Describing the archive

Hierarchy

To demonstrate the relationships between sections of a collection, your catalogue will need to be organised using a hierarchy. This hierarchy will allow you to describe an archive from the general to the specific. You may find that you only have the time to produce descriptions at a sub-group or series level and that file level descriptions can be created by another person. It also means that if you find additional material later, it is much easier to add this at the appropriate location in the catalogue.

Here is an example of a hierarchy:

 

Note: There are several levels of description that are possible but not all archives will require descriptions at all levels, particularly at item or file level.

Data fields

As a rule, archive collections are catalogued using the General International Standard of Archival Description, or ISAD(G). This outlines the data fields you should use at each level of description. Six of these fields are compulsory and you should use these as the minimum set of fields for your descriptions:

Reference number: This unique reference identifies the item

Title: A short name of the record e.g. Minute book, Photograph or Plan

Level: This is the level which the description refers to in the hierarchy. You should have a standard set of levels.

Date: The date or approximate date that the item was created. Create clear rules about how you will record dates to enable searching. e.g. use ’23 April 1943′, not ’23rd Apr 43′.

Extent: The size of the item(s) you are describing, for example 1 folder, 2 letters, 5MB file or 3 linear metres.

Creator: The person or organisation that created the item(s). This is usually only needed for collection level descriptions.

You may also find it useful to have a description field that provides more detail and to record the location of the item along with the description (but for security purposes, not on any publicly accessible description).

A catalogue could look something like this:

Level: Collection
Reference number: D/LE
Title: Erik Erikssong archive
Date: 1970 – 2020
Extent: 3 boxes and 1 outsize folder
Creator: Erik Erikssong
Description: Erik Erikssong (1965- present) is an Icelandic singer songwriter and member of the band Elf Life. Elf Life have participated in the Songvakeppin contest several times and were selected as the Icelandic entry to the Eurovision Song contest in 2020.

An entry within this collection might look like this:

Level: File
Reference number: D/LE/S/12
Title: Song lyrics to ‘Triple Trouble’
Date: 2019 – 2020
Extent: 2 sheets
Description: Song lyrics, notes and amendments by other band members. The song Triple Trouble was the entry into the 2019 Songvakeppin the Icelandic pre-selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, and a much-changed version was published in 2020. The song reached no 12 in the Icelandic charts.

Our page on Cataloguing archive collections goes into more detail on this.

The Oxfordshire History Centre blog has examples of descriptions of archives, including how they are created.

The International Council on Archives (ICA) website has full details on ISAD(G): General International Standard Archival Description.

Once descriptions are complete, there are several ways to share your descriptions so that they can be visible to researchers that might want to study your archives by adding your descriptions to archive portals. These include:

Find out more about how to participate in Discovery.

Language and terminology

Describing archives in catalogues is an important part of managing collections, and as the main access tool for users, using the most inclusive language in these tools is vital. The original creators of the files may have used language in creating file titles or in the files themselves, that was representative of its time. However, in some cases such language relating to gender, race, sexuality and disability is now classed as derogatory and inappropriate. Equally, some derogatory terms have been reclaimed by the groups that they were originally used against, e.g. Queer.

If original file titles are to be used in descriptions and they contain offensive terminology, then the titles should be placed in quotation marks to denote that it is a direct quotation. If your organisation has existing older descriptions of collections, it is recommended that descriptive catalogues are reviewed for use of offensive or harmful language. In this situation you should also add a note of caution to advise readers of the potential for offensive or harmful language.

Some references for language and terminology: