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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archival processing | 2/2 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archival_processing | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T15:07:49.121032+00:00 | kb-cron |
=== Standards === Several standards govern archival description, some national and some international. ISAD(G), the General International Standard Archival Description, defines the elements that should be included in a finding aid. Other content standards also pertain. In the United States, proper names may be checked against the Library of Congress Name Authority Files and subject headings are drawn from the LCSH. Genre terms are often taken from the Art & Architecture Thesaurus. Many finding aids are encoded (marked up) in XML; in such cases, the Encoded Archival Description (EAD) standard can be used. In addition, repositories may follow local practices designed to make finding aids serve their particular mission. The Society of American Archivists (SAA) has published a number of best practices for American archivists; two important ones are Archives, Personal Papers and Manuscripts, often abbreviated as APPM, and Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS). SAA's publication Standards for Archival Description: A Handbook provides an overview of relevant standards for all phases of archival and manuscripts processing. The Research Libraries Group has published a best practices document for use with EAD. The Archives and Records Association, the British equivalent of the SAA, has published a number of best practices for U.K. archivists on topics ranging from school records retention to historical accounting records. The Australian Society of Archivists published Describing Archives in Context: A Guide to Australasian Practice in 2004, which provides the basis for description using the Australian Series System. Series description is based on the primacy of the series as a basis for arrangement and description, rather than on fonds as is the practice in other jurisdictions.
== Preservation activities == Archival processing often includes basic preservation practices such as removing staples and paperclips, placing materials in acid-free folders and boxes, isolating acidic materials to avoid acid migration, photocopying damaged or acidic documents, and unfolding papers. There has been a trend for archives and manuscript repositories in the past few years to try new ways to reduce backlogs and provide access to materials as quickly as possible, described and encouraged by the 2005 article, "More Product, Less Process: Revamping Traditional Archival Processing" by Mark A. Greene and Dennis Meissner. Their method discourages these basic practices in the interest of accelerating processing to provide quicker access to researchers. Their argument also acknowledges the assumption of proper climate control in modern institutions, which would slow the deterioration of acidic paper and rusting of metal fasteners.
== See also == Archival science Manuscript culture Finding aid ISAD(G) Records in Contexts Describing Archives: A Content Standard Encoded Archival Description Manual of Archival Description International Standard Archival Authority Record
== Notes ==
== Further reading == Michael Cook & Kristina Grant Manual of Archival Description. London: Society of Archivists, 1984 ISBN 0902886223 Margaret Procter & Michael Cook Manual of Archival Description; 2nd ed. Aldershot: Gower, 1989 ISBN 0566036347 Margaret Procter & Michael Cook Manual of Archival Description; 3rd ed. Aldershot: Gower, 2000 ISBN 0566082586 Michael Cook gained a Ph.D. at the University of Liverpool in 1998 for his collected works on Archives Management, which included the manual and other writings.
== External links == Society of American Archivists Archives & Records Association (UK & Ireland) Australian Society of Archivists Standards for Archival Description: A Handbook A Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology SAA publications Arranging and Describing Archives and Manuscripts "More Product, Less Process", Greene and Meissner