t
DESCRI PTION
I)eborah Wythe
Archivists describe; librarians and curators catalog.
Archival description differs in several important ways
from its two close relatives-the bibliographic records
that libraries create and the obiect records found in
museum catalogs:
. Archival materials are described in groups.
. Archival materiais are placed in context by
means of historical and biographical notes
written by the archivist.
. Archival description is multilevel and hierar-
chical, ranging from a simple collection
description, to series and subseries informa-
tion, to folder lists and descriptions, and even
to item-level description when needed.
Both the beauty and the challenge of archival
description lie in its flexibility. No one rnethod will be
appropriate to every collection or item in the archivcs.
Archivists must constantly study and evaluate the
materials, the research audience's access needs, and
the repository's capabilities.
Archival materials are acquired and accessioned
in groups, remain in groups during arrangement, and
are described in groups to maintain their history and
context. ,t\ single document in an archival collection
rarel;r lslls a full story-it is part of a continuum of
documents, activities, personalities, and outcomes.
Our job as archivists is to protect the integrity of the
group, which may be a collection, a series, a subseries,
or a foider, and to describe the group in a way thal
expresses both the content and the interconncctions
among its part.s.
Archival clcscription is a "r,aluc-added" process.
While arranging and processing a collectitlr, yor-r will
gather information on the people and historical contcxt
r:f the rccords; you lnay et'cn do research in other
sourccs to gain a better unclerstancling of thc pcople
and activities reflected in the collection. This knoivlcdge
is passed on to potential r:esearchel's, aletting thenr lcl tl'rcr
significance of the collection and essentially providing
a head start in their research.
Description in Museums
Archivists are not the only staff members in a museum
who describe things. An important part of your job in
establishing a descriptive program for the archives will
be explaining archival description to librarians, regis-
trars, and curators; quantifying your needs; and justi-
fying setting up specific tools for the archives, rather
than (or in addition to) piggybacking on other
departments' systems. The very understandable desire
for institutionwide information resources must be
balanced against the greater utility of tools that suit a
specific task perfectly.
One of the greatest adrninistrative challenges a
museum archivist faces is the pressure toward iten-r
description. Museurns thrive on item-level description.
A ceremonial pot containing seventeen pebbles will be
described as such, and the pebbles may even receive
accession numbers so that they can be tracked, Even
within the context of other, relatcd vessels, it is rrost
important as a single, unique itern. You may be encour-
aged to "catalog" archivai collectior-rs in this way, a
method that does not exploit the fuli po\,ver of archival
description. A cubic foot of correspondence files is not
equivalent to one pot, or severai hundred pots, and an
important part of your job will be to explain and justifi
describing archival collectior"rs as groups, not items.l
A related chalienge in nruseum archives is creating
and/or retaining links bctwcen accessioned objects,
manuscript materials associated ivith particular objects,
and docurnentation creatccl by rnuseutr personnel
about thc objects. Devising wlys to ,rcconrplish this,
whilc stili crcating broader archival descriptivc tools, rtill
| \\1hich is nol to sav that irrclrivists rtcr.cr clo itcrr-lcvel dcscriptiort.
Sec Michellc J'iJJigott's sjclebar irt tlre at'rangcrtrcnt cltaptcr arrd tttc
cliscrrssior ol itcnr lcvcl clcscriplion in tltc yrhotoplraphs cJrapter.
I)escription 43
rrlloir'tl're uruscultr archives to provicle effcctive acccss
to both nruselrlll stafl who are most lil<cly to be sereking
infirrnration abor-rt specific objects, and to scholarly
researchers workir-rg on topics thtrt have a broad scope.
Liblarians and archivists share an important
descriptrvetool-uanc format (MAchine Readable
Cataloging)-but again the focus differs. Library cat-
aiogers create a bibliographic record for each book in
the collection, often copying cataloging data from
records created by other libraries. Archivists may use
the same on-line system and ue.nc format for one
part of their descriptive program, but the records are
1..'.
TgnmINoLoGYI
Fi ndi ng :,nid ::,an access too t th at de scri bes an.archiV-a
' group,, pv*iding.information on the contents qndr.qion.
text of the records and a physicat description of the
materials.ii Some common elements fotlow:
"
BiographicaI and historical note: narrative sec-
tion of a finding aid that provides contextual
information about the peopte and/or institu-
.' , tions lepr€sehted in the col[ection. , '. .:' .r:
. Scope and content: narrative section ofa find-
ing aid that provides a collective description of
, the cqlle_ction, summarizing the contents,an,{
desribing the types of records and'linforma-
tion included ' -
. i*i.;,,,fl--Jhy.i.utriz" of the cotlection, usu-
a[[y expressed in cubic feet or linear feet;iii
counts of items, boxes, or containers may sup-
plement this measurement.
o Dates: the chr:onologicaI extent of a collection
from the earliest to latest materials (inctusive
dates) and, if relevant, the years in which most
materials fatt (butk dates).
c Container tist: a list of the contents of each
box, often a list of series and folder tittes and
dates, which may provide the most detaited
information for access and retrieva[.
i See also Leivis J. Bellardo and Lynn l.ady Bellardo,,4 Glossary for
Archivkts, Manuscript Cura.tors anri Records lt4anogers (Chicago:
Society of American Archivists, r993).
ti Findhtg aid is also used as a gencral telm for any kind of descrip-
tive tool, and lnventory {or this particular for:m.
iii Archival repositolies car: be divide,J into trvo groups: those that
use cubic feet ("c.f." or containcr volume) and those that r.rse lin-
ear feel ("l.l" or thickness ofthe lnatcrials).'fhus a ro x:rl.,x 15" . IV
records carton ("cubic foot box") rvould hoid r.zs l.f. of letter-
siz-i:d 6lcs or r I.f. or legai-sizccl filcs. lrithcr mcthocl can bc uscful
for estin.rating collection siz-e antl storagc nceds.
44 N'{I.lS1lUrvl AIt(l}{IVES: AN INI'l{OI)LJC I'lON
uniquc and contain much more descriptive tcxt irr
structured and elclngated note fields.
No one descriptive tool fulfills all o1'an archivcs'
needs. You will probably contribute information ro
more than one of your ir-rstitution's databaSesi N,IARC
records in the library system; accession records for
archival collections in the collections management
system; notes pointing to archival materials in the
object records of the collections management system.
You will also create repository guides, finding aids, and
a wide variety of archival tools. This chapter provides
an introduction to these tools, some thoughts on
I Processing: the activities required to ready archival
coltections for use, inctuding performing basic preser-
vation measures, refining arrangement, and gathering
information for description.
MARC (MAchine Reodoble Cotaloging): a standard
format, developed by the Library of Congress and
endorsed by archivat and tibrary professionaI organi-
zations, for exchanging information about archivat
materiats via bibtiographic networks.i" The format pro-
vides a wide variety of fields and subfields (many of
which para[let the finding aid elements noted above)
for entering structured information about the inte[[ec-
tual, content,and,.physical detaits of archival coltec-
tion5. The.Various'MARc formats (books, archivaI
materiats, visual rnaterials, etc.) have now been inte-
grated, so all fields are avaitable to catalogers of all
types of materials.
Suhiect headings: standardized terms, most corn-
monly those lound in the Library of Congress Subiect
Headings (r-csH).Acontrolted vocabulary used to facil-
itate searching in bibliographic systems.
Autharity controL: use of standardized forms for
names of peop[e, institutiorrs, organizations; for sub-
iect terms; and for form and genre terms.
lndexing; a detalled analysis of a cottection or group
of rnaterials with the g0a[,of providing access to infor-
mation in individual documents or resources.
