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ARCHIVAL THEORY AND PRACTICE
Lecture notes by Todd Ellison. Copyright Todd Ellison 2015. Permission is granted for use, but not for sale or any commercial or monetary gain, and you must link to this website. |
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5th section of this course
X. Archival arrangement and description
(also see the Archival Key on this topic)
A. Intro
1. arrangement and description is the primary task of the archivist
2. establishing repository level intellectual controls is a simultaneous 4-aspect process:
a. analysis
b. selection
c. arrangement
d. description
B. Analysis of a group of documents:
1. do background reading (especially if it's a major project) to immerse yourself in the period and situation of the individual or institution whose papers or records are being processed
2. then, browse in the collection
a. look for order, signs of the creator/compiler's thinking in organizing it, nature of the materials in it, preservation problems (fading thermofax copies, acidic newspaper clippings) and try to establish series (photographs, diaries, personal correspondence)
b. determine whether this is one unified collection, or does it contain files which are copies of records from another collection?
C. Selection
1. decide what to discard or return to the donor/heirs; set criteria
2. there are exceptions, but in most cases, get rid of housekeeping items (fuel bills, payrolls), minor ceremonial items (greeting cards), and items of no direct relation to the creator/compiler or uniqueness (ask, would someone come here for this info?); discard multiple copies, duplicates, envelopes unless they give needed info
3. err on the side of retaining
4. if possible, have a selection review process for borderline cases
5. weeding/deaccessioning
a. best done in the field at the time of appraisal, before accessioning
b. otherwise, throw out, return to donor, send to other repositories, sell at book sales, etc.--by a method predetermined when donor agreement was signed
D. Arrangement
1. arrangement and description is are the nitty gritty of archival work
2. processing is the physical aspect of this work
3. archival rule of thumb: do no harm; leave materials in original order and let your description lead you into the material according to the organizational structure of the institution (i.e., by office, not by individual); user will have to know the individual's role in the institution to find the records relating to that person
4. definition of arrangement = (Bressor, p. 11) the scheme by which groups of items and collections are ordered to reveal their content and significance
5. goals of arrangement are to provide a basically rational order whereby one can find items or facts with a modest amount of search and study and, where possible, to allow the files to show how and why they were originally used
a. rule of thumb: apply George Zipf's Law of Least Effort; contrary to librarians' "flat" views of bibliographic access--at the same level for everything--we should apply different energies to different materials, depending on their value, complexity, and degree of inherent accessibility.
b. also remember Mooer's Law: "An information retrieval system will tend not to be used whenever it is more painful and troublesome for a customer to have information than for him not to have it." --this esp. applies to the use of microfilm. (cited by Fred Stielow in Winter 1991 American Archivist, p. 20)
6. four basic archival principles of arrangement:
a. provenance = (Bressor, p. 12) records of different offices of origin or from different donors or sources should be kept separate, to maintain the organic nature of the files and thus to maintain the evidential value of the records
= other meaning, the chain of ownership or custody of materials
b. original order = respect for the arrangement in which the materials came to the institution, so that records are retained in the order originally imposed on them, and in which they were actually or presumably used
(1) structure of the materials is related to that of the creating institution, and tells you how it functioned
(2) organization of papers--their interrelationships--may help a researcher understand their creator/organizer--but often they must be arranged
(3) archivists prefer to impose records management schemes before the records are retired to the archives
(4) sometimes, records arrive without a rational or apparent original order; common sense will guide the archivist in making an exception in these cases
(5) what does provenance mean, or original order, for electronically transmitted info?--how is it authenticated, attributed, made legal? how does the format affect appraisal? -bulk becomes less of a criterion when millions of IRS tax forms can fit onto a small number of magnetic tapes -(Ham) how does provenance apply when information is stored in data base systems without regard to the administrator or to their functional content?
(6) (Ham) isn't the notion of original order irrelevant to records stored in RAM?
(7) (Ham) doesn't the concept of uniqueness lose meaning when records can easily be copied and be indistinguishable?
