This document discusses archival arrangement and description practices. It outlines the differences between library and archival materials and standards. It describes common archival functions like appraisal, acquisition, arrangement, description, and preservation. The main focus is on archival arrangement, which considers issues like original order, levels of description, and intellectual versus physical order. Description standards like DACS and methods like database tracking, finding aids, and catalog records are also covered. Challenges to fully processing and describing archival collections are acknowledged.
presented at PAARL's Summer Conference on
Promoting Skills Enhancement and Core Competencies for the Professionalization of Librarians, held at Casa Pilar Resort, Boracay, Malay, Aklan, Philippines on 2002 April 10
Introduction to arrangement and description (feb 4&5, 2012)Amanda Hill
Slide presented at the 'Introduction to Arrangement and Description' workshop at the University of Guelph on February 4 and 5, 2012. They include an overview of key elements of the Rules for Archival Description and an introduction to creating descriptions for the new Archeion service.
A 3-day training program developed for the seminar-workshop on Archival Management, sponsored by South Manila Inter-Institutional Consortium Committee of Librarians, held on March 26-28, 2008.
presented at PAARL's Summer Conference on
Promoting Skills Enhancement and Core Competencies for the Professionalization of Librarians, held at Casa Pilar Resort, Boracay, Malay, Aklan, Philippines on 2002 April 10
Introduction to arrangement and description (feb 4&5, 2012)Amanda Hill
Slide presented at the 'Introduction to Arrangement and Description' workshop at the University of Guelph on February 4 and 5, 2012. They include an overview of key elements of the Rules for Archival Description and an introduction to creating descriptions for the new Archeion service.
A 3-day training program developed for the seminar-workshop on Archival Management, sponsored by South Manila Inter-Institutional Consortium Committee of Librarians, held on March 26-28, 2008.
lecture presented by Fe Angela M. Verzosa at the AKLATAN 2016:
a regional conference on the Art of Librarianship held at Centennial Hall, Malolos Resort Club Royale, Malolos, Bulacan, on 31 August 2016
lecture presented at the Seminar-Workshop on the theme “Organizing and Digitizing Library Archival Materials: ISAD (G) and Technology” organized by the Philippine Librarians Association, Inc. – Western Visayas Region Librarians Council (PLAI-WVRLC) in coordination with the National Committee for Libraries and Information Services – National Commission for Culture and The Arts (NCLIS-NCCA) held at the Colegio de San Agustin—Bacolod, Bacolod City, 27 September 2012.
Archival resources in libraries: significance, sources and set-upsFe Angela Verzosa
lecture presented at the Seminar-Workshop on the theme “Organizing and Digitizing Library Archival Materials: ISAD (G) and Technology” organized by the Philippine Librarians Association, Inc. – Western Visayas Region Librarians Council (PLAI-WVRLC) in coordination with the National Committee for Libraries and Information Services – National Commission for Culture and The Arts (NCLIS-NCCA) held at the Colegio de San Agustin—Bacolod, Bacolod City, 27 September 2012.
lecture conducted for the Department of Health personnel during a 5-day seminar organized by the Society of Philippine Health History, Inc. on “Basic Library Management” at Kimberly Hotel, Pedro Gil, Ermita, Manila, Philippines (2004 Oct 8)
Preservation Strategies For Library And Archival ResourcesFe Angela Verzosa
Presented by Fe Angela M. Verzosa at the Seminar on Disaster Management, sponsored by Aquinas University (held at Daragang Magayon Hall, Aquinas University, Legaspi, Albay, Philippines) on 8 October 2009
Archives and recordkeeping: theory into practiceFacet Publishing
This groundbreaking text demystifies archival and recordkeeping theory and its role in modern day practice.
The book's great strength is in articulating some of the core principles and issues that shape the discipline and the impact and relevance they have for the 21st century professional.
Using an accessible approach, it outlines and explores key literature and concepts and the role they can play in practice. Leading international thinkers and practitioners from the archives and records management world, Jeannette Bastian, Alan Bell, Anne Gilliland, Rachel Hardiman, Eric Ketelaar, Jennifer Meehan and Caroline Williams, consider the concepts and ideas behind the practicalities of archives and records management to draw out their importance and relevance.
Key topics covered include:
- Records and archives: concepts, roles and definitions
- Archival appraisal: practising on shifting sand
- Arrangement and description: between theory and practice
- Ethics for archivists and records managers
- Archives, memories and identities
- Under the influence: the impact of philosophy on archives and records management
- Participation vs principle: does technological change marginalize recordkeeping theory?
