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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. The Department of Distinctive Collections follows Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS) description standards with additional local style guidelines, requirements, and controlled vocabularies.

When creating description, one should be mindful of using a EDISJ lens. Examples include, but are not limited to, using full names when known, documenting opposing viewpoints, and being clear about the context in which records were created. See resources below for more ideas about how to incorporate these values into your everyday description work.

Sections

Guidelines

Collection Level Description

Component List

Notes

Finding Aid Data

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 Resources2019.

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

Chicago Manual of Style

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)

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