Archival Arrangement, Description & Access

Archival Arrangement, Description & Access

DLOC - Training SessionSummer 2013

By Natalie Baur & Béatrice Skokan

University of Miami Otto G. Richter Library

Definition“Archives are the noncurrent records of an organization or an individual preserved because of their enduring value”

Source: Developing & Maintaining Practical Archives: A How-To-Do-It Manual by Gregory Hunter Natalie Baur & Béatrice Skokan,

7/17/2013

Examples of Archival Material

Letters (handwritten, typed & email)

Photographs

Minutes/Reports

Diaries

Business records

Speeches/Lectures

Brochures/Flyers/Posters

Film/Video/Audio tapes

Photograph of Juan Trippe and Charles Lindberg

Pan American World Airways Records, Inc. , UM Special Collection.

Natalie Baur & Béatrice Skokan, 7/17/2013

Preservation Basics Climate control

Lower than 70° degrees Fahrenheit

45% Relative Humidity (low 30% & high 50%)

FLUCTUATIONS in Temperature & Relative Humidity are especially harmful by causing materials to expand & contract repeatedly.

Light is damaging to rare materials

Eliminate UV light & sunlight

Use lighting as needed

Acid free containers

Advanced preservation issues are referred to professional conservators.

Source: Northeast Document Conservation Center @ http://www.nedcc.org/home.php


Steps for Archival Processing

Arrangement DescriptionPublication of the “Finding

Aid”


Archival Description Standard - DACS


DACS Collection Level Description Fields Collection no.

Repository

Collection Title

Collection Dates

Extent (in linear or cubic ft.)

Creator(s)

Scope & Content Note

Access Restrictions

Language of Materials

Location (Not required by DACS but used to manage collections)


Published Finding Aid Example


What is “More Product Less Process (MPLP)?”

An archival method of arranging & describing archival collection in the least amount of time in order to provide quicker access to researchers.

Source : Mark Green and Dennis Meisner, “More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing,” American Archivist 68:2 (2005)


Why Adopt the MPLP Methodology?

“Processing backlogs continue to be a problem for archivists, and yet the

problem is exacerbated by many of the traditional approaches to processing collections that archivists

continue to practice.”

Mark Green and Dennis Meisner, “More Product, Less Process: Revamping

Traditional Archival Processing,” American Archivist 68:2 (2005), 208-

64.


Green & Meisner Survey Results

Researchers accept minimal processing of archival collections.

Researchers want basic descriptions of archival collections regardless of level of processing.

Most researchers want online descriptions of archival collections.

African Slave Trade. Hand-written Portledge Bill of Brigantine "Reynard", Peter Dordin (slave captain) Master from Africa.

Caribbean Documents Collection, UM Special Collections.


MPLP Principles for Change“The Golden Minimum”

Accept Original Order &

Focus on Intellectual Arrangement

Rely

on Environmental

Controls for Preservation of Materials

Unprocessed Collections are Open to Researchers

Maximize Access

to Collectio

ns


MPLP Method - First Steps

1. Inventory your collections (for intellectual control of your holdings).

2. For each collection in the inventory include the basic DACS fields : Collection no, Title, Dates etc.. (See slide 7)

3. Give a physical location such as room and shelf no. to each collection (for physical control of your holdings


Archival Management Systems

Natalie Baur & Beatrice Skokan, 5/23/2012

• Archon• University of Miami archival management system• Creation of finding aids

• EAD/XML output• Accession records• Easy creation/updating of records• Will move to ArchivesSpace in Fall 2013

• http://www.archon.org• http://www.archivesspace.org

Digitization and Archival Context and Description

• Digitization as process

• Role of archival context and description

• Provenance• Creators• Intellectual and physical arrangement

Provenance


Definition: Origin/source of material.

• Information regarding the origins, custody, and ownership of an item or collection. (A Glossary of Archival & Records Terminology, 2005)

Provenance is the fundamental principal of archives. • Respect des fonds: Records of different origins are

kept separately

Digital collections must also respect provenance

Creators

Natalie Baur & Beatrice Skokan, 5/23/2012

Definition: individual, group or organization that is responsible for something’s production, accumulation or formation. (A Glossary of Archival & Records Terminology, 2005)

Intellectual and Physical Arrangement


Finding Aid• Provides information on intellectual arrangement of

collection• Series, Subseries

• Provides physical access to intellectual arrangement found in the finding aid• Box, folder, item

Digital collections must also respect physical and intellectual arrangement

Intellectual and Physical Arrangement


Archival Context in Digital Collections






Thank YouArchives Arrangement, Description & Access

Natalie Baur (Archivist) & Béatrice Skokan (Manuscripts Librarian)

July 17, 2013

View this presentation on Slide Share:http://www.slideshare.net/lindyhopper38/archival-arrangement-description-access-dloc-training-summer-2013-24514480

International Council on Archives Standards for Archival Description:http://www.ica.org/10207/standards/isadg-general-international-standard-archival-description-second-edition.html

DACS available via free PDF download from Society of American Archivists:http://files.archivists.org/pubs/DACS2E-2013.pdf

http://www.slideshare.net/lindyhopper38/archival-arrangement-description-access-dloc-training-summer-2013-24514480



http://www.ica.org/10207/standards/isadg-general-international-standard-archival-description-second-edition.html



http://files.archivists.org/pubs/DACS2E-2013.pdf

http://files.archivists.org/pubs/DACS2E-2013.pdf

Education

Archival Arrangement, Description & Access