Creating Finding Aids

Sara CasperGovernment Records Archivist

South Dakota State Archives

In this presentation…

What is an archival finding aid? Why should I create finding aids? Identifying record series Important finding aid sections/elements Tips for writing and using finding aids Other resources

What is a finding aid?

“A tool that facilitates discovery of information within a collection of records.”

“A description of records that gives the repository physical and intellectual control over the materials and that assists users to gain access to and understand the materials.”

Why create finding aids?

Makes materials inside a collection more accessible to researchers and staff

Provides context for collection Accountability

– Keeps track of provenance, changes to the collection during processing, etc.

Versatile– Works for any size or type of collection– Can be published online, made available in research room,

kept on desk or in file drawer, e-mailed

Arrangement

Description follows physical arrangement, or processing, of the collection

Arrangement – Step One

What is in the collection? Look through the records and take detailed notes– Preservation concerns– Types of materials– Subjects/items of interest– Arrangement

Arrangement – Step Two

Identify Record Series– Natural Groupings– Original Filing System

Do not attempt to write a finding aid without understanding the collection hierarchy

Un-arranged Collection

Newspaper Clippings, 1940-1942

Correspondence, Jan-Mar 1935 Diary 1933 Newspaper Clippings, 1938-

1939 Diary 1934 Financial Ledger, Vol. C Correspondence, Oct-Dec 1935 Correspondence, Jan-Mar 1936 7 Photographs, May Day, 1939

Diary 1932 Newspaper Clippings, 1943-

1946 Financial Ledger, Vol. B Correspondence, Oct-Dec 1934 Correspondence, Jul-Sept 1935 Financial Ledger, Vol. A Correspondence, Apr-Jun 1935 10 Photographs, Company

Picnic, 1946

Collection Hierarchy

Series I: Correspondence, Oct. 1934-Mar 1936 (arranged chronologically)

Series II: Diaries, 1932-1934 (arranged chronologically)

Series III: Financial Ledgers (arranged alphabetically by volume)

Series IV: Newspaper Clippings, 1938-1946 (arranged chronologically)

Series V: Photographs, 1939-1946– Sub-series/File 1: May Day, 1939– Sub-series/File 2: Company Picnic, 1946

Arrangement – Step Three

Box and folder records– Acid-free archival enclosures– Label in pencil– Deal with preservation concerns, keep track of

activities

Archival Principles

Provenance and Original Order “The records created, assembled, accumulated,

and/or maintained and used by an organization or individual must be kept together in their original order, if such order exists or has been maintained…[and] ought not be mixed or combined with the records of another individual or corporate body.”

Description – Finding Aid Elements

Every collection is different - not all elements will be used for every collection

Tailor description to suit the size, importance, and complexity of each collection

Archival Description = Nesting Dolls

CollectionSub-series

Sub-sub-series

FileItem

Series

Title Page

Name of Collection Accession/Catalog/

Collection Numbers Dates Name/Location of

Repository Name of Finding Aid

Author Date of Creation

Copyright Notice

Standard Notice Places responsibility for

determining copyright restrictions on the researcher

Privacy/Restriction Notes

Are there any access or use restrictions for the collection?

Administrative History/Biographical Note

Give a brief history of the individual or organization that created the collection

Who is the individual? How do they fit in with

larger historical themes or events?

Provide context for collection

Scope and Content

What does the collection contain?

Collection-level Extent Dates Material & Document

Types Arrangement - series

Provenance

Where did the collection come from? How did it get to the archives? Curatorial history

Processing Notes

Document all processing activities, when they happened, and why.

Conservation treatments?

Materials removed? Re-housing? Organizational scheme

imposed?

Series Descriptions

Content description for each series and sub-series

Restrictions Arrangement

Container List

Box/Folder list Include dates as much

as possible

Other Elements

Preferred Citation for Materials Languages Related Collections/Materials Library of Congress Subject Headings

Rules of Thumb

Do not describe to the item-level unless you can count the items on your hands

Always document any processing or preservation actions

Be as brief as you can – a 1,000 page finding aid is worthless

Provide access to the finding aids

Using finding aids

What information are you looking for? Who would have kept that information? In

what formats? Translate inquiry into record series

Using finding aids

Word documents– Keyword searches possible within finding aid

(Ctrl F) and between finding aids (right click folder, search)

Additional Resources

Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DAACS) (Society of American Archivists, 2007)

Kathleen D. Roe, Arranging and Describing Archives and Manuscripts (Society of American Archivists, 2005)

Additional Resources

David W. Carmicheal, Organizing Archival Records: A Practical Method of Arrangement and Description for Small Archives (Altmira Press, 2003)

Make friends with an archivist

Examples

Example I Example II Example III