Archives tutorial

Table of contents

  1. What are archives?
  2. How are archives organized?
  3. What do archivists do?
  4. Archival glossary
  5. More resources on archives
  6. Directory of local and digital archives/history resources

1. What are archives?

  • Archives are the non-current records of people, associations or institutions.
  • Archives are unique, unpublished, primary, two-dimensional research resources such as letters, journals, photographs, posters or diaries which are deemed to have lasting evidential or informational value.
  • Archives are evidence of actions and transactions.
  • Archives are not library materials, that is, they are not purposefully created to serve research interests and organized in subject classifications.
  • Archives are more "elemental" than library materials and can be thought of as having a distinctly organic component; a sense of being a natural by-product of human or organizational activity.
  • Archives have, perhaps, more in common with museums, oral traditions, natural and built environments, and works of art, than with library materials.
  • Archives should be conceptualized as "records of" rather than "records about" a person or organization or association.
  • Archives are accumulated rather than being consciously authored for the purpose of informing or entertaining. They maintain a special relationship with their creating body. Their organization and description after they are received into an archive reflects this relationship.
  • Archival records such as day books, journals, and ledgers that may be used by business historians to construct a theory of nineteenth-century economic activity were created in the natural process of running a business; correspondence kept family members in touch with one another: their use by social historians is quite a different matter inasmuch as there was (usually) no sense of their being permanently preserved when they were written. They were not created for subsequent research use, and access and effective use of them for research purposes depends upon understanding this fundamental difference between archival and library resources.

Archives may consist of:

  • correspondence
  • journals
  • diaries
  • minutes
  • literary manuscripts
  • deeds or other land records
  • wills
  • marriage contracts
  • ledgers or day books
  • maps
  • sketches
  • broadsides
  • advertising flyers
  • architectural drawings
  • film, cassette, or video recordings
  • micro-format records
  • electronic media
  • photographs

Archives are different from books:

  • archival materials are preserved in the order that they were created by the person, association or institution
  • archival materials are unpublished, primary, unique
  • archival materials do not circulate; they must be used in the archives Reading Room
  • archival materials are retrieved for the user from closed stacks

2. How are Archives Organized?

Archival practice requires that the records of a person or agency be kept together, and, in addition, be kept in the same order as they were originally arranged. These are the rules of "provenance" and respect des fonds which govern the arrangement and description of archival material in every archival depository.

  • Each archival document or group of documents (known as a fonds) is assigned an accession number and shelved as it was created and subsequently forwarded to the archives whether it consists of one letter or a hundred boxes.
  • Material is not re-organized according to subject or topic. Maintaining the papers according to provenance and with absolute respect for the context of each and every component of the fonds ensures that researchers can make meaning from records, by preserving the context of the records' creation (i.e. who created them and why). Papers accumulated by a creator and kept intact tell us more about the creating body than would any sum of their parts if we broke it up into subject groupings or removed specific media from it without ensuring that appropriate intellectual linkages were in place.
  • Archival materials are less managed, and less manageable, than library materials. The maintenance of fonds holistically, and in the order in which they were created, dictates mechanisms of acquisition, description, arrangement and accessibility within the archival repository.

3. What do archivists do?

Archivists acquire papers, arrange and describe them, and ensure their permanent preservation. They then make these resources available to researchers by maintaining secure facilities, providing reference services, and engaging in instruction and outreach activities. In order to fulfill these responsibilities, they must:

Collect:

Most archives will have, and should have, a written collections mandate. Within the parameters of this mandate, the Archivist will appraise and acquire such materials as are deemed appropriate to the repository. These are normally acquired through donation. Once acquired, the archivist has a responsibility to process, arrange and describe materials in a timely manner.

Arrange:

After the donor arrangements have been made and acquisition has been legalized, the archivist will inspect the papers; identify fonds and any sous-fonds or series; clean and repair if necessary; encapsulate fragile items; supply order, if none exists, by putting the papers into chronological or alphabetical order, as appropriate; perform weeding and stripping as necessary. At all times, the archivists will be aware of "respect des fonds" and retain the original order of the papers wherever possible.