EAt) {Encaded Arcklvat fuescription); a rlocument
type definition (oru) for archivaI finding aids encoded
in scnnl 0r xML.o
See <urvw.loc.gov/marc>.
Sce <rt'l'n'.loc.gor'/eacl>; <iqnv.iath/virginia.cdu/eacl>; ancl
Archit,al Description 'liLg Librnry, r.ersiolr zoor- (Chicago:
Encor.le.rl
Society of Arrcrican Arclrir.isl:s, zoo:.).
establishing a descriptive prograrn, and a cliscr:ssion ol
Julolnat iorr's rolc irt tlescription.
Finding Aids
The finding aid, a flexible, multifaceted document,
includes both information directly derived from a
collection's contents (folder Iists, dates, collection sizc)
and descriptive, contextual, and analytical material
researched and written by the archivist. \t\4rile they
may look quite different, all finding aids draw from
the same group of basic data elements.
Some of the basics are quite simpie, and may even
have been recorded as part ofthe accessioning process.
Archivists assign a formal title to each collection,
ExceRpr FRoM A SentEs-LEVEL Fl'ttuf NG AtD
Bnoorrvru Musrunn or Anr [record group]
RecoRos oF THE OrrtcE oF rHE Dtnrcron [sub-record
groupl
SrRrEsr Witts & Estates files
trclusrvE Dntrs: r888-ongoing
I davits; correspondence, legal opinions and letters of
Exrrrut: 9 tinear ft.
DareeRsr AccEss: lNVi LEGAL
Accssstof'r Dart: rc I g l1986 (survey; inventory)
Historical Note:
The Brookiyn Institute of Arts & Sciences maintained
iis Offlce of the Treasurer at the Brool<tyn Museum of
,-,i-t; oile of the Treasurer's responsibilities was to
aitend to iegal affairs for atlthe Institute departments.
\t/ith the dissolution of the Institute, the legal files
(known as "Wills & Estates") were adopted by the
legal officer of the Office of the Director of the
Museum.
The creators of this series were Institute Treasurers
and Assistant Treasurers Gates D. Fahnestocl< {t9o4-
r9o9), Clinton W. Ludlum $grc-ryq), Daniel V.
Hegeman $9q-ryr6), Herman Stutzer (Actingl rgrz),
J. Foster Smith (r9r8-r93r), Fdwin B. Maynard (rg:r-
rg+g), Ltoyd R. lVlcDonatd (tg4t-r958), Thomas A.
Donnelly {t954*t978), Gtoria Rosenbtatt (1928-1984),
and l\4useunr Deputy Directors Roy R. Eddey (r98r-
rygfl and Judith Frankfurt (1998* ).
Seope & Content
The Witts & Estates files contairr records retating to
legaI matters, particulartlr bequests, but also inctuding
thclcbl provicling r sinr1:le clescription of the contr:lrls
( Jane (-. l)oc I)apcrs; ]1ccorcls of the Citv Art Museur-n)
.rrci rllorling lcaclcrs to lcfcr to the collcction cicail1,.
Inclusivc irrd/or bulk clates place tl-re collection in
tin-re. Extcnt (sizc o1'the r.oilectiot-t) helps uscrs evaluate
how rnuch time thcy are going to need for research
and how much infcrrn"ration they may find. A containel
list provides fiie-by-file informatiolr on thc contents.
Provenance and processing notes detail the history of
the coilection. This information is easily gathered and
needs only to be placed in a structured, ccnsisteut
format.
In contrast, the scope and content and biograph-
ical and historical notes are the heart and soui of a
finding aid. Writing these sections, you will exercise
grants, corporate donations, claims or actions for or
against the Institute, gifts. Bequest files contain legal
documents (Notices of Probate, Citations, Receipt &
Retease forms); witls and extracts, appraisats, affi-
transmittaI regarding estates; and financial state-
ments from trusts in which the Institute or Museum
had a residuary interest. Most of the correspondence
is with the law firms that represented the lnstitute or
Museum and with those representing the executors.
Accees
The \tVitts & [states series is a permanentlv active
archivaI file tlrat is held in the Office of tlre Director.
Access is restricted to menrbers of the Director's
Office staff and the Archivist. Specific questions may
be investigated by the Archivist for researchers. As a
result of a survey undertal<en in 1986, folder descrip-
tions of tlre Wills & Estates fites were entered into the
Archives databaser (nncH/lrcnl); new files are added
B. as created"
0ther Sourees of lmformatIon
Fites on [:equests are also hetd in the Records of the
Office of the Director; these may or rnay nol overlap
those hetd in the above series.
IFolder tistI
I)csr rtpltort t45
\,or.il iutcllcctual and creative skills to explain how tl'rc .ritls ;rre nracle available on institutiortal or collaborative
collection is organized, what it contains, what is nrost \\tcb sitcs. ,,\t this time, Wcb bascd clocumcnts can be
important or interesting, interrelationships rvith other 1'rroduccrl r-rsing scveral tcchniqucs, each haviug
collections, who the people and irrstitutions are, and advantases ancl disadvantagcs that arc hotly debatecl
the historical context of t]re records. The tcxt may be b1, proponents and opponents.z nlll. ([-lypertext
short and succirtct or more expansive; regardless of Markr,rp Language) is a formatting tool that is widely
their length, the notes must take readers into the col- usecl and readable by all Web browsers; its simplc
lection in such a way that they are well prepared to use structure supports formatting and searching at a very
the records. The point is not to exercise your abilities basic level. The aao (Encoded Archival Description)
as a historian (although some expertise is certainly document type definition was developed and endorsecl
helpful), but to use your archival understanding ar-rd as a standard by n-rembers of the archival profession for
encoding archival finding aids in
scML (Standard Generalizeci
Markup Language) or xML
(eXtensible Markup Language)
and mounting them on the Web.
Using ae.o, each element of a
finding aid can be identified and
encoded, or marked up, giving
Web users access to standard out-
put from system to system and,
potentially, detailed scarch capa-
bilities. sen also allows users to
reflect the nested and hierarchical
structure of finding aids. Style
sheets, used in conjunction rvitli
a marked-up document, allow
repositories to define-and easily
change-a standard appearance
Pro;-ro:roralphotograph for "Wonder and Horror of the Human Head" exhibition,
:c5c, ,', ,.;s,-f.y oF PENN5YLVANtA MusEuM. No NEGA|VE.
and organizational schemc {irr'
their f incling aicls.
.:. .,.:,r nrake the collection understandablc. A finding
.',:i. r:-nist iurs\ver tl"re question, "What do we bave herc?" 'the h.4z\RC R.ecord
iust as archival collections are often arranged
ILr'rarchicaill', a finding aid may have a hierarchical 'I'hc deveJopment of lr.ruc cataloging-a systcnr
.rnrl nestcd structure; the organiziltion of a collection with clearly clefincd fields and cataloging stanclarcls.--
i: often mirrorecl in the structure of the finding aicl. allowed iibrarians and archivists to catalog materials
'l ranging l'rom bool<s to archives t<l visual nraterials;
hus, a standard group of data elenrents--title, dafcs,
cxtent, ar-rcl descriptive note.-rrray recur at cach level: to present these bibliographic recorcis on local ncl'
the record €troup or collcction, thc subrecord group or worked systerrs; and most irnportantly, to sharc
subcollcction, the seriers and subseries, each rirre infornration via rcgional, natiunal, and irrtcrnatioual
providing more dctailed infornration alrout a more on-line biblioglaphic clatabases. MArrc catalciging
lin-rited sclection of rc'corcls.'fhc records you arc also providcs sonrc simplc managcmelrt tools such
rvorking on often dictate how far pu neecl to go. A srnall as rccclrding ilonor inltclr"n'ralion ancl tracl<irrg
collcction rviti-r a simplc strllclLlrc rlla)/ lead to ' actior.rs tal<en clr anticipatecl. 14 lr(i-conrpli;rr.rt c1;r1ir
straigl-rtfirrward finding aicl, r'r,hile a complcx colleclirlrt lrascs cnn be 1'ouucl or.r slrarccl svstcrls srrcir as ru.rN
rcquires 1l'rat you find i,r,ays to prcsernt clitical ir-rlor- (l{cscarch I-iblirries ittl'rlrnratiorr Nctrvor^k) arrcl
rnation in an organized and ui'rdcrstaudable fashicln.
Finding aids rray bc producccl and distribulccl in
rrranl, f1l1111"ts. Ilitrcl copy is still r-rs;cful and rttay ber I Scclot errtrPlc,.,\rtt'rir'rut.\rrJriyisl 60, Io).f rrtrl +(rq97), lorrscl it,r
ol-,rriiclr'sorr r,,u;,.rrrrl s(.u.ll tlrc.l(l)ivcsol lir.',\rclrilt,:.rrrrl
proclucecl "otr tltc Iiy" l'ronr a u,clrd proccssccl tlocit- '\'.lli\i,l\
lislscrt rrl.:lrttp://lislselv.nrrrohio.cdLr/irrtlrjvt's/.rlchivcs.lrlrnl> on
lncnt, as r.rccdccl. N4ore iltrcl nt<lrc, ltowcver, findinu "rt'r rrr ,lril r.,ru" lilr e\tcl(lr(l aonlt)(ltlitrv ort 1]tis issrrt.

