Arrangement & Description Flashcards

In archival arrangement, what is a 'series'?

Answer: A body of records filed or maintained together because of some relationship

A series is a group of records maintained together because they relate to the same function, activity, subject, or filing system, forming a logical unit within a collection.

What is the primary purpose of a box and folder list within a finding aid?

Answer: To help researchers identify the specific physical location of materials

A box and folder list serves as a container list that identifies the precise physical location of materials, allowing researchers to request specific boxes or folders.

Which of the following best defines a 'fonds' in international archival terminology?

Answer: The whole of records created and received by a particular person or organization

A fonds is the total body of records that originated from a single creator—a person, family, or organization—reflecting their activities and functions.

How does 'arrangement' differ from 'description' in archival processing?

Answer: Arrangement is the physical and intellectual organization of records; description creates the access tools that communicate that organization

Arrangement involves organizing records into logical groupings and determining their order, while description involves creating finding aids and other tools that communicate that arrangement to researchers.

Which encoding standard makes archival finding aids machine-readable and interoperable across different repositories?

Answer: XML following the EAD schema

EAD (Encoded Archival Description) uses XML to structure finding aid data so it can be shared, searched, and aggregated across different archival information systems.

What is a 'sub-series' in hierarchical archival arrangement?

Answer: A subdivision of a series whose records share a more specific common characteristic

A sub-series is a body of records within a series that can be distinguished from the rest of the series by filing arrangement, type, form, or subject.

Which of the following is NOT a recognized level in the standard archival description hierarchy?

Answer: Chapter

Chapter is not an archival description level; the standard hierarchy runs from collection/fonds down through record group, series, sub-series, file, and item.