Describe:

The process of establishing intellectual control over holdings involves the preparation of finding aids which are descriptive media, published and unpublished, created either by an originating office, or an archival agency repository, which serve to establish physical or administrative and especially intellectual control, over holdings. Finding Aids include guides (general or repository-level, and subject or topical), inventories, registers, file lists, shelf and box lists, calendars, software documentation (for electronic records) and databases. Each of the above may be hard-copy, electronic, online or all three.

Even though archival materials are processed and maintained according to provenance, subjects and personal names can be uncovered by researchers by perusing finding aids prior to looking at the documents themselves. Most archives in Canada describe their holdings in accordance with the Canadian descriptive standard, Rules for Archival Description (RAD). Information about all fonds or collections will thus be electronically interchangeable via such on-line "union lists" as Archives Canada.

Re-house:

The papers will be prepared for shelving and placed in acid-free file folders inside acid-free records storage boxes; folders will be labeled clearly with accession number, folder number and box number. Box labels will note the total number of boxes in the accession. Any restrictions to all or part of the fonds will be marked on the label.

Manage:

The function of a database has not been entirely superseded by search engines such as Google. Databases such as DB/Textworks are useful for generating consistently formatted reports in any form; for applying subject access points; for making global changes in a number of records, and for encouraging the creation and maintenance of in-house authority files. Trent University Archives generates all reports such as finding aids, subject guides, annual acquisition reports and donor lists from a DB/Textworks database. We enter information in 26 fields in the Trent database.

Make Accessible:

Managing archival resources is a balancing act. The Archivist is a point of intersection between the records creator and the records user, and it is that mediation between the preservation function, and the research function which demands our attention. Responsibility to the donor and ethical responsibility to the permanent maintenance and preservation of heritage materials implies security from human and environmental hazards. Whereas, commitment to research, and, one hopes, contribution to an accurate historical record, demands adequate accessibility for researchers. Tensions between these two must be examined and adjusted within the confines of staff and other available resources.

Our reading room procedures typify our dual commitment to preservation and research. We provide professional consultation and guides to the materials in our keeping. We also specify procedures for persons consulting these materials. Researchers are asked to register when they come in to the archives. They discuss their research project with the archives staff and pertinent materials are retrieved and brought to them from the closed stacks. They may first consult the "Subject Guides to Holdings." There are 31 subject areas which offer a brief, one-paragraph description of each fonds as compared to the detailed Finding Aids which are complete with biographical or historical information, scope and contents, and file list. Researchers are required to use only pencils, not pens, for note-taking; cotton gloves must be worn when handling photographs and other fragile textual material; any photocopying will be done by archives staff and only if the original document is in good condition. Archival documents are often fragile and they are always unique. Replacement of lost or damaged items is not possible.

The issue of preservation is a basic concern to archivists. An overview may indicate some of the more obvious points. Less obvious are the methods by which archivists (with the blessing of copyright law) are allowed to transfer documents from one medium to another in the interests of relieving pressure on the original. Most common are the photo-reproduction of fragile texts for research usage, the transcriptions which often accompany scanned documents in Web exhibits, and of course transcriptions of oral interview tapes. It is increasingly the desire of researchers to expect digitized records to be available for easy access, ready transport, and distance researching. The archivist must never forget that machine-readable media are good for access, but bad for preservation. Good quality paper has lasted for 2500 years; microfilm will last for up to 1000 years. Reel-to-reel tapes will last 100 years. Even audio cassettes will last for decades and still have recoverable tracks on them. But floppy disks? CDs? DVDs? In the interests of preservation, microfilming is still the best option for archives. Though an expensive procedure, microfilm can be retrospectively digitized and one will have the best of both worlds.

Preserve

Any repository accepting responsibility for archival materials also has a responsibility to make those materials available for research in a timely manner. No purpose is served by expending scarce university resources to maintain a dead storage facility. But, the preservation and accessibility aspects of archives are a dichotomy requiring a balancing act. Preserving materials only makes sense if those materials are used, and yet, permanent preservation is affected by use so care is needed when making records available. The relationship between archivist and donor or records creator is an enduring one. We have a responsibility to ensure the preservation of documents into perpetuity and have contracted to do so in our acceptance of papers. Hence, archives impose certain regulations in the interests of permanent preservation of their holdings.