246 H,tustiUM At{CltIvt-ts: AN tN t'l(ol)lJC't'toN

RLIN MARC Senrss-LEvsr- RgcoRD, sHowtNG coDtNG

ooa a3g75cbd zzoo565 a 45o* 555 8* *a Unpublished finding aid avai[able in

oo1 4623 repository.
oo5 2oo77oog772553.O SSS 8_ *a Folder-leveI descriptions availabte on-line
oo8 9zo8z5ir888r99znyu eng In reposrfory.
o35 *9 NYBAgz.Axg '' .
:, ,506 ,,.-*a Permanently active, aryhivat fite hetd in
o4o *a NBB *c NBB *e appm office, restricted to ,use, of ',+d, untnortred ,staff ,mem.
o9o -_ *b DIR: W&E +i oglzzlgz N b91s,.*c Cqnsq!! Aqchlvist,foidetails. ,, ,,. ,1 , , ,, ;
11o z- ta Brooklyn Museum,,*.b.0fficeof.lhg, Direitor., . ,.5S-Or,,l-::*.a,'fhe,,Witts g:,Eiiateg,files form one of rz
245 ro *a Wilts & Estates fites, *f r888-[ongoing]. series in the Records of the Office of the Director, The
3oo _ *a 9 linear ft. Brooklyn Museum.
35t *c Series tb arranged alphabeticatty. 583 *n 9 *o linear ft. *a inventoried *c rc161r986.
1,45 - *a The Brooktyn Institute of Arts and 54t - Records of the Office of the Director, Wills
- -*3 r888-longoing] *a Director's Office tc
Sciences maintained its Office of the Treasurer at The & Estates,
Brooklyn Museum; one of the Treasurer's responsibit- Maintained in Director's Office
Institute 583 *3 Records of the Office of the Director, Witts
ities was to attend to [egaI affairs for al[ the
departrnents (The Brooklyn Museum, - r888-[ongoing]*a inventoried *c ro/r5/1986
Brooklyn & Estates,
Children's Museum, Brool<[yn Botanic Garden, and *k D. Wythe
Brooktyn Academy of Music). With the dissolution of S4t *n 9 *o tinear ft.
the Institute in r98o, the Treasurer's legal files (known 6oo - ro *a Buck, Robert T.
as "Wi[[s & Estates") were adopted by the Deputy 6oo ro *a Buechner, Thomas S.
Director.ofTheBrooktynMuseum,thememberof.th€..:€9.o..'o*a'Camgro1'Duncan
Director's staff responsibte for tegat affairs. 696 14 *a Fox, Wittiam Henry, *d rB5B-r952.
545 *b The creators of this series were Institute 6oo ro *a Nagel, Charles
-
Treasurers and Assistant Treasurers Gates
? 696 t4 *a Roberts, lsabelSpautding, *d r9n-
Fahnestock (tgo4-tgog);Ctinton W. Ludlum (r9ro-r3); 6oo ro *a Roberts, Laurance P.
DanieI V.B. Hegeman '(r9i4-r6);'Herman, stutzer 696 t4 *a Sghgnck;1E{gar,C1qig",*;d'rgdg1g5g.
(Acting, :9q); ). Foster Smith ,(r9r8:31)',Edwin B. 6oo ro4aYc.utz,:Phitip.,,lileWelt';*dt}95.t9Vz
li4aynard (ryt-tg4$; Lloyd R. McDonald (r9+r-S8); 6gG t4 *a,Fahnestoek,.Gates D.
Thomas A. Donnetty bgSr+-fS); Gloria Rosenbla{t ,.,,,6#,:r4,{611u{!um,Clinton,W, ,

