Description: Conveying Information to Users

The section on assembling documentation identifies the types of information about collections that the users and staff of archival repositories require, and how the archivist compiles documentation from evidence within the records, or from external sources.
The work of organizing that information into a format that will be useful to the archives and its constituents results in a variety of reference tools, including catalogs and other finding aids. The catalog records and finding aids created by archivists provide a collective description of the materials in their repositories: That is, the collection as a whole is addressed through summary descriptions of its content and organizational structure rather than on an item by item basis. This work is known as description.

Descriptive Tools

Archivists today create many different types of finding aids. These may include catalog records, inventories/registers, correspondent indexes, calendars of correspondence, published repository guides, and file plans. This Web site covers only the two most common types: catalog records and inventories/registers.

Catalog records
The catalog record is a tool widely employed for describing archival collections.  Containing summary data about the origins, content, and physical extent of the materials, it offers the archivist a ready tool for providing simple and direct access to a large quantity of records.  It enables the user to scan extensive holdings quickly.   Typically, an individual record is created for each collection of  personal papers or series of organizational or governmental records, in accordance with a number of standards used in the archival field.

This summarizing approach is embodied in manual and electronic catalogs, in printed guides to repositories that contain brief descriptions of an institution's holdings, and in the published volumes of the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections.  Summary catalog records are readily incorporated into electronic systems for on-line access and remote searching.

Example 1 Catalog record

Inventories/registers
The archival inventory or register is another tool that allows archivists to deal with the quantity as well as the complex organization of archival records.   It typically contains the same elements of information found in a catalog entry (origins, content, and physical extent) but with important differences.  Where the catalog entry is brief, the inventory can be expansive. Contextual biographical data and administrative information can be dealt with in greater detail; the  description of the scope and content of the materials may be more extensive. Likewise, the inventory/register can present the organizational structure of the records in full detail.

While the form and content of inventories/registers is largely a matter of local practice, standards are beginning to emerge. Structurally, inventories often consist of two parts: an expanded description of the entire corpus of the materials being described (the fonds, record group, collection, or series) and a detailed listing of the subordinate components of that unit.   The latter usually takes the form of a container list that provides an outline of the organizational and intellectual structure of the materials, and enables the researcher to identify which storage boxes or microfilm reels might contain relevant materials.

Unlike traditional library catalog cards, inventories are free-form, narrative documents, which are very flexible as to content and presentation.  Because they are typically created with standard word processing software, their production requires only a modest computer investment and is easy to integrate into office operations.

Other descriptive tools
Not all descriptive information is compiled by the local archivist.   Sometimes collections come with their own documentation.   Organizational and government records archivists frequently incorporate indexes, file plans, and other detailed tools generated by the creators of the records for their own access when the records were in active use.   These includes record and tape layouts, data dictionaries, and other documentation created by electronic record systems.

Example 2: Inventory/register

What is in a finding aid?
The table below shows the different components of a finding aid and how they relate to the information that the archivist has gathered and analyzed.   While the types of information seen below are commonly found in finding aids, some of the elements may be omitted if not pertinent to a given collection.

Archival Information Systems: Delivering the Goods

Today catalog records and inventories/registers are the primary vehicles used to convey information about archival collections to users. Archivists have multiple options for deploying these tools.

Catalog records in information systems
A simple catalog entry often provides all the information the user requires.  When the collection is small, (e.g., single manuscript diary) or an uncomplicated group of documents, such as an extensive but homogeneous series (e.g., court dockets), the catalog record may be  sufficient.  Creating only summary descriptions is a responsible approach for an institution that cannot afford to produce more detailed public documentation.  An archival repository might also decide, as an administrative policy, to create and make available brief descriptions of all of its holdings before proceeding to more detailed documentation.   This strategy is particularly helpful if more extensive description will be deferred for some time.

While some archives continue to employ manual card files, many now create electronic catalogs, managing their information as Machine Readable Cataloging (MARC) data in a local on-line public catalog (OPAC).  MARC systems to create, retrieve, store, and interchange catalog records are available for virtually every combination of computer hardware and operating system -- from desktop personal computers to large mainframes.  Often this information is distributed beyond the repository by contributing the records to one of the national or regional bibliographic databases such as the Research Libraries Group's RLIN database or the Online Computer Library Center's WorldCat system. These utilities and many vendors of local catalog software have now implemented methods for making their databases searchable via the Internet using standard Web browsers.

Inventories/registers in information systems
Most institutions create some form of inventory/register, or at least a container listing, for collections that are complex or extensive.  Formerly, inventories/registers were generally available only in the local repository, usually in typescript.  A variety of technologies are now used to create and/or distribute inventories/registers electronically.   The most universal is the use of word processors to generate print copies. Some institutions employ relational database management software to create both printed and electronically searchable finding aids.

Archivists have been quick to adopt the tools of the Internet to make their inventories/registers remotely available. At first this was done as American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) files delivered through Gopher servers, but more recently this information has been distributed as HTML markup for World Wide Web browsers.  The introduction of Encoded Archival Description (EAD) has created a more structured standard for internet delivery to remote users.

Pulling it all together: Linking catalogs and inventories/registers
The most widely employed model for search and retrieval is a two-step process. The patron first uses the catalog as a browsing device for locating potentially useful collections.  Once these have been identified, the user is then directed to more detailed information found in an inventory/register. In its simplest manifestation both the catalog and inventory/register are in print form. In many repositories the catalog is now in electronic form, still directing the user to print copies of the inventory/register.  Where the inventory/register and catalog record are both electronic, the connection between summary and detailed descriptions may occur seamlessly. A catalog record can be electronically connected by a hyperlink to an associated inventory/register and both may be searched over the Internet by distant users.

Searching inventories/registers directly
With the text of inventories/registers in machine-readable form, it is also possible to search them directly, without first going through the catalog.  The researcher may directly and simultaneously query the contents of a single inventory/register, all the finding aids of a single institution, or even a union database of inventories/registers from many repositories.  Various search engines are available to facilitate this process, depending on whether the records are in a relational database file or encoded in HTML or EAD.   It is too early to judge the merits of this approach.  Recall with overwhelming results may be a problem.  Searching may prove to be a bit like trying to take a sip from a fire hose.