These include:

  • Archival materials will be shelved in closed stacks;
  • Attention must be paid to archival standards of temperature and humidity;
  • Care must be taken to avoid natural light or unfiltered incandescent or fluorescent lights in the reading room;
  • Materials will be shelved in acid free envelopes within acid free records storage boxes, out of light and dust;
  • Photographs and negatives should be stored in inert photographic sleeves;
  • Paper is damaged by heat, light, dust, moisture, acidity, insects, rodents, paper clips, staples and the oil on people's hands - all must be scrupulously avoided;
  • Researchers must be asked to register when they arrive in the reading room;
  • No food or drinks are to be brought in to the reading room;
  • Coats and backpacks are to be left in an appropriate area away from research tables;
  • Users should bring pencils with them for note-taking - they may not use pens or markers;
  • Users should be careful not to fold the papers they're using and to refold them along the original fold lines;
  • Users must be careful not to have the sheet of paper they're writing on positioned on top of a document;
  • White cotton gloves may be provided for patrons handling photographs;
  • Only records in good condition will be photocopied by archives staff; we will not photocopy items which would be damaged by opening out flat or that are too large to fit fully supported on the machine;
  • We ask all researchers to be scrupulous about refiling papers in the correct folder and in the correct order in the correct box. Misfiled items will likely be lost for years in a repository containing upwards of 3 million pieces of paper.

There are great preservation and conservation resources available at the Canadian Conservation Institute and Conservation OnLine.

4. Archival glossary

A list of definitions used in the archival profession:

Accession: The acquisition of archival materials whether through donation, purchase or scheduled transfer from a department.

Accessioning: The procedures followed by an archive to bring acquired archival materials under intellectual and legal control.

Appraisal: The process of assessing the monetary value of archival materials. Aspects to be considered are the physical condition; its “fit” within the mandate and existing holdings of the archive; evaluation of both evidentiary and informational content.

Acquisition: See accession. Acquiring archival materials must be a disciplined and deliberative process. the mandate of the acquiring institution must be strictly adhered to. All processes must be documented (including records of materials not acquired and the reasons for all decisions.

Archival Records: All recorded information, regardless of media or characteristics, made or received and maintained by an organization or institution or individual. Archival documents are primary, unpublished and two-dimensional. They were created in the course of conducting a business, running an association, managing a corporate body or an individual’s life. They were not purposefully created to be used for research purposes. They exhibit evidential and/or informational value. These might take the form of textual records, such as:

  •  correspondence (letters), diaries, minutes, proceedings, commonplace books, printed materials (brochures, flyers, etc.), financial documents (ledgers, daybooks, statements), literary productions (manuscripts, reports, etc.), legal documents (deeds, wills), scrapbooks and scrapbook material, maps, graphs, charts and lists (Fire insurance plans).

Or, they might take the form of non-textual records such as:

  •  microforms, (films or fiches), cassette tapes (audio or video) or photographic records.

Archives: This term can refer to archival records or the institution responsible for the care and control of archival records or the repository in which archival records are stored. The term is used in both the singular and plural form.

“Archives Canada”: A multi-year project of the Canadian Council of Archives to link provincial networks of archival repositories. For example, the Ontario component of the network is called "Archeion" and includes RAD (Rules for Archival Description)-compliant records from all participating repositories in a province-wide database marked up using EAD (Encoded Archival Description) which is in turn linked (invisibly) to “Archives Canada”.

Collection: An artificial accumulation of documents brought together on the basis of a common characteristic, such as subject, medium, name of collector, etc.

Deaccessioning: The process of removing archival materials from the holdings. A practice to be avoided and usually unnecessary if the archive’s written mandate has been adhered to. The euphemistic term is “reappraisal.” Deaccessioning always involves legal, ethical and practical concerns.

Deed of Gift - Donor Agreement: A signed and dated contact between an archive and a donor of archival material. Form sets out the terms of the donation and itemizes any restrictions on use, copying and whether or not copyright and publishing rights are being transferred along with ownership of the physical material.

Diplomatics: The study of documents (usually handwritten) to ascertain their provenance and thus authenticity. The paleographer looks at the paper, ink, writing style, subject matter and appearance to establish date and validity. Archival diplomatics looks at the physical, external characteristics of the document. An extension of this idea is towards historical diplomatics which includes looking at the context, author and intellectual purpose of the documents.

Evidential Value: The value of papers and records as documentation of the creating body (person, institution, association or corporation).