bgtS-8+); and Museum Deputy Director Roy R. Eddey ' 69$,;t4,*a Hegerna'n, Daniel V.B.
(rg8r- ). 696 t4 *a Stutzer, Herman
52o-*aTheWitls&[statesfi[escontain.reco.|d'.696,r4'xa5mith.l.Foster
relating to [ega[ matters, particularty bequests,'but 69f 14 'lg lvlaynard, Edwin B.
also including grants, corporate donations, claims'or 6gG 4*a McDonatd, Ltoyd R.
actions for or against the Institute and Museum, and 696 t4 *a Donnelly, Thomas A.
gifts. Bequest files contain tegal documents (Notices 696 t4 *a Rosenblatt, Gloria
of Probate, Citations, Receipt & Release forms); wills 696 t4 fa Eddey, Roy R.
and extracts" appraisal, affidavits; correspondence, VT3 o- *TczbctaBroolclynMuseumofArt.Of-ficeof
tegal opinions, and letters of transmittal regardlng the Director. *t Records, 1896-[ongoing] *w (NBBR
estates; and financiatstatements from trusts in which LIN)NYBAgt-Ar
the Institute or Museum had a residuary interest" E56 [hottinkto an existing unl, if availablej
Most of the correspondence is with the law firms that
represented the Instit*te or Museum and with those
representin g the executors"
_
ba4 fa Records of the Oflice of the Director, Wi[s
& Estates files, r888-longoingl, Brooklyn Museum of
Art Archives.

l)s,,;vip1jp11 47
ocLC (Oniiue Clon"]puter L.ibrary Center), u'hiclr Althouglr tlrey sl-rare many clf the same colnpo-
require institntional rnenrbcrship (and fecs); as part luents, MAllc records are not a substitute for formal
of integrated library systeurs and on-linc prrblic finding aicls. They often have system-defined size
access catalogs (olecs); and in surallcr staud-alclne limitations, canuot reflect complicated collectiou
database packages.' hierarchics as clearly as a more flexible document, and
rurenc records allow archives to declare, "Here we generally are not used to record detailed contents or
are" and "This is what we've got." This is critical since, container lists. uanc's great strength is its standardi-
in many cases, there is no reason to suspect that a par- zation: data can be shared, transferred, and upgraded
ticular repository might hold a given collection. You without great difficulty, and the use of name and subject
must get researchers in the door, and vr,c.nc records authorities allows researchers to search and find
remain an extremely important tool in this respect. materials across a wide variety of collections. In
addition, a fully compliant MARC program
also contains communication protocols that
allow other MARC programs to recognize its
records and exchange data.5
Each uenc "tag" (numbered field) consists
of a standard set of subfields with ciearly
defined contents. These definitions are created
and maintained by MARBr (MAchine Readable
llibliographic Information), a comnittee of
librariarrs and other information professionals
coordinated by the American Library
Association and the I.ibrary of Congress.6
Archirrists and Iibrarians depend on a variety
of standards publications and otLrer tools in
creating and formatting the actual contents clf
each field.T

:,: :rcosing ship's figurehead representing Civit War admiral David G.

Other Tools
:::i-agut anchors this portion ofthe Navy section in "Voyages: Stories
:'Anerica & the Sea." This signature exhibition opened at Mystic Archivists often clevelc)p utore detailccl, cus-
SeaDort in lune zooo, CouRrEsy Mvsrrc Senponr, Mysnc, CoNNF-cr'rcur. tontized access tools to fulfill needs beyond
thosc of the finding aicl and ra,trc record.
\ational and international vrrnc-based s)rstems such
ns RLrn- and ocr.c sen'e thousands of repositorics as ir
hrtcrnet Yoll< Statc nrrl,subnrit lccords lo thc Ncrv \brli State Archives lilr
rese arch gateway, althor"rgh resourccs ril'e
inclusion in llrc tu lx database.
beginr-ring to challenge ancl expand upon that role. \\rhilc it is possible to create ir rr,rur:-lilic llcld stluclurc and tag,s

Participatiug in the library ot),\c ?t your inslilt.ttion usirrg off^thc-shclf datatrirsc solirlalc', such clatabascs lack thc irbility
to shalc jnlirluraLion directl,v, \'i1l)oul thc trst' of atlclitio;ral sollrrarr'
rvill give the archives visibility as a componeut of the or proqrantrling.
mllsculn's research rcsolrrces. Evcn if lrou do trot havc <http://rvrru,.ah.org/(iontcn1/Navigat ion\.lenu/ALC I S/
access to a local or national r,,r,rnc bibliographic clata- l)ivisiorr._eroups/i\'l;\RIlVi\4AltIll.lrtrn> and <uu'rr.krc.qor'/nrarc).
\lost inrporlnfrtly,,.\rylo '\tncricntt Ontalotittg /lrr/r:s, :ncl. cd., .uool-
berse at your inslitution, you can submit inl'clrnration
rcvisiou (Otlarla: Canadiarr l.iblarv Associutiorr irnd Clricirqo: Antcricarr
tcl the Nationa[ [Jnion Cataloglre of N4arrr-rst:r'ipt Librarv i\ssociation, zoo.z), knorvrr as ,rA(:trli itncl Stcvcn I.. I Iensen,
,.\f(t/irrri, l)t'rsonul I\Lpers atd :,Iil ttl. ((ihicagtl: Sociclt
Collections (nuct',tc;) at thc l.iblarv o1'Oongrerss.
of r\trcl icittt r\rchivisls, r989),^lrttutsctilts,
lirtorvrr iis i'lrc nL':t gcncr,rliorr
NLTcMC creates 14Al{cl rccorcls oti Rt-tx ancl prot,icles ^t,1,\t.
ofirlchjvirl tlcsr'riplivc stanrlartJs, lrou,cvcr, is rrnrlt'r'rvl,rvillr t]rr'r Lrsr,rtrn
access t0 thclr yia a fi-ec rrr.rN llate\vit\.otr tire l.iltrarl, pro.jcct ((.lrradiln'u.s. iasli liorce orr ,\rclrivrl l)cscriptirrn), rr'lriclr
rrill lcr:ottr:ilc.lt,t,rt,tht-(.anaclirn ll.ulcs lirr..\rchivrrl J)cscriPtior: (rr,rr),
of Congress \Arcb site .l rrrd tht'(lcrcr al lrrteilrational StirrrrJ;rrrl )cscripliorr I rsrrr(<;) ).
'\rchirrl |
.\ dcscription ol- tlrc projcct rrrav bt lirtrrrtl on thc sr,r \\t'b silc ll
<rvrvrr'.art lriljsls.orri>. Sourrcs oi st,rrrtl,rrrljzcd tcrnrinokrqv irrclutlc llrc
Solt\virc |cI(l()1s ilftr'n crlril.il .rt llrc s.r.r .rnrrurrl nr.'.'tirtq.ttttl rilr?rlisr I ibrirr v ol (.onu,rcss sLrbit'ct hc.rclirrlis ( | ( sl i, lltc
ir irrchivirl l,rrblie.rtjons..\ \rJr.Lh oj tlr.' \rilrjrts,rrrrl.\r'ihivj'ts list' -l '\rt rntl ,\rtlritt.trrrr.
lr.'tarrrrrs (.\\r I ilt <\\'w\{.llrtt\'.r(llt/resa,lr(lt/tools/rocirlrLrl,rrr'/.rirt.r,t
:crr uill lrclp iileillilr'rcnJ,rrs.iltLl 110iilt rrrLr t0,ttrlririsls trltir tt.c .urtl lltr: l ltrrs,tur.Lts oi-(irapltic Il,rtcrials ltr,rrr irncl r(;\'t) itf
their' plorlrrr ts. .ihlllr://rrrr'rv.loc.gory'rr/print/trint I /trlr:.htntl> rnct
Sct .,:rvrrrr.loc.gor/coll/rruinre,/trtr!ntf.hllnl ,. iirl'o:;itrrrir: itt \t'rr < It I I 1
r;//q11111. | 11( .uor'/ rr/pri n t/ t gnr.l/ {oc. h t nrl:,.

