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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.
ISAD(G) defines a list of elements and rules for the description of archives and describes the kinds of information that must and should be included in such descriptions. It creates a hierarchy of description that determines what information should be included at what level. [1]
ISAD(G) follows 4 general principles: [2]
Multilevel description starts from a general level of description, which is usually the fonds, and proceeds to more detailed levels, such as the subfonds, the series, the file, the item, etc. This hierarchical structure must be represented and properly defined in the archival description. [2]
Information in each level of description must be related only to the archival unit described in that level. [2]
Every archival unit must be linked to its parent level within the hierarchy and its level must be made explicit. [2]
To avoid repetition, general information common to a group must be declared in the highest level possible. Sublevels must, in turn, contain common information applicable to its child levels. [2]
ISAD(G) defines 26 data elements of description, 6 of which are mandatory, divided into 7 areas:
1.Identity Statement [3] (All elements in the Identity Statement area are mandatory.)
2.Context [3] (Of the 4 elements that make up the Context Area, only the first one is mandatory.)
3.Content and Structure [3]
4.Conditions of Access and Use [3]
5.Allied Materials [3]
6.Notes [3]
7.Description Control [3]
The standard provides a framework for a common approach, rather than a rigid format. [3] [4]
The advent of the internet and electronic records changed the way curators conceived archives. The ability to interrelate archives around the world constitutes both an advantage and a challenge. Thus, there was a need to standardize archival descriptions to make the best use of the technologies available. Standardization in the Archival world was born to increase the number of points of contact between multiple archives across different institutions. Standardization can be considered a tool that archivists must adopt and adapt for their functioning in the contemporary information age. [5]
After initial activities since 1988 supported by UNESCO, a subgroup of the AdHoc Commission on Descriptive Standards discussed the first draft of these standards beginning in 1990. The first version of ISAD(G) was released and adopted by the ICA in 1994. [1] In 1999, an evaluation of ISAD(G) was conducted in order to determine its effectiveness of describing datasets and to evaluate how it had been being used in data archives. [6] After lengthy research and evaluation, the ICA published a revised version, the second edition, in 2000. Sometimes abbreviated as ISAD(G)2, the revised version remains the current standard today. [7]
Since its publication, ISAD(G) has been adopted by a great number of institutions around the world.
ISAD(G) has been adopted as the standard for archival description by many national and international institutions. For example:
National Organizations
Transnational Organizations
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ISAD(G) has been implemented by many institutions together with other protocols such as ISO 15489 record management protocol or the ISSAR(CPF) protocol on archival authority records. ISAD(G) has been mapped into archival finding aids protocols such as EDA and structure standards like Dublin Core.
EAD: Encoded Archival Description (EAD) uses XML schemas to encode content descriptions mapped to ISAD(G) standards as a guide to determine required data elements and hierarchical relations between said elements. These protocols are not exclusive but complimentary. ISAD(G) is not as specific as EAD with respect to finding aid data, but it offers a useful model for determining both essential elements and the amount of descriptive detail an archivist may wish to gather at each hierarchical level. [12]
Example: Excerpt of an XML schema describing the archival unit Records of the Global Environment Facility from the World Bank Group Archive using the ISAD(G) protocol: [13]
<archdesclevel="fonds"relatedencoding="ISAD(G)v2"><did><unittitleencodinganalog="3.1.2">RecordsoftheGlobalEnvironmentFacility</unittitle><unitidencodinganalog="3.1.1">WBIBRD/IDAGEF</unitid><unitdateid="atom_503_event"encodinganalog="3.1.3">1988-2007</unitdate><physdescencodinganalog="3.1.5">265.00linearfeetoftextualrecords(approximate)</physdesc><repository><corpname>WorldBankGroupArchives</corpname></repository><langmaterialencodinganalog="3.4.3"><languagelangcode="eng">English</language><languagelangcode="fre">French</language></langmaterial><originationencodinganalog="3.2.1"><nameid="atom_503_actor">GlobalEnvironmentFacility</name></origination></did><bioghistid="md5-f21fc51e335ca4fbfd1d0638c5abdd59"encodinganalog="3.2.2"><note><p> TheGlobalEnvironmentFacility(GEF)beganoperationsin(...) <lb/><lb/> ThepurposeoftheGEFis(...) <lb/><lb/> Initially,theWorldBank(...) <lb/><lb/> Attheconclusionofitspilotphase(...) <lb/><lb/> Thegovernancestructureofthe(...) <lb/><lb/> *implementingthedecisionsoftheGEFAssemblyandCouncil; <lb/><lb/> *coordinatingtheformulationandoverseeing(...) <lb/><lb/> *ensuringtheimplementationof(...) <lb/><lb/> *reviewingandreportingto(...) <lb/><lb/> Itsbusinessactivitiesinclude:(...) <lb/><lb/> Asof2012,theGEFinvolves(...) </p></note></bioghist><oddtype="publicationStatus"><p>Published</p></odd><scopecontentencodinganalog="3.3.1"><p> Thefondsconsistsof(...) <lb/><lb/> RecordsrelatedtoGEF'srole(...) <lb/><lb/> Thefondsalsoconsistsof(...) <lb/><lb/> Alsoincludedarerecordsrelatedto(...) <lb/><lb/> Thisfondsalsoconsistsof(...) <lb/><lb/> Recordsrelatedto(...) <lb/><lb/> Alsoincludedarethe(...) </p></scopecontent><arrangementencodinganalog="3.3.4"><p> Thefollowingarrangementisprovisional.Recordsarearrangedintoeightseries: <lb/><lb/> *Projectfiles <lb/><lb/> *Monitoringandevaluationrecords <lb/><lb/> *Policydevelopmentandbusinessstrategyrecords <lb/><lb/> *FocalAreaprogramrecords <lb/><lb/> *Corporateaffairs,liaison,andconventionrecords <lb/><lb/> *Meetings <lb/><lb/> *Communicationsandoutreach <lb/><lb/> *Seniormanagementcorrespondence </p></arrangement><acqinfoencodinganalog="3.2.4"><p>Recordsweretransferreddirectlyfrom(...) </acqinfo><accrualsencodinganalog="3.3.3"><p>Accrualsareexpected.</p></accruals><processinfo><p><date>22June2012</date></p></processinfo><relatedmaterialencodinganalog="3.5.3"><p> *SeeRecordsoftheEnvironmentSector(...) <lb/><lb/><lb/><lb/> *SeeRecordsoftheOperations(...)* <lb/><lb/><lb/><lb/> *SeeRecordsofIndividualStaffMembers(...)* <lb/><lb/><lb/><lb/> *Seerecordsrelatedtothe(...) </p></relatedmaterial><accessrestrictencodinganalog="3.4.1"><p>RecordsaresubjecttotheWorldBankPolicyonAccesstoInformation.</p></accessrestrict><userestrictencodinganalog="3.4.2"><p>RecordsaresubjecttotheCopyrightPolicyoftheWorldBankGroup.</p></userestrict><otherfindaidencodinganalog="3.4.5"><p>Afindingaidforthisfondsdoesnotexist.</p></otherfindaid><dsctype="combined"></dsc></archdesc>
Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET) and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) are standardized protocols that transfer multiple digital bit streams synchronously over optical fiber using lasers or highly coherent light from light-emitting diodes (LEDs). At low transmission rates data can also be transferred via an electrical interface. The method was developed to replace the plesiochronous digital hierarchy (PDH) system for transporting large amounts of telephone calls and data traffic over the same fiber without the problems of synchronization.
An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located.
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