This is essential reading for students and educators in archives and recordkeeping and invaluable as a guide for practitioners who want to better understand and inform their day-to-day work. It is also a useful guide across related disciplines in the information sciences and humanities.
More information: http://www.facetpublishing.co.uk/title.php?id=8255
This presentation shows the different risks and solutions an archivist can do to maintain his archives. It can help both librarians and archivist in caring for their preserved materials.
Archives Conservation Program – introduction to conservation, deacidification...Fe Angela Verzosa
Lecture presented by Fe Angela M. Verzosa at the Seminar-Workshop on the Rice Terraces Archival Project (Phase 1- Capacity Building) sponsored by the Cordillera/Northern Luzon Historical Archives, UP Baguio, and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Bulwagang Juan Luna, University of the Philippines Baguio, Baguio City, 2014 June 11
Best practices for Archival Processing of Research Objects (a librarian view)Oscar Corcho
This slideset describes a set of best practices for archival processing or Research Objects. It is part of the Research Object Knowledge Hub (http://researchobject.org/), which has been created in the context of the Wf4Ever project (http://www.wf4ever-project.eu/)
lecture presented by Fe Angela M. Verzosa at the AKLATAN 2016:
a regional conference on the Art of Librarianship held at Centennial Hall, Malolos Resort Club Royale, Malolos, Bulacan, on 31 August 2016
lecture presented at the Seminar-Workshop on the theme “Organizing and Digitizing Library Archival Materials: ISAD (G) and Technology” organized by the Philippine Librarians Association, Inc. – Western Visayas Region Librarians Council (PLAI-WVRLC) in coordination with the National Committee for Libraries and Information Services – National Commission for Culture and The Arts (NCLIS-NCCA) held at the Colegio de San Agustin—Bacolod, Bacolod City, 27 September 2012.
Archival resources in libraries: significance, sources and set-upsFe Angela Verzosa
lecture presented at the Seminar-Workshop on the theme “Organizing and Digitizing Library Archival Materials: ISAD (G) and Technology” organized by the Philippine Librarians Association, Inc. – Western Visayas Region Librarians Council (PLAI-WVRLC) in coordination with the National Committee for Libraries and Information Services – National Commission for Culture and The Arts (NCLIS-NCCA) held at the Colegio de San Agustin—Bacolod, Bacolod City, 27 September 2012.
lecture conducted for the Department of Health personnel during a 5-day seminar organized by the Society of Philippine Health History, Inc. on “Basic Library Management” at Kimberly Hotel, Pedro Gil, Ermita, Manila, Philippines (2004 Oct 8)
Preservation Strategies For Library And Archival ResourcesFe Angela Verzosa
Presented by Fe Angela M. Verzosa at the Seminar on Disaster Management, sponsored by Aquinas University (held at Daragang Magayon Hall, Aquinas University, Legaspi, Albay, Philippines) on 8 October 2009
Archives and recordkeeping: theory into practiceFacet Publishing
This groundbreaking text demystifies archival and recordkeeping theory and its role in modern day practice.
The book's great strength is in articulating some of the core principles and issues that shape the discipline and the impact and relevance they have for the 21st century professional.
Using an accessible approach, it outlines and explores key literature and concepts and the role they can play in practice. Leading international thinkers and practitioners from the archives and records management world, Jeannette Bastian, Alan Bell, Anne Gilliland, Rachel Hardiman, Eric Ketelaar, Jennifer Meehan and Caroline Williams, consider the concepts and ideas behind the practicalities of archives and records management to draw out their importance and relevance.
Key topics covered include:
- Records and archives: concepts, roles and definitions
- Archival appraisal: practising on shifting sand
- Arrangement and description: between theory and practice
- Ethics for archivists and records managers
- Archives, memories and identities
- Under the influence: the impact of philosophy on archives and records management
- Participation vs principle: does technological change marginalize recordkeeping theory?
This is essential reading for students and educators in archives and recordkeeping and invaluable as a guide for practitioners who want to better understand and inform their day-to-day work. It is also a useful guide across related disciplines in the information sciences and humanities.
More information: http://www.facetpublishing.co.uk/title.php?id=8255
This presentation shows the different risks and solutions an archivist can do to maintain his archives. It can help both librarians and archivist in caring for their preserved materials.