48 \lust,t.tr.i ,\ttCHI\'trs; ,\N t\'t trot)t.(. ilo\''

Indcxes, inventories, chronologies, anel ilcm-levei an adequate ler.e accc'-ss for all recorcls under 1.olrr
I of
nll ber lppropriate irr slrt'cifie cases.
databases n-)a1r care and then on to enhanced access to top prioriry
Irhotograph collections, for exanrple, fi"eclucntly materials. It rvill also help you avoici the pitfall of
require iten"r-level access and control; patrol.ls wisl-r to using scarce resources to create highiy detailed acccss
search for specific images, and archives staff members to certain collections and little or none to othcrs.
need to manage individual items in [he digitization Museum archives programs are generally smali:
and rights and reproductions processes. Field notes most of us can't expect to have a description division!
may be extensive and rich, but urithout an index, may Planning a descriptive program must take into
be much less useful. A large collection of "general cor- account both the resources avaiiable and otirer
respondence" that is arranged chronologicaliy may resources you may be able to obtain. As you work out
require description of the foider contents to provide audience needs, priorities, and procedures, consider
adequate reference service.
Developing special tools has become
much simpler in the age of computers and
can be a useful, interesting, and creative part of
your job, as well as an excellent way to involve
volunteers and interns in 1,s11r program. Ttr
be valuable, however, any such micro-access
toois must be part of a well-thought-or-rt and
complete descriptive program,

Irnplementing a Descriptive
Frogram

T)esclintir.e ft'.h1ri{rrrr.\ and tools achieve their

!,r'r';.rleql r rr ilit',.. r.,r r'' r rr .r dcrct inl it,' r'r'nr','nltl;
tr,'....'.'t..'.r,.S'.,,,
a rveli-pl.111red seqilence of activities, each
one l'url.linq rlFtur .rfld enhancing the others.
Ser e r..ll rir'ir5 ;11. critical in setting such a
trr'.r{i.in ii-t nrotion :

' ;.ri.rsiclcring \'()rrr rcsourccs fbr dcscriptive

ancl rcferencc rvcirk;
. r,rnderstanding your uscrs, both institu-
tional and outside rcsearchers;
" setting priorities for levels o1' descrip-
tion and r,r,hich collections to attaclc illarren Mastodon sl<etetorr, 3l 4 rear, frorri and figure. AvrrnrcnN MusruM
first; oT,NATURAL HrsroRy LrLlRARy, NEG. #35356.
" designing procedurers and implcmenfing
standards that u,ill leacl tii consistent descrip- who wili do the rvork and keep in n-rind that the basic
f ion cclllectionu'ide" frainework must be created and inaintained by per-
nauent staff. Descriptive rvork clone b1, inlerns ancl
;\
descriptive prograrn drar.r,s on and overlaps volunteers [ends to be tightly tocused ol-r one collr:c-
rnosl othcr face ts of irrchiial lvorli. It star"ts rvith your tion; without profcssionirl oversight and supcivisi,rn,
mission slaterne rr [, grows ou1 of the acce ssion iug you risl( losing the brciad.er ev611 vis14, artcl consislerrcy
process, is accomplisliccl coucnrrentlv rvith pnrccssi;r11, that is critical to aclricving, clescriptive corrtrol o1',vour
and is a critical par:t of refcrorcc. collcctions.
Or.rr:c lror-r have thougirt about atrcl arralyz-ecl thr.:sc '1'he prirr-rary ar,tcJience for an1, inslitutional archivcii

topics, arficulale vortr coni,lusiotrs in rvritlett policies is likely to be ther stalTof lhe institirtion itself" if rve iguorc-
ancl proceclttrcs, bctqin to put tJ-rcrr-r into c.'11ect, cvalttate: that fai:t and corrccnlr:atc ouly cln clutsicl.r": rescar:chcls,
hor'r' lvcl] thc pro5lranr is tvorkiuii, itucl acljusi as rlcccs- tlrc archivcs nralr lxsll be cnclirngerccl as an institrrtional
sary. Approachinq cli:scription in this rvav lcacls l'lrst to priorit;," On thc olherr hancl, ontside rescarchers arc oficn

l)r:script.ion 49
engaged in rnore in-depth studies that place the insti-
tution in a broader context, so we must keep their needs
in mind as well. Analyzing collections and taking into
account their context beyond your muselrm's walls
can also help design and justift projects that are com-
pelling enough to qualifr for grant funding. The types
of questions asked by these two classes of researchers and
the tools needed to serve them may be quite different.
ln-house reference requests (as well as many ques-
tions from members of the public) are often quite spe-
cific: the staff member or researcher is looking for facts,
and it is very likely that archives staff will do the actual
research and provide the answer. In many cases, you are
the archives user, and it is critical that your descriptive
tools serve you quickly and efficiently. As you work with
staff, you will soon learn which types of questions are
most common, which records are most useful, and
which access points are necessary to find what you need
to answer questions accurately and with ease. Curatorial
staff members most often approach research on objects
by accession or cataiog number; archival records may be
arranged br, correspondent, topic, pr-oject, function, or
date. Administrators may seek information on past
activities or people, which may not be segregated out as
such in the rccords. Ycrur descriptive tools must tal<e
these requirements into consideraticln, or you will spend
all your time pulling down boxes and searching through
folders, rather than going to the quickest, best source of
information as directly as possible.
On the other hand, outside researchers are more
likely to approach with a more general topic and to be
willing to read through a range of materials that could
potentially support their research. Some staff members
working on scholarly projects, exhibitions and rein-
stallations, and provenance research have similar
requirements for exhaustive study. They need the
background and contextual information that will help
them decide which records to study; they aiso need to
be assured that you and your descriptive tools are
directing them to all the potential resources for their
work, not just the ones that happen to be most easily
accessible. When providing this kind of reference
service, supplying the most effective descriptive level
in your finding aids can help cut down on the amount
of work done by reference staff. At all costs, you must
avoid having to bring out boxes of records that are
inadequately described "just in case" there's something
in theml While producing detailed descriptive tools

