being developed by the Bureau of Canadian Archivists' (BCA) Planning Committee on Descriptive Standards. It is currently overseen by the Canadian Committee on Archival Description of the Canadian Council of Archives. RAD was last revised in 2008.
Social Networks and Archival Context (SNAC) is an online project for discovering, locating, and using distributed historical records in regard to individual people, families, and organizations.
Archives management is the area of management concerned with the maintenance and use of archives. It is concerned with acquisition, care, arrangement, description and retrieval of records once they have been transferred from an organisation to the archival repository. Once records have been selected and transferred to archival custody, they become archives.
In archives, the term "audiovisual" is frequently used generically to denote materials other than written documents. Films, videos, audio recordings, pictures, and other audio and visual media are collected in audiovisual archives. A vast amount of knowledge is included in audiovisual records, which are considered cultural treasures and must be preserved for future use. Print materials would not have the same reach across various audiences as audiovisual resources.
The AtoM is a project originated by the International Council on Archives (ICA) that aimed to provide free license software that allows institutions to disseminate their archival holdings on the web. Its last version in collaboration with the ICA was Release 1.3.2. As of October 2013, with version 2.0, the AToM project remained in the hands of the company Artefactual Systems without the ICA.