(8) (Ham) how can the archivist count on the integrity of records so easily altered?
c. peel the onion--work from outside (broadest scope of a&d) in
d. keep excellent records
7. five levels of arrangement:
a. repository = all the records of a repository; this level is based on ownership or custody of the materials
b. broadest grouping within an archives is record group (in archives) or collection (with manuscripts)
(1) =body of papers generated by agency (e.g. State Dept. Records)
(2) this is where provenance comes in
(a) groups of material which have a common creator or office of origin are kept together
(b) materials from different sources are never combined or interfiled between collections or record groups
(3) record groups sometimes are divided into subgroups, if they are from large offices with several hierarchical levels
c. discuss the email debate over collection-level processing to reduce backlogs and get ahead:
Here's one sample of it, from Richard Cox at U. Pittsburgh:
From:VAXF::IN%"[email protected]" "Archives & Archivists"
Date:23‑MAR‑1993 06:01:40.66
To:IN%"[email protected]" "Multiple recipients of list ARCHIVES"
Subj:Processing Backlogs
"Here, in response to Bruce Montgomery, are a few random thoughts about alternative ways of processing:
1. Put greater emphasis on appraisal so that only choice collections are acquired
2. Work to develop institutional archives that remove pressure from collecting
3. Evaluate current holdings against collection policies and other documentary goals to ensure that there are priorities for processing (and maybe deaccessioning?)
4. Produce careful user studies that will aid in the determination of processing priorities
5. Divide processing work up so that paraprofessionals can be more effectively used in bulk of time consuming process work
6. Focus on gaining first complete control at collection or fonds level
7. Stop looking inward at the stacks (and processing backlogs) and focus energies on gaining institutional support for more support to attack what backlogs may exist
A few thoughts. I am sure there are other better ideas than these."
‑‑Source: Richard J. Cox, Assistant Professor, School of Library and Information Science, University of Pittsburgh, and Editor, American Archivist
d. collections or record groups/sub-record groups are then divided into series
(1) series are the building blocks of archives
(a) usually the series is what you find on the outside label of a filing cabinet
(b) it's the general category of the type of materials
(c) not "correspondence" but "personal correspondence" or "business correspondence"
(d) series are the most important level of archival arrangement
(e) they consist of records within a collection or record group which:
* relate to a particular subject or function
* result from the same activity
* have a particular form, or
* are related by use, receipt, or creation
(f) series within a record group or a subunit thereof usually are arranged based on what you most need to know about the collection
i) i.e., from most general to most specific
ii) or from highest hierarchical level to lowest
iii) or from the central office to the field office function
iv) series within personal papers often are arranged from the most personal to the least personal
(g) there may be sub-series
i) these are smaller identifiable units within a series
ii) e.g. incoming correspondence & outgoing corresp.
(2) different series will have different methods of internal arrangement
(a) chronological is usually best for photos, because the date context is essential
(b) correspondence all from one individual is best arranged chronologically
(c) correspondence from a number of individuals is best arranged alphabetically
(d) newspaper clippings are an impossible series, due to problems of organization and preservation, unless they've been arranged
i) either microfilm them or copy them onto low-acid paper
ii) heat-bonded photocopies last longer than ink on paper
e. filing unit level / folder
(1) describes a group of items brought together for convenience in filing
(2) e.g., a file folder of documents or a bound volume
f. smallest level of arrangement is the item or document
(1) what is an item in non-published archival materials? -for librarians, it's the book
(2) there may be 1-20 individual documents in a filing unit
(3) archivists cut costs by describing only down to the folder level
(4) leave item-level access to the user
(5) usually, item-level indexing is unfeasible
8. Assignment: do Trudy Peterson's arrangement and description exercise (p. 27-42) for corporate records and exercise #3 (p. 45) for personal papers
E. Description:
1. description is straightforward after a collection has been broken into subgroups (if necessary) and series
2. it refers to (Bressor, p. 15) "the process of establishing intellectual control over holdings through the preparation of finding aids," which include various types of content summaries: inventories, subject guides, lists, registers, indexes, and catalogs
3. the goal of description
a. to provide access to records for archival staff, the donor, and researchers
b. the level of detail chosen should reflect:
(1) the research value of the material
(2) the level of demand for the collection
(3) the type of materials involved, and
(4) a decision about which type of finding aid can be best adapted for the needs of both staff and researchers
4. types of finding aids
a. card catalogs
(1) a fairly recent invention of the 1890s
(2) they took off when LC began issuing pre-printed cards