C*sr Sruov '' r 1,,,,,,,' ' ,.::.:..,:ir '

Stefvart Culin, the Brooklyn Museum of Art's first cura- Descriptive tools:
tor of ethnology (r9ol-t929) ,was'wetl known in his , Guide to the Culin Archiva! Collection
day, but rarely published, so even though hisrcollec- Coltection and series-leveI nnnnc records in Rrrr,l
tions continued to be displayed in the museum, his Folder-leveI database
work was largely forgotten. In the earty r.98os, the Item-leveI image database
museum unearthed his'archives, organized portions Index to expedition reports
of them, and used these series to inform an exhibition
about Culin's Native American coltections, "Obiects of Cutin reference requests
Myth and Memory" (rggr). Five:'years later, an t.lrs
obiects of Mvth & Fotderlevel dat
grant led to a detaited:finding aid, which was pub- Memory exhibition

lished, distributed to many museum and university

libraries, and cataloged on:RltN. 100

A smalt but steady stream of researchers have 9o

8o
always approached the archives to study Culin's
7o
papers, especiatly those related to Native Americans. 6o

Since pubtication of the finding aid, which covers his 5o

40
entire career, research use has expanded into more
3o
and more areas. We olan to mount an EAD version on the 20

Web within the next year, thanks to a Melton Foundation 10

o
grant, and expect that that will tead to even more use.
&+sg $oa so, $ro %. %* s"r %o so" 5rrsr, %o 6"" %%
Using volunteers, we have created detailed database %
access to images and expedition reports, atlowing
researchers to mine the collectiorr even more easilv.

