The Archives Utility

The EMu Archives utility is an extension of the Catalogue module.

Archival description is the process of capturing, collating, analysing and organising any information that serves to identify, manage, locate and interpret the holdings of an archival institution and explain the contexts and record systems from which these holdings were selected (Definition from the Society of American Archivists).

There are a number of Archiving standards and the EMu Archives utility has been developed in compliance with:

ISAD(G) - General International Standard Archival description (Second Edition), maintained by the International Council of Archives (ICA).
The EAD - Encoded Archival Description - document type definition (DTD), which specifies the elements for description of archival collections. EAD is maintained by the US Library of Congress in partnership with the Society of American Archivists.

Overview of the standards

The ISAD(G) standard specifies that:

Archival finding aids (descriptions of archival collections) are hierarchical and multi-level in their structure.
Levels of description within finding aids should move from a general description of the archive at the highest level to a specific description of each individual 'record' or 'item' at the lowest level of description.

The Standard presents a set of rules for archival description that seeks to:

Ensure the creation of consistent, appropriate, and self explanatory descriptions.
Facilitate the retrieval and exchange of information about archival material.
Enable the sharing of authority data.
Make possible the integration of descriptions from different locations into a unified information system.

ISAD(G) names 26 elements that archivists can use within their finding aids to record descriptive information. There is a preferred structure for any given description and within the structure the elements are grouped in five (or six) information areas:

Identity Statement: identifies what is being described and says some significant things about what it is called.
Context: provides information about the origin and custody of the materials; background, context and provenance.
Content and Structure: provides information about the subject matter held within the materials, its form, and the way it is arranged.
Condition of Access and Use: informs users about availability.
Allied Materials: tells users about other materials that are significant to the ones being described.
There is a sixth area, Notes, in which anything else of interest not otherwise catered for is placed.

There has been an increasing need for an encoding standard for producing machine readable finding aids that would facilitate distribution of these aids via the internet. This is where the EAD comes in.

The EAD, or Encoded Archival Description, is a developing standard for encoding archive and library finding aids in the form of an SGML DTD (Standard Generalised Markup Language Document Type Definition). SGML is a neutral encoding system that makes it possible to share and reuse information in documents across software applications and across computing platforms.

Like ISAD(G), the EAD assumes that an encoded finding aid consists of hierarchically organised information that describes a unit of records or papers along with its component parts. The EAD standard's document type definition (DTD) specifies the elements to be used to describe a manuscript collection as well as the arrangement of those elements. The EAD tag set has 146 elements and is used both to describe a collection as a whole, and also to encode a detailed multi-level inventory of the collection.

Archives tabs and their purpose

Archives	The current record, in this case `[Bridgewater Estates\Fonds 2\1\6], File`, is highlighted in red. Whenever moving through the Archives hierarchy it is a simple matter to return to the current record in the hierarchy by clicking the Select the current record button. See How to rearrange, add to and view the hierarchy on the Archives tab for details about this tab and how to adjust the position of items in the Archives hierarchy.
EAD	The numerous EAD wrappers, elements and sub-elements are collected in six tabs according to the EAD standard's broad sections (eadheader, archdesc, etc.) and groups (Profile Description, File Description, etc.).
EAD Header	Detailed information about each EAD element can be found by following the links below to The Library of Congress definitions: Level / Component EAD Identifier Level Attribute (what level in the Archive hierarchy, e.g. Fonds, Series, Sub-fond, Sub-series, etc.) Component Level (See Component) Profile Description Creation Language of Finding Aid Author of Finding Aid Language Code Descriptive Rules File Description Title Proper Sub-title Sponsor Edition Statement Publication Statement Note Statement Revision Description (for information about): Revision Date Revision Revision By
Component	Detailed information about each EAD element can be found by following the links below to The Library of Congress definitions: Unit Details Repository EAD ID Unit ID Level Attribute (what level in the Archive hierarchy, e.g. Fonds, Series, Sub-fond, Sub-series, etc.) Component Level (See Component) Unit Title Unit Date Origination/Creator Physical Details Extent Dimensions Genre/Form Physical Facet Material Details Material Specific Abstract
Description	Detailed information about each EAD element can be found by following the links below to The Library of Congress definitions: Archival Description Biography or History Custodial History Acquisition Information Scope and Content Appraisal Information
Access	Detailed information about each EAD element can be found by following the links below to The Library of Congress definitions: Access and Use Restrictions on Access Restrictions on Use Other Finding Aid Index Future Accruals Accruals System of Arrangement Arrangement File Plan Physical/Technical Physical/Technical
Additional	Detailed information about each EAD element can be found by following the links below to The Library of Congress definitions: Additional Information Processing Information Bibliography Preferred Citation Other Descriptive Data Related Units of Description Location of Originals Alternative Form Available Related Material Separated Material
Control Access	Detailed information about each EAD element can be found by following the links below to The Library of Congress definitions: Names Personal Name Family Name Corporate Name Geographic Name Other Name Source Names Other Access Terms Function Occupation Subject Title
ISAD(G)	The 26 elements of the ISAD(G) standard are collected in three tabs, across seven areas: Identity Statement Context Content and Structure Conditions of Access and Use Allied Materials Notes Description Control Area The ISAD(G) standard can be downloaded as a pdf from the International Council of Archives website. The bracketed number beside each field name is the ISAD(G) reference number for the element.
Identity	ISAD(G) areas and the relevant ISAD(G) reference: Identity Statement (3.1): Level of Description (3.1.4) Reference Code (3.1.1) Title (3.1.2) Date(s) (3.1.3) Extent and Medium (3.1.5) Context (3.2): Creator (3.2.1) Biographical History (3.2.2) Archival History (3.2.3) Immediate Source (3.2.4)
Content	ISAD(G) areas and the relevant ISAD(G) reference: Content and Structure (3.3): Scope and Content (3.3.1) Appraisal Information (3.3.2) Accruals (3.3.3) System of Arrangement (3.3.4) Conditions of Access and Use (3.4) Language Material (3.4.3) Access Conditions (3.4.1) Reproduction Conditions (3.4.2) Physical / Technical (3.4.4) Finding Aids (3.4.5)
Allied Materials	ISAD(G) areas and the relevant ISAD(G) reference: Allied Materials (3.5) Location of Originals (3.5.1) Location of Copies (3.5.2) Related Units (3.5.3) Publication Note (3.5.4) Notes Area (3.6) Note (3.6.1) Description Control (3.7) Date of Description (3.7.3) Archivist's Note (3.7.1) Rules or Conventions (3.7.2)
Location	As for the Catalogue module.
Condition	As for the Catalogue module.
Valuation	As for the Catalogue module.
Tasks	See Tasks tab for details.
Notes	See Notes tab for details.
Multimedia	See Multimedia tab for details.
Security	See Security tab for details.
Audit	See Audit tab for details.
Admin	See Admin tab for details.

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