File or item: The lowest level of description, including files of documents or individual documents that might come in a variety of forms and media. These might include: a letter(s), a film, a photograph, a map, a journal, an architectural plan. Basically, it implies the contents of one file folder.

Finding aids: Descriptive tools which contain information about archival records and facilitate research into the records. Finding aids must conform to the standards of description specified by Rules of Archival Description (RAD). These tools may be called guides, inventories, indexes, file or, in the case of photographs, item listings which contain information that establishes administrative, physical, or intellectual control over the holdings of an archives, and make it possible to retrieve particular records or information from these archives.

Fonds: The whole of the records, regardless of form or medium, automatically and organically created and/or accumulated and used by a particular individual, family, or corporate body in the course of that creator’s activities and functions. The word is always plural.

Holdings: A general term which refers to the entire inventory of archival records, of any medium, in the custody of the archival institution.

Informational Value: The value of records or manuscripts for the information that they contain on individuals, subjects, businesses, and so forth, not just evidence of the creating body itself.

Manuscripts: Any documents in any form (hand-written, typed, word processed). Includes group of personal papers with organic unity or purposefully accumulated and artificially collected papers and documents.

Original Order: The principle whereby papers and documents are kept in the order that the archives received them from the creating body or person. The term is related to “provenance” and “respect des fonds.”

Provenance: The continuous history of the persons, families, or corporate bodies that created and/or accumulated and used the records in question. Provenance includes all information on the successive transfers of ownership and custody of personal papers, documents and records. It is akin to the “genealogy” of ownership of a group of documents or records. In archival terms, the word is often attenuated to a simpler definition. It is used to mean the originator of a record (person, institution, agency). See “original order” and “respect des fonds”.

Record: Recorded information in any form, created or received by a person, family, corporate or government body in the course of the creator's activities or functions. Often used (and always in the United States) to mean exclusively official documents created by governments, organizations, institutions or other corporate bodies, as compared with “historical manuscripts” which often (and always in the United States) means private papers: personal, family or association documents.

Respect des fonds: The principle which dictates that the records of a person, family or corporate body must be kept together in their original order, if it exists and has been maintained. Records cannot be mixed with the records of any other creating body or person.

Rules for Archival Description (RAD): A system for creating archival descriptions or "finding aids" that identify and describe records. It is based on the principle of provenance where each archival document exists as part of a group (fonds) and is linked to all other records in that group. To qualify for grants from the Canadian Council of Archives, repositories must create RAD-compliant finding aids. RAD is the result of attempts to create standardization across repositories in order to transmit and access records electronically. A RAD description must, at a minimum, give information about the scope and contents of a fonds, dates of creation, title, physical description, administrative history or biographical sketch, name of repository where material is housed. The Trent RAD database structure has ca. 30 fields.

Series: A group of records which is organized as a unit and documents a specific activity or function. Within a fonds, there may be several distinguishable series of records.

Sous-Fonds: Similar to a series. The sous-fonds is a discrete group of records clustered under the umbrella of a fonds. The papers of various individual family members, for example, would constitute sous-fonds within the larger fonds.

Textual Records: Paper-based manuscripts, as compared to electronic records, graphics materials, maps, sound and moving image recordings or photographs.

“Total Archives”: The Canadian system of archives whereby all records, in whatever medium, both official government records and private manuscripts are considered to be “archives” and handled similarly.

Transcription: A copy or reproduction: hand-written, word processed or typescript of an original document. A verbatim printed or typed copy of an oral presentation such as an oral interview.

Vital Statistics Records: Birth, marriage, baptism or death records gathered officially or unofficially (as in a family Bible).

Weeding and selection: The removal of non-archival material from file units during the processing of records. The documents removed may be returned to the donor, donated to another archival institution, or destroyed. Weeding should be limited only to those extraneous materials that are irrelevant to the significance of the series or the meaning of the remaining documents. Non-archival material usually consists of duplicates or items such as cheque stubs, financial records when there are monthly or annual summations, unidentified photographs which contribute neither evidence nor information to the fonds.

5. More resources on archives

Guides to archival research

Information for archivists and heritage workers

Archives associations

Pertinent legislation

6. Directory of local and digital archives/history resources

Local archives

Local history and genealogical organizations

Provincial and national archives

Union catalogues (search holdings across many archives)

Online access to digitized archival collections