Archival Finding Aids

Flashcards about Archival Finding Aids based on lecture notes.

What is the universal challenge that researchers face when diving into historical collections?

Information overload.

How do archival items gain their significance?

From their relationship to other items in the group and how they were created and kept together.

What are archival finding aids?

Essential tools that act as a guide through huge historical records, helping to unlock their meaning.

What is the core distinction between archives and libraries?

The level of description; libraries describe at the item level, while archives describe in groups.

What is 'processing' in archival terms?

Arranging, describing, and housing materials properly for preservation.

What are the two foundational principles at the heart of archival practice?

Provenance (Respect des fonds) and original order.

What does 'provenance' or 'Respect des fonds' mean?

Records from one creator must be kept separate from the records of any other creator.

What does 'original order' mean?

Maintaining the organization and sequence of records as established by the creator.

What is the typical hierarchy used to arrange and describe collections?

Repository, collection, series, file, item.

What is the archivist's primary tool for describing arrangement and organization?

The finding aid.

What is the core purpose of a finding aid for a researcher?

To understand who created the collection, what time period it covers, what kinds of materials are in there, and how it's organized.

What is DACS?

Describing Archives: A Content Standard; the main set of rules used in the U.S. for archival description.

What are the key components of a standard DACS-compliant finding aid?

Title, creator, dates, extent, biographical/historical note, scope and content note, access and use restrictions, unique identifier, and language of materials.

What are 'bulk dates' in a finding aid?

The date range when the majority of the material was created.

What is the purpose of the biographical or historical note?

To explain the who and why behind the record's creation, providing crucial background.

What does the scope and content note describe?

The types of materials present and highlights significant people, places, topics, or events documented within the collection.

What are access points?

Standardized, searchable terms (subjects, names, locations) used to tag collections, drawn from controlled vocabularies.

What is EAD?

Encoded Archival Description; an XML-based encoding standard for structuring finding aid information so computers can parse and process it.

What does the right statement for archival description specify?

The conditions under which the finding aid description itself can be used, reused, and shared.

What should archival description be tailored to?

The users and the nature of the materials themselves.

What do the 2019 guiding principles for archival description emphasize?

User-centered and accessible description, documentation of the archivist's work, continuous iterative process, flexibility, and emphasis on contextual significance.