Archives Conservation Program – introduction to conservation, deacidification...Fe Angela Verzosa
Lecture presented by Fe Angela M. Verzosa at the Seminar-Workshop on the Rice Terraces Archival Project (Phase 1- Capacity Building) sponsored by the Cordillera/Northern Luzon Historical Archives, UP Baguio, and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, Bulwagang Juan Luna, University of the Philippines Baguio, Baguio City, 2014 June 11
Best practices for Archival Processing of Research Objects (a librarian view)Oscar Corcho
This slideset describes a set of best practices for archival processing or Research Objects. It is part of the Research Object Knowledge Hub (http://researchobject.org/), which has been created in the context of the Wf4Ever project (http://www.wf4ever-project.eu/)
Archival description and archival standards, an introduction to General International Standard Archival Description ISAD(G) and International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies ISAAR(CPF).
Introduction to archival processing, presented as part of a one-day workshop on the same topic, Drexel University, April 23, 2010. Adapted with permission from training materials created by Holly Mengel for the PACSCL Hidden Collections Processing Project. http://clir.pacscl.org/
Rebecca Grant - Archival Description and Archival Arrangementdri_ireland
Presentation given by Rebecca Grant of the Digital Repository of Ireland as part of a training session in The National Irish Visual Arts Library (NIVAL), 12 August 2014.
An introduction to the main principles of archival arrangement and description, including an overview of hierarchical arrangement of archives and the archival descriptive standard ISAD(G).
To date, most digitisation of taxonomic literature has led to a more or less simple digital copy of a paper original – the output has effectively been an electronic copy of a traditional library. While this has increased accessibility of publications through internet access, for many scientific papers the means of indexing and locating them is much the same as with traditional libraries. OCR and born-digital papers allow use of web search engines to locate instances of taxon names and other terms, but OCR efficiency in recognising names is still relatively poor, people’s ability to use search engines effectively is mixed, and many papers cannot be directly searched. Instead of building digital analogues of traditional publications, we should consider what properties we require of future taxonomic information access. Ideally the content of each new digital publication should be accessible in the context of all previous published data, and the user able to retrieve nomenclatural, taxonomic and other data / information in the form required without having to scan all of the original paper and extract target content manually. This opens the door to dynamic linking of new content with extant systems – automatic population and updating of taxonomic catalogues, ZooBank and faunal lists, all descriptions of a taxon and its children instantly accessible with a single search, comparison of classifications used in different publications, and so on. The means to do this is currently marking up content into XML, the more atomised the mark-up the greater the possibilities for data retrieval and integration. Mark-up requires XML that accommodates the required content elements and is interoperable with other XML schemas, and there are now several written to do this, particularly TaxPub, taxonX and taXMLit, the last of these being the most atomised. Building on earlier systems for mark-up of legacy literature ViBRANT is developing a new workflow and seeking to increase the automated component of the process. Manual and automatic data and information retrieval is demonstrated by projects such as INOTAXA and Plazi. As we move to creating and using taxonomic products through the power of the internet, we need to ensure the output, while satisfying the requirements of the Code, is fit for purpose in the future.
Rebecca Grant - DRI Training Series: 1. Organising Your Collection dri_ireland
Presentation given by Rebecca Grant, Digital Archivist at Digital Repository of Ireland on February 17th, 2016 in the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, as part of the DRI Training Series 'Preparing Your Collection for DRI'. This seminar introduces attendees to the basics of arranging collections of heritage material to facilitate cataloguing and discovery. Although the Digital Repository of Ireland’s collection arrangement functionality will be discussed specifically, the themes explored in this seminar are applicable to both digital and non-digital collections.
Kevin Long - DRI Training Series Day UCC: Organising Your Collectiondri_ireland
Presentation given by Kevin Long, Digital Data Curator on the Inspiring Ireland 1916 project at the Digital Repository of Ireland, in the Digital Humanities Active Learning Space, University College Cork, as part of a day-long DRI Training session on 'Preparing Digital Collections'. This seminar introduces attendees to the basics of arranging collections of heritage material to facilitate cataloguing and discovery. Although the Digital Repository of Ireland’s collection arrangement functionality will be discussed specifically, the themes explored in this seminar are applicable to both digital and non-digital collections.
Anatomy of a Towson University collection guidesespinosaTU
Discover the important parts of the Towson University collection guide and why each part matters to a potential researcher. By the Towson University Special Collections and Archives.
Research data catalogues and data interoperability in life sciencesBlue BRIDGE
Presentation by Rafael C Jimenez, ELIXIR CTO
This presentation gives an overview of data catalogues in the life sciences and describe different approaches of data interoperability and federation. It also explains the relationship and differences among ELIXIR registries, data repositories, data archives and knowledge-bases. The presentation introduces few ideas for discussion about how to facilitate data interoperability in the European Open Science Cloud.
