Description is not just what archivists do to an individual collection. It is the U.S. implementation of international standards (i.e., ISAD [G] and ISAAR [CPF]) for the description of archival materials and their creators. This form contains all of the information the Processing Archivist needs to assemble your finalized finding aid. A child descriptions is an archival description that is part of a larger hierarchy, often a fonds or collection.A child record refers to a description of the archival unit that is one level of description lower than the current unit - for example, if a series belongs to a fonds, the series is the child record of the fonds.. AtoM helps users understand the context . Born Digital Archival Description Guidelines: Example Finding Aids Home Required Descriptive Elements List of Elements Guidance on Processing Levels Example Finding Aids Metadata Mappings Update Log Yale Example Finding Aids Richard Slotkin papers (WA MSS S-2716) William David Sherman papers (YCAL MSS 224) Ronald Dworkin papers (MS 2071) For example, each scanned page of a letter would be a digital object, and each would be attached to the archival description. Many of the examples are taken from real finding aids; others have been specially constructed for the Tag Library. RAD contains chapters devoted to the description of several different types of resources, including moving images, sound recordings, and objects. The archival description area maps to RAD area 1.7 and the .7 sections in the media chapters. Description begins when the collection first comes into a repositorywhen archivists accession collections into a repository's recordkeeping system. General material designation "A term indicating the broad class of material to which the unit being described belongs" (RAD Glossary). The sheets in this file are helpful for keeping track of processing activities. For example, extent measurements must be selected from a set of 53 counts and measures currently in use in Harvard's ArchivesSpace installation. Its structure is similar to that of AACR2. (for example, which elements are required, or which are permitted inside which other elements). In this definition, WGSAD Introduction to Describing Archival Materials Chapter 1: Levels of Description Chapter 2: Identity Elements Chapter 3: Content and Structure Elements Chapter 4: Conditions of Access and Use Elements Chapter 5: Acquisition and Appraisal Elements Chapter 6: Related Materials Elements Chapter 7: Notes Element Chapter 8: Description Control Element Archival descriptions are embodied in what are often called "finding aids." They are the archival world's equivalent to a catalogue entry in a library catalogue. Archival sources include letters, unpublished manuscripts, limited-circulation brochures and pamphlets, in-house institutional and corporate documents, clippings, and other documents, as well as such nontextual materials as photographs and apparatus, that are in the personal possession of an author, form part of an institutional collection, or are stored in an archive. The officer in charge of each administrative or academic office, in consultation with the Institute Archivist, will be responsible for deciding how long inactive papers are to be retained in and under the direct control of the office concerned. February 24, 2020. For example, a biography of Millicent Garrett Fawcett or a description of The National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies. Description is not just what archivists do to an individual collection. Its rules are based on archival principles such as respect des fonds and description reflecting arrangement. All photographs, other visual material, and artifacts significant to the Institute's history shall be . . Make some EAD components by entering a series list, folder list, item list into the cells. Arrangement: The way the archive is organised, which may include a list of the series within the collection. Please fill this out as completely as possible once processing is complete. Most element descriptions include a tagged example to indicate how attributes and elements can be used together. Archival description, primarily, is a way to bring order to the chaos of unprocessed records of enduring value. Archival description is the process of capturing, collating, analyzing, and organizing any information that serves to identify, manage, locate, and interpret the holdings of archival institutions and explain the contexts and records systems from which those holdings were selected. This is only a test! ((). Encoded Archival Description (EAD) is a standard for encoding descriptive information regarding archival records. The individual descriptions are variously called finding aids, guides, handlists, or catalogs. Archival Materials Elements The elements used to describe archival materials are divided into three categories: the intellectual elements the physical occurrence elements the media occurrence elements Intellectual Elements (But I'd love to get some feedback.) The standard originated from a research project at the University of California at Berkeley. One worksheet tracks time spent on various activities. The EAD tag set has 146 . For rules and examples, see RAD 1.1B and the .1B rules in the media chapters. Encoded Archival Description (EAD) is an international standard for encoding finding aids for archival materials, with version 1.0 published in 1998 and revised in 2002. It is used "to present information . Archival Sources - Example Citations - Citing Primary Sources - LibGuides at Duke University Citing Primary Sources Letter Item creator & description: James A. Whitted to Charles N. Hunter Item Date: 10 September 1890 Item location: Box 1, folder 4, Correspondence, 1871-1891 Collection name: Charles N. Hunter Papers Encoded Archival Description Tag Library - Version EAD3 . DACS was designed to be used to create a variety of archival descriptions, including finding aids and catalog records. Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS) is an output-neutral set of rules for describing archives, personal papers, and manuscript collections, and can be applied to all material types. Notes First published in 2004 and made an official standard in 2005, DACS was the . Introduction. For example, the ISAD (G): General International Standard of Archival Description defines multilevel principles, such as moving from the broad to specific, linking hierarchical levels, and basic descriptive elements. The purpose of archival description is to make accessible the information contained in the collection and maintain control over archival holdings. Paper copies of finding aids are often available in the reading rooms of archives. Rules for Archival Description; Describing Archives: A Content Standard n. (abbr. Add a new child description. The most recent revision of RAD was issued in 2008. Description begins when the collection first comes into a repositorywhen archivists accession collections into a repository's recordkeeping system. For example, a collection might be organized at the broadest level into series such as "Correspondence," "Financial Records," "Writings," and "Clippings." Each of these broad categories might be broken into smaller subseries such as "Incoming Letters" and "Outgoing Letters." Subseries may then be divided into files ("Outgoing Letters A-M"). Encoded Archival Description (EAD) 1 is an emerging standard used internationally in an increasing number of archives and manuscripts libraries to encode data describing corporate records and personal papers. Processing Worksheets. Description should define intellectual content and physical characteristics, as well as document records creators, content, and context. Archival records differ from the items in a library collection because they are unique, usually . Adminstrative/Biographical History: Information about the creator of the archive. Archival description is the process of capturing, collating, analyzing, and organizing any information that serves to identify, manage, locate, and interpret the holdings of archival institutions and explain the contexts and records systems from which those holdings were selected. Anyone doing archival research will eventually find themselves using archival descriptions. Introduction to Describing Archival Materials Chapter 1: Levels of Description Chapter 2: Identity Elements Chapter 3: Content and Structure Elements Chapter 4: Conditions of Access and Use Elements Chapter 5: Acquisition and Appraisal Elements Chapter 6: Related Materials Elements Chapter 7: Notes Element Chapter 8: Description Control Element The Library of Congress Standards EAD . Archival description, primarily, is a way to bring order to the chaos of unprocessed records of enduring value. The Society of American Archivists adopted Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS) as the official content standard of the U.S. archival community in 2005. It should also explain how to use the . DACS) rules maintained by the Society of American Archivists specifying the data elements to be used to represent an archival resource and its components (View Citations) (((). Overview.