(3) before that, book catalogs were the traditional method of intellectual control
b. institutional guide describes all the collections held at the repository
c. collection level finding aid describes the holdings of a single collection
d. another type of guide helps users locate materials on certain broad subjects
e. National Archives devised the inventory in 1940s to describe holdings by series
f. in 1950s, Solon J. Buck left National Archives and became LC's first MSS Division Chief, and moved the mss. description away from item-level description to description of groups in a register
g. archivist is the ultimate finding aid
(1) much of the knowledge is non-transferrable
(2) thus, staff increases and changes have their pros and cons
(3) staff increase in value over time because they've processed the records and know what and where the info is
5. ingredients of an inventory or a register (growing together)
a. preface, same for all published by the repository, stating purpose of the tool
b. table of contents
c. introduction
(1) summarizes the agency's history
(2) or, a biographical sketch pertaining to the collection
(3) also, info on when coll. was acquired and its provenance
d. scope and contents note
(1) breifly describes size and scope of collection
(2) also, a broad overview of the collection, in narrative form
e. series descriptions
(1) title, date span, quantification, narrative description of each series (2) and describe series content and method of arrangement
f. container listing, by box and folder
g. a mss. register may also contain a box folder listing by series
h. addenda or appendices, if needed
(1) glossary of unfamiliar terms
(2) maps
(3) bibliography
6. because we use the provenance method, the finding aid for an institution's records will be an organizational chart of the agency whose records are described
a. hierarchical labeling of boxes is necessary for locating info
b. keep it as simple as possible, and think ahead
7. uniformity in finding aids is new since 1960s, spurred by LC and SAA
a. don't reinvent the wheel
b. use format that works well for others, too
c. Steven Hensen's guide, Archives, Personal Papers, and Manuscripts (Society of American Archivists, 1989)
(1) has come to be recognized as the bible for archival cataloging
(2) its contents: archival cataloging in general, bibliographic components and record types, determining sources of cataloging info, choice of headings and other access points, formats for archival titles and dates, physical description and statements of extent, and other considerations of cataloging in the MARC AMC format
F. Reading for our next section:
Mary Lynn Ritzenthaler, Preserving Archives and Manuscripts (1992 ed.), chapters 1 through 6.
X. Archival arrangement and description
(also see the Archival Key on this topic)
A. Intro
1. arrangement and description is the primary task of the archivist
2. establishing repository level intellectual controls is a simultaneous 4-aspect process:
a. analysis
b. selection
c. arrangement
d. description
B. Analysis of a group of documents:
1. do background reading (especially if it's a major project) to immerse yourself in the period and situation of the individual or institution whose papers or records are being processed
2. then, browse in the collection
a. look for order, signs of the creator/compiler's thinking in organizing it, nature of the materials in it, preservation problems (fading thermofax copies, acidic newspaper clippings) and try to establish series (photographs, diaries, personal correspondence)
b. determine whether this is one unified collection, or does it contain files which are copies of records from another collection?
C. Selection
1. decide what to discard or return to the donor/heirs; set criteria
2. there are exceptions, but in most cases, get rid of housekeeping items (fuel bills, payrolls), minor ceremonial items (greeting cards), and items of no direct relation to the creator/compiler or uniqueness (ask, would someone come here for this info?); discard multiple copies, duplicates, envelopes unless they give needed info
3. err on the side of retaining
4. if possible, have a selection review process for borderline cases
5. weeding/deaccessioning
a. best done in the field at the time of appraisal, before accessioning
b. otherwise, throw out, return to donor, send to other repositories, sell at book sales, etc.--by a method predetermined when donor agreement was signed
D. Arrangement
1. arrangement and description is are the nitty gritty of archival work
2. processing is the physical aspect of this work
3. archival rule of thumb: do no harm; leave materials in original order and let your description lead you into the material according to the organizational structure of the institution (i.e., by office, not by individual); user will have to know the individual's role in the institution to find the records relating to that person
4. definition of arrangement = (Bressor, p. 11) the scheme by which groups of items and collections are ordered to reveal their content and significance
5. goals of arrangement are to provide a basically rational order whereby one can find items or facts with a modest amount of search and study and, where possible, to allow the files to show how and why they were originally used
a. rule of thumb: apply George Zipf's Law of Least Effort; contrary to librarians' "flat" views of bibliographic access--at the same level for everything--we should apply different energies to different materials, depending on their value, complexity, and degree of inherent accessibility.
