Introduction
Archival description encompasses creating metadata that reflects the collection as a whole, its parts, and the description thereof. Description should include information about the creator(s) or originating offices, the context and era in which the materials were created, and an overview of the topics covered by the collection.
Sections
Collection Level Description
- Identifier — The identification number assigned to each discrete Resource within a Repository.
- Resource Types
- Publish
Component List
- Overview
- Series Level Description
- Series Level Notes
- File Level Description
- Folder Markings
- File Level Notes
- Series Level Description
Notes
- Abstract
- Accruals
- Appraisal Note
- Arrangement Note
- Bibliography
- Biographical or Historical Note
- Conditions Governing Access
- Conditions Governing Access - Digital Access Note
- Conditions Governing Use
- Custodial History
- Dimensions
- Existence and Location of Copies
- Existence and Location of Originals
- File Plan
- General
- Immediate Source of Acquisition
- Index
- Language of Materials
- Legal Status
- Materials Specific Details
- Other Finding Aids
- Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
- Physical Description
- Physical Facet
- Physical Location
- Preferred Citation
- Processing Information
- Related Materials
- Restrictions
- Scope and Contents
- Separated Materials
Finding Aid Data
- EAD ID
- EAD Location
- Finding Aid Title
- Finding Aid Date
- Finding Aid Author
- Description Rules
- Language of Description
- Sponsor
Additional Resources
Roe, Kathleen D. Arranging and Describing Archives and Manuscripts. Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 2005.
Archives of American Art. "Description in ArchivesSpace." In Guidelines for Processing Collections with Audiovisual Material. 2015
EDISJ & Description
Archives for Black Lives in Philadelphia, Anti-Racist Description Resources, 2019.
Brilmyer, Gracen. “Archival Assemblages: Applying Disability Studies’ Political/Relational Model to Archival Description.” Archival Science 18, no. 2 (2018): 95-118.
Douglas, Jennifer. “Toward More Honest Description.” American Archivist 79, no. 1 (Spring/Summer 2016): 26-55.
Rinn, Meghan R. "Nineteenth-Century Depictions of Disabilities and Modern Metadata: A Consideration of Material in the P. T. Barnum Digital Collection." Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies 5, no.1.
Standards
Society of American Archivists, DACS: Describing Archives a Content Standard
Encoded Archival Description (EAD)
EADiva (an alternate resource for learning about EAD)
Authorities & Controlled Vocabularies
Virtual International Authority File (VIAF)
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH)
Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT)
Kate Bowers, ed., Thesaurus for Use in College and University Archives (Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 2009)