5() MUSEUM ARCITTVES: AN IN'fROl)IrO'rrON

can be labor-intensive, it is worl< that must be dcxre
onIy once, cfTectively "front Ioacling" y{rur effort.s
Scholarly researchcrs often find tl-reir way to the
museum archives in the hope that there is something
there, based on prior knowledge, guesswork, and word
of mouth. 'I'hese researchers are often well prepared for
work in your collections, even without finding aids or
any effort to publicize the collection. For instance, they
know that a particular scientist worked at the museum
and that he or she was involved in an archaeological
dig in a certain location and year, and they hope that you
have his or her field notes. They may even help
provide the context you need to understand
them. Once a detailed finding aid is available
and starts to circulate, however, new researchers
are iikely to appear and use the collection in
new ways. Your understanding of both potential
researchers and the materials themselves will aid
in creating tools to providc appropriate access.
Friorities and Levels of Description
A fully realized descriLrtive pr(rql'ant c!)ntititls
hierarchy of levels:
' t'eposi[1v1'1 .11]rl r't- institLttiott
' record gr!)ui. or collection
' subrecr-rrd qror-rp
' ,it'llr'>
' :Lti-rsc'Lir-,s
. l,,ltlcr
' ri oup oi ilcnrs
. itcnr
I hc tbllowing cxample follouts one strand in the
lirooklr,n Museum of Art Archives:
. l{ecords of the Brcloklyn Muscum of Art
(institLrtion);
" ltecorcls of the Curatorial Departmcnts
(record group);
. I{ecords of the Department of Painting
& Sculpture (subrercord 5;roup);
" Objccts (scrics);
. Gifts (subserics);
. Clifts reri-cived, 1945 (folcler);
" |anc C. I)onor correspondcncc
j-ilff,,ii:?11,nu,"",
watcrcolor (itenr).
li irr plarrninll Pr'oi('ats, )1)u nrLlsl oli!'lr tlctidc rrltcl]rer to iDYCst J si1;ltifitrnl
arnorrrrt oJ'tinr arrcl r:llorl irl tlrc bcliirrrtirtti ("1iont lortling") or lo spcrrcl
uding on your priorities aud resourccs, your
Depe
dcscriptive progran rvili fill in detail for sorne or all of
thcse leveis, starting .li'oru t.he brosdest.e Horv far you
travel down the road to detailed description will
depencl on the needs you identified by studying your
users and the resources that you have available.
Keep in mind also that the level of descriptior-r
need not be consistent throughout your collection.
Description at the record or subrecord group may be ail
you need in one case, while another part of the archives
may require a folder list or even folder descriptions. It
:l
Tyrannosaurus head, left. PHorocnnpH By A. E, ANDERSoN. AMERTcAN Musruar or
NATURAL HrsroRy LTBRARY, NEG. #35492.
may be most useful to complcte some taslts up- l'ront---
creating plclirlinarl, box or containcr lists upon acccs-
siorring, for exarnple---rvhile otirers may have to u,ai1
r-rntil the records are processed. Articulate and jr-rstify
tl-rese decisions to superiors and corvorkcrs ancl docu-
ment your procedures in a written manual or guiclelines.
Some priorities are obvious and more or less ur-ri-
versal. Bvery ar:chivcs neetls a reposilory ciescriplion,
for rvhich you have probably already laid the grouncl-
work in yonr mission statement or collection clevclclp-
ment policy: "What is it that rve collect?" Thc next
repcatcd sntall ulounls of titlc ilvcr a pcriorl ol- rrirrrr' \'cArs. /\ contrn)cf
list is a sinrpk: errrrplc ol'llrlnt krading ("\\'lrrt is in tlris boxi"). Intleritrs
a r'.rluablt- st't ol-llcld notcs is labor irrtcrrsit', brrl srrlts 1trcil cllort r\'('r \'
tintc rr rlue'stiorr nrLrsl bc arrsrr'ercd. (irrrclirl pl,rrrnirrll irn(l (lcsi!an ir('
csscntial in crcirlinrq cllcctivc tools, holt'rtr, so thrt lhc'rllirrt js not
\\,tstcd.
9 Nonarchivists arc o{ien irrclinctl to staft willl tltc ltarrrrrrr:st tlcscrip-
t
jorr.---a list oi lcttcrs ol corTcsl.rorrlcnts, litr crrrmplc. 'l his tvpt ll
invcnlorvirrri is lleilrrcrrtlt ir rvaslc ol-i'llirt: il pioviclt:s ir tlcnsc lo'r'l ol:
dctrril u it h no ovrra rch inc. stnl( t r r (' or aol t('\ i- '.ir pcrbcl c-rrtnrplc ol'
"can't scc tlrc lifcsl lirr thc trcc's" -,tttil 0iic;t lr'rl\ts ]l)orc rrscliri t('r]r
ru naccor.npl islr t'tl.
l)escrtltlrort gt
level, defining your recor:ds groups or collcctious, is
also critical, both in
describing your holdings to
administrators and grant agencies and in the decision-
making process with each new accession: "llow are
the archives'holdings organized?" "Hon' do the various
pieces fit together?" This step is also fairly simple in
an institutional archives, since the scheme usually
mirrors the organizational structure of the museum,
with the addition of some speciai and artificial collec-
tions. Once you have sketched out the basic structure,
you can start filling in the details for records that are
already accessioned: "\\4rat are the dates and extent of
holdings?" "What types of records are included?" You
may be able to define series and subseries at this point,
though that may have to wait until you are ready to
process the records.
The descriptive process is additive: you gather
information and enhance description as you proceed.
Once a structure is created and described in very
broad terms, accessions can be plugged into the
hierarchy and the description refined. This approach
rrrovides ba'ic descrintivc access fronr lhe rnonrenI
materials are acquired. Srmpie u,q.xc records in the
museum's bibliographic database can make this ievel
of description available to staff and researchers, even
if it is son-re tin-re until the records can be fu1ly processed
and a trndrng aid created.
Based on i'our priorities, records selected for full
p51 ,,g*r jps rr ill
receir e more intensive descriptive
tr.ainent. Series and subseries will be defined ar-rd
.ir':clibt'd, fblder lists created or refined, ancl specialized
:ccess tools such as indexes created rtthen neecleci.
Star-rdard final products include a firiding aid and a
bibliographic (rra,o.nc) record that include all the stan-
tlar-d elements: creator, title, dates, extent, biographicai
and historical note, seope and contents note, details
NumeERrNG
Numbering schemes can become qulte a headache; it
is difficutt to fincl ways to express atl the possibte
levets."i lf wetl conceived, numbering can make it
much easier for researchers to request and cite mate-
riats. Decide whether to number foiders throughout
an entire cotlection, a series, a subseries, or box by
box. Consider what to do if (when) you find adelitionat
vi On a personal note, this author avoicls nr.rn:rbering schemc's ol.t
anything except closecl collections-groups of records rv)rcre
u'e're fairl), certain. therc rvon't be accretions. At tbe llrooklyn
h4useurn of Art Arcl:ives, we rell' 611 standard series names and
52 MUSE{.tM AIiCt-l1VilS: AN IN',I'}10l)UCIION
on the physical characl.eristics of thc collections, ancl
information on the contettts at an ilpplol.r'iate level of
description" Ycu may also crcate databascs clr spreacl-
sheets to record and manage r:epetitive infortnation
about the collection: 1'olcler lists, namc autirorities,
indexes, and the like.
Procedures and Standards
Since it is very likely that at least some of the descrip-
tive work done in your archives will be accomplislred
by interns, volunteers, and project stafl establish
clear, written procedures and supervise descriptive
work carefully. Every.one must collect the same infor-
mation, express it with a consistent, controlled vocab-
ulary, and use the same format. Bulleted guidelines
and worksheets can be very irelpful, as can working on
description as processing goes on, rather than isoiat-
ing it as a separate process. Review and edit descriptive
work on a regular basis to avoid compclunding errors"
Most archivists have experienced or heard tales of col-
lections that had to be entirely reprocessed and
described due to ineffective earlier projects.
Sirnple techniques can go a long way in making
description consistent and effective. Construcf titles
consistentiy at al] lnels: collection, record group,
series, subseries, folder. Ilstablish standard terminoiogy
for museum functions and departments. Start a name
authority and always use the same forr.uat fcrr namcs.
I)efine a standard structure for folder titles, so that
thcy will both trral<c scuse aucl sorf prolrcrl),. Decide if
)/oll are going to use lineirt'fect or cubic feet to exllress
ext.ent ancl horv each type of containerr should be cal-
culated. If you are going to numbe r series, subserics,