b. also remember Mooer's Law: "An information retrieval system will tend not to be used whenever it is more painful and troublesome for a customer to have information than for him not to have it." --this esp. applies to the use of microfilm. (cited by Fred Stielow in Winter 1991 American Archivist, p. 20)
6. four basic archival principles of arrangement:
a. provenance = (Bressor, p. 12) records of different offices of origin or from different donors or sources should be kept separate, to maintain the organic nature of the files and thus to maintain the evidential value of the records
= other meaning, the chain of ownership or custody of materials
b. original order = respect for the arrangement in which the materials came to the institution, so that records are retained in the order originally imposed on them, and in which they were actually or presumably used
(1) structure of the materials is related to that of the creating institution, and tells you how it functioned
(2) organization of papers--their interrelationships--may help a researcher understand their creator/organizer--but often they must be arranged
(3) archivists prefer to impose records management schemes before the records are retired to the archives
(4) sometimes, records arrive without a rational or apparent original order; common sense will guide the archivist in making an exception in these cases
(5) what does provenance mean, or original order, for electronically transmitted info?--how is it authenticated, attributed, made legal? how does the format affect appraisal? -bulk becomes less of a criterion when millions of IRS tax forms can fit onto a small number of magnetic tapes -(Ham) how does provenance apply when information is stored in data base systems without regard to the administrator or to their functional content?
(6) (Ham) isn't the notion of original order irrelevant to records stored in RAM?
(7) (Ham) doesn't the concept of uniqueness lose meaning when records can easily be copied and be indistinguishable?
(8) (Ham) how can the archivist count on the integrity of records so easily altered?
c. peel the onion--work from outside (broadest scope of a&d) in
d. keep excellent records
7. five levels of arrangement:
a. repository = all the records of a repository; this level is based on ownership or custody of the materials
b. broadest grouping within an archives is record group (in archives) or collection (with manuscripts)
(1) =body of papers generated by agency (e.g. State Dept. Records)
(2) this is where provenance comes in
(a) groups of material which have a common creator or office of origin are kept together
(b) materials from different sources are never combined or interfiled between collections or record groups
(3) record groups sometimes are divided into subgroups, if they are from large offices with several hierarchical levels
c. discuss the email debate over collection-level processing to reduce backlogs and get ahead:
Here's one sample of it, from Richard Cox at U. Pittsburgh:
From:VAXF::IN%"[email protected]" "Archives & Archivists"
Date:23‑MAR‑1993 06:01:40.66
To:IN%"[email protected]" "Multiple recipients of list ARCHIVES"
Subj:Processing Backlogs
"Here, in response to Bruce Montgomery, are a few random thoughts about alternative ways of processing:
1. Put greater emphasis on appraisal so that only choice collections are acquired
2. Work to develop institutional archives that remove pressure from collecting
3. Evaluate current holdings against collection policies and other documentary goals to ensure that there are priorities for processing (and maybe deaccessioning?)
4. Produce careful user studies that will aid in the determination of processing priorities
5. Divide processing work up so that paraprofessionals can be more effectively used in bulk of time consuming process work
6. Focus on gaining first complete control at collection or fonds level
7. Stop looking inward at the stacks (and processing backlogs) and focus energies on gaining institutional support for more support to attack what backlogs may exist
A few thoughts. I am sure there are other better ideas than these."
‑‑Source: Richard J. Cox, Assistant Professor, School of Library and Information Science, University of Pittsburgh, and Editor, American Archivist
d. collections or record groups/sub-record groups are then divided into series
(1) series are the building blocks of archives
(a) usually the series is what you find on the outside label of a filing cabinet
(b) it's the general category of the type of materials
(c) not "correspondence" but "personal correspondence" or "business correspondence"
(d) series are the most important level of archival arrangement
(e) they consist of records within a collection or record group which:
* relate to a particular subject or function
* result from the same activity
* have a particular form, or
* are related by use, receipt, or creation
(f) series within a record group or a subunit thereof usually are arranged based on what you most need to know about the collection
i) i.e., from most general to most specific
ii) or from highest hierarchical level to lowest
iii) or from the central office to the field office function
iv) series within personal papers often are arranged from the most personal to the least personal
(g) there may be sub-series
i) these are smaller identifiable units within a series
ii) e.g. incoming correspondence & outgoing corresp.