2. Library vs. Archives Materials Secondary sources Self-conscious creations Items collected and classified at individual level Items described according to well-established standards Primary sources Created in course of business/life Items collected and classified in aggregate Description standards only recently established Library (“neat”) Archives (“messy”)
4. Archival Functions Appraise Acquire Arrange Describe Preserve Make accessible [For this presentation, we are concentrating on arrangement and description]
5. Archival Arrangement 1) Variety: the only constant 2) Provenance 3) Original Order 4) Levels 5) Physical vs. intellectual order
6. Variety is the spice of archival life Collections vary greatly in size, format and complexity.
7. Provenance The context in which records were created is important to understanding historical significance, therefore- The materials generated by one individual, organization or department should not be combined with the materials of another. Examples: College of Agricultural Science Records Conrad Richter Papers Jack Rabin Collection on Alabama Civil Rights
8. Original Order Important in theory, but often violated in practice Materials should be kept in the order in which they were originally created, maintained or used. However, materials often come to us in no usable order.
9. Levels Collection, series, subseries Series often determined by subject, function, or form Within a series, filing system: chronological, geographical, alphabetical, etc.
10. Intellectual vs. physical order One intellectual series could include all materials on a selected topic, however those materials could be: papers (one area of stacks), books (another area of stacks), maps (require flat storage), and photographs (require cold storage) This complicates retrieval as well as arrangement and description.
11. Describe 1) Standards – DACS 2) Methods- Database tracking Finding aids Catalog records
12. DACS: Describing Archives, a Content Standard Some of the elements addressed by DACS: Required elements for different levels of description (minimum, optimum, added value) Title formation Forms of names Elements and examples of biographies and collection overviews (And much, much more)
16. Finding Aids Information contained: Administrative information (extent, restrictions, etc.) Institutional History or Biography Collection overview Series Arrangement and Descriptions Box/folder lists Formats: Can be Word, PDF, HTML, EAD
17. Online Finding Aid Formats No metadata tagged, but information still online Findable through Google Searchable through “Find in page” Relatively quick and easy Metadata such as creator, subjects, date ranges all tagged Enables sharing with consortia and more precise retrieval Takes more time/training to encode Search software only in beginning stages HTML EAD
18. Examples HTML: Robert T. Oliver papers http://www.libraries.psu.edu/digital/findingaids/1086.htm EAD: T.R. Johns papers http://www.libraries.psu.edu/digital/findingaids/2/johns.frame.html
21. Sample EAD code <origination label="Creator"><persnameencodinganalog="100" source="lcnaf">Coit, Margaret L., 1919-2003</persname> </origination> <unittitle label="Title" encodinganalog="245">Margaret L. Coit Papers, <date type="inclusive" normal="1864/2003">1864-2003,</date> (bulk <date type="bulk" normal="1921/1999">1921-1999)</date></unittitle> <bioghist> <head>Biographical Note</head> <p><persname>Margaret Louise Coit</persname> was born 30 May 1919 in Norwich, Connecticut, to <persname>Archa Willoughby Coit</persname>, a stockbroker, and <persname>Grace Coit</persname> (nee Trow), the principal of a private day school. Two years later, Margaret's sister Grace was born with Down Syndrome. Caring for Grace would take up much of Coit's adult life.</p> <p> At the start of the Great Depression, Coit's family moved to <geogname>Greensboro, North Carolina</geogname>, where Coit attended <corpname>Curry School</corpname>, a training school located on the grounds of <corpname>Woman's College</corpname> (now the <corpname>University of North Carolina at Greensboro</corpname>, or <corpname>UNCG</corpname>). </p>
23. The Dream In the ideal “hierarchy of surrogacy”, we’d have finding aids for all collections that include item-level inventories, and catalog records that include collection-level summaries and point to those finding aids. Collection (tracked by database) described by finding aid summarized by catalog record
24. The cold hard reality (boo!) At Special Collections institutions in general* Processing time: mean of 14.8 hours per linear foot Backlog statistics: 34% of institutions say more than half of their collections are unprocessed, 60% at least a third unprocessed
25. (Cold, hard reality continued) At PSU Special Collections: About 75% of our collections are in the Cat About 30% of our collections have finding aids About 25% of our collections have neither (“hidden collections”)
26. *Meissner-Greene “More product, less process” (MPLP) Sacrifice detail in order to describe everything at collection level first, so that researchers know what you have Processing can be flexible, different levels between and within collections “Good processing is done with a shovel, not with tweezers”
27. Pertinent PSU Specoll Projects Core records Make catalog records at COLLECTION level for all Finding aids Generate HTML finding aids from Oliver Future plans New database system and more EAD