and folders, decide on a stauclarcl format that is both
logical and simple.
folders, have to add a new series, or decide to rehouse
the collection. in general, simpler is better.
5ome examples:
Series: Roman numerat; suhseries: capital letter;
folder; integer (l l"A.oetZ)
Series, suhseries, folder: ail numbers (z"t.oaf)
Box and foider: nurnbers (boxtzrq, folder Z)
coirsinrct consislcut foldcr litlcs that rvill sort pluirellv in orrr folcler
levcl tlatalr:rse, i'o; arr exarrrp)r: ol a very cornplcle ancl rlctirilcd
schcmc, sec thc systcnr dcvclopcd b1, iliclrard Picrce-N4oscs frrr tlrc
Heard Muscurr at <htqr://r;rnr.lib.az.us/hapnr/indcx.hlml>.
.!uioru atio u's ],{c.l}.e in Dcscripti.on
L'sing ancl cicvcloping antouratccl tools--fhal is, cottr-
iruter access to collections---grcatly cnhauccs tlte
archivist's ability to both manage and providc in-clcl.'tli
access to the n-ratelials in his or her carc. In fhe last
three or four decadcs, autorrated techniques, including
ir,rnnc cataioging with its atteudant on-line public access
catalogs and national bibliographic databases; rela-
tional and flat-file databases; spreadsheets; collections
management packages; Encoded Archival Descriptiou
and word processing have moved from being
available only to those with specialized com-
puter science or programming trainiug to
becoming standarcl tools in ei,cr)' trrchival
repository, from the smallest to the largest.
1'lre emphasis must still be on the plulrl-
tools-sincc no orte techniqtre ol svste nr rr'il1
provide all the capabilitic's nc'c-cled. \\'e
archivists need to lead re s.'arcltcr: tir oLtt' cctl-
lections; find matt'rials icrt' th.'n ( rr.r' i]1.'\ trc
therc or find the re s()Lri;J: ir' .trr:-,: i1' rtr.tJ\-
tions for thenrl shrrrc ittl,'i.tl:.:::":' -r', r,il rrilli't'
repositories; dtvclrrr --. ' -.:. -.:- ., ;i,,!iLiac
botlr or-linc .lrr!i,.r-:'.',1 ': *-:;:-.:r,r.' iPq)l:,
and nlalraqr' '.1 l'-:. '": :l,l''. ,',]l'.-.ftli'
toucl-]cd or.r r.: :, :i' .,ll .. : ,. il .li.Or .'. I n
this sectitrl:. ,. r'r.rutorlrirted
iools an.l :.-..: ^::'. :.:: ---1..l:l l-illllti. ltOit'evef,
th at iit . :-.: r..: --- :-:,. -.'ttt':''.ltci- riorld, 11exi-
bilil,
' .-r:r ist:, bccause of the rvicic \/ariet)/ of'rlate-
.,
- ..i:ri ra:li: that thcy dcal rvith, fincl that arr off-the-
- i .. .i.rtal)asc is an itnportirnt tool. Databascs, ft'ottt
.:::..l1 flat'1llc tcl intricate rclalior-ritl vttrictiers, alJolv
.,,.;lrivists to tailor acccss ancl managemcnl tool.s to fil
:i.cciflc ncccls. Lr r.uost casc$, ).oti can clcvclop the
.liills nceclccJ to dcsign and irlplcncnt iu housc data-
lrascs thirl lbllill rrany nec<.ls.r" Thc tnost er.sscntiai
re cprir.crnc:nt is thc ability to thinl< criticall,v artd ana-
l1'ticallv aLrotrt ilfor.nratiotr (i.e ., clata), .s1<ill.s that ntost
art-lrivists alr"e'aclv ttsc clailt'. l:r'ert i{ r'tlr-r t lt<trtse to rvorlt
rvitlr a s),slcr.ns 1;roltcssicilal 1o sc1 \rl) 1'tlrrr.clatrllasi:(s),
vorr u,ill havr:1ri do thc intellerctrtal PJanttir.rg, sirtcc thc
']
lre \lj.roroll .\cless liit ,\tr:lrjr isir li:lsL rI ii rll f\{ ellrrll }'l,tct l,'
,rrlliir'. Srrrrl rrr t'r:r,ril l]rit\\a!t( lo: '.\lS.\eeer, l.\r;hirl'' ittl':trilrr'
(r t()l)i(,r.aorll-".
sr.lcccss of
irrry clalalra.sc rlepeucls orr a clcar trnclcr-
stancling clf thc clata to be input; the lypes of uscr.s and
tlreir nceds; and the desirccl output, r,r'hethcr on
screerrr, in hirrcl copy) ol on thc Wcb.
'l-hc characteristics of some sections of firrcling
aids point us tor,vard database techniqucs, rather than
the rnore traditior-ral word processing. Box and I'older
lists, for exarnple, contain standard data elements (box
number, series and folcier titles, dates) and, while it is
easy enough to format these in a word-processed doc-
ument, setting up a database to handle such lists will
Schoolgirls view North American Indian exhibit, 1912. uNrvERsrry or
PINNSYLVANTA MusEUl\ . NIc. 10991.
greatly iucreasc thc functionirliti, s1 thc data. A folderr-
Ievcl database can coniain informatiou that reaches
bel,ond a single colleclion; allow seilrchcs that specil'y
datc ranges or foider title kcywords; generate custonr
reports for reseatrchers; include information that is
important for nranagcn-rcnt (sirelf locatiott and pro-
cessing auclit trails, for exarrplc); anrl output the clata
in a forrnat that rvill piug into thc fincling aid. 'fhc:
beauty of clatabascs is that the clata is independent of
for:mat: it can bc r:corganiz-cd, vicwccl in tlany diffe rcnt
rvays, usecl to gcrlcratc stirtistics atrcl cuslom victts, itttcl
linlrccl to other data serts.
As 1'ou develclp a clescriplirrc prograt.l-) for 1,1r111 i1l11'-
tuticln, you rvill discovcr i'rrcras ir r'r,hich providittl3 ;i.ccss
to mofc clctaileel infrrrnratiotr is clcsirablc. In instilu-
tiunal arclrivcs;, tlrt'alcLrivist oftcrt clclcs tlrer rcse;rrch (ulrrl
nc,'cds infor"mation cltticl<11'), so i1 car':r bc to ye111'ac{r,an.-
tagc to "firrrl loacj" 1he tvorl< aircl sllcn<l tinrc o t'irl inri
acccss tools ralhcr than going throLrglr [l<lx irllcr: lrox
g,.'1
crrclt titlc a rcfcrc'nct' qtrcrv alist:s. lrt t.t'ltrscrrrrrr;, r'r:li.'r'.
cncc tlr-rurics ofictr cculcr arot.ttttl sllct-i[ic olljr'c1s,
))cscrilttiotr 5j
''"r , r, , i,1,,.j, l)il;jf i' ijiiffiili,ii tiii,f iiiti tr:ailiiyr:iti{::iilir..)ii,i:'.t i:i
donors, or vendors, and you may find that it is wortir-
rvhile to expand the standard box and folder list to
include a folder description with more detailed con-
tent information-a value-added action. Many docu-
ment types could benefit from cletailed access poirrts
or indexing, anong them minutes, field notes, expedi-
tion reports, exhibition checklists, and staff and trustee
lists. If criteria are ciearly spelled out, the data can be
gathered and entered by paraprofessional staff, interns,
or volunteers.
Museum collections management databases assist
staff with all activities surrounding museum
objects-acquiring, accessioning, cataloging, storing,
exhibiting, and lending them, to name a few.-and
aiso often provide tools for other activities such as
exhibitions and donor relations. The approach gener-
ally centers around the individual object, rvhich mar-
make such systems diflicult to ldapt tbr archii-al col-
lections, but if vour museunl lccessions archival coi-
lections in the same ir'.rr- it cir-'es objects, r'ou mav need
to find a \vav to repres.nt vrruf collections in the sys-
ten-r. If this is indee,j the casr. )f .nd as rnuch time as
nossihle slrrtltin::r3
yvJJrur! .... \.r \L;lll '- I Ufrlullls
' ..' .1llU I : r:-- lll"rn,and in
what depth Io irlrLri .iichilal collectior.rs, keeping in
mind that t the : :,trri> nr.l\'pro\ ide additional or other
ftinctit-rn;li::e: li:', i'tlLi fleed iis u-ell. FOr example,
because tr- 1]usaLin') c0mntunitv has not agreed upon
stand::.i.:i: ilre Sf,nle \rav that the library and
54 N4 l.lSEUI\,1 r\l{CltIVESi ;\N IN'fl{OJ)t,J(11'lON
archives cornmunities have, you nlay find that you
nced to create a v,q.nc record so that you can share
information on ,vorlr holdings beyoncl your rnuscurn's
network. You could also explore "crosswall(s" clevel-
opcd by other ir-rstitutions, such irs the Getty's
Metadata Standards Crosswalk, which enable you to
map one descriptive standard to another."
Finally, spreadsheets can also be useful in manag-
ing data, but keep in mind that,like word processing,
their functionality is limited. They are primarily a very
powerful tool for managing and manipulating numer-
ical data, not the textual data that archives generate. In
all cases, the task should match the tool and, when
investing time and effort in collecting data, your goal
should be to get the most out of that data.
conclusion, keep in mind that you are not
In
tvorking in a vacuum. The archival profession has
expended considerable effort on creating descriptive
standards, not just to help individuals do their work,
but to allow them to share their products. These stan-
dards and other helpful studies have been published
by the Society of American Archivists and discussed at
iength in publications and at professional meetings.
Archivists are almost aiways willing to provide advice,
demonstrate their systems, and help colleagues solve
knotty protrlems. Mile your collections may be unique,
your solutions need not be: build upon the experieuce
of the profession and customize as necessary.
I I aee <u'rvlv.llcttv.eclrr/rcscarch/instittrtc/stanclarcls/in tronrctaclata/
.J crossrvirll<s/incicx.htrnl>.