(2) different series will have different methods of internal arrangement
(a) chronological is usually best for photos, because the date context is essential
(b) correspondence all from one individual is best arranged chronologically
(c) correspondence from a number of individuals is best arranged alphabetically
(d) newspaper clippings are an impossible series, due to problems of organization and preservation, unless they've been arranged
i) either microfilm them or copy them onto low-acid paper
ii) heat-bonded photocopies last longer than ink on paper
e. filing unit level / folder
(1) describes a group of items brought together for convenience in filing
(2) e.g., a file folder of documents or a bound volume
f. smallest level of arrangement is the item or document
(1) what is an item in non-published archival materials? -for librarians, it's the book
(2) there may be 1-20 individual documents in a filing unit
(3) archivists cut costs by describing only down to the folder level
(4) leave item-level access to the user
(5) usually, item-level indexing is unfeasible
8. Assignment: do Trudy Peterson's arrangement and description exercise (p. 27-42) for corporate records and exercise #3 (p. 45) for personal papers
E. Description:
1. description is straightforward after a collection has been broken into subgroups (if necessary) and series
2. it refers to (Bressor, p. 15) "the process of establishing intellectual control over holdings through the preparation of finding aids," which include various types of content summaries: inventories, subject guides, lists, registers, indexes, and catalogs
3. the goal of description
a. to provide access to records for archival staff, the donor, and researchers
b. the level of detail chosen should reflect:
(1) the research value of the material
(2) the level of demand for the collection
(3) the type of materials involved, and
(4) a decision about which type of finding aid can be best adapted for the needs of both staff and researchers
4. types of finding aids
a. card catalogs
(1) a fairly recent invention of the 1890s
(2) they took off when LC began issuing pre-printed cards
(3) before that, book catalogs were the traditional method of intellectual control
b. institutional guide describes all the collections held at the repository
c. collection level finding aid describes the holdings of a single collection
d. another type of guide helps users locate materials on certain broad subjects
e. National Archives devised the inventory in 1940s to describe holdings by series
f. in 1950s, Solon J. Buck left National Archives and became LC's first MSS Division Chief, and moved the mss. description away from item-level description to description of groups in a register
g. archivist is the ultimate finding aid
(1) much of the knowledge is non-transferrable
(2) thus, staff increases and changes have their pros and cons
(3) staff increase in value over time because they've processed the records and know what and where the info is
5. ingredients of an inventory or a register (growing together)
a. preface, same for all published by the repository, stating purpose of the tool
b. table of contents
c. introduction
(1) summarizes the agency's history
(2) or, a biographical sketch pertaining to the collection
(3) also, info on when coll. was acquired and its provenance
d. scope and contents note
(1) breifly describes size and scope of collection
(2) also, a broad overview of the collection, in narrative form
e. series descriptions
(1) title, date span, quantification, narrative description of each series (2) and describe series content and method of arrangement
f. container listing, by box and folder
g. a mss. register may also contain a box folder listing by series
h. addenda or appendices, if needed
(1) glossary of unfamiliar terms
(2) maps
(3) bibliography
6. because we use the provenance method, the finding aid for an institution's records will be an organizational chart of the agency whose records are described
a. hierarchical labeling of boxes is necessary for locating info
b. keep it as simple as possible, and think ahead
7. uniformity in finding aids is new since 1960s, spurred by LC and SAA
a. don't reinvent the wheel
b. use format that works well for others, too
c. Steven Hensen's guide, Archives, Personal Papers, and Manuscripts (Society of American Archivists, 1989)
(1) has come to be recognized as the bible for archival cataloging
(2) its contents: archival cataloging in general, bibliographic components and record types, determining sources of cataloging info, choice of headings and other access points, formats for archival titles and dates, physical description and statements of extent, and other considerations of cataloging in the MARC AMC format
F. Reading for our next section:
Mary Lynn Ritzenthaler, Preserving Archives and Manuscripts (1992 ed.), chapters 1 through 6.
