WHSO-Project

World History of Science Online: Databases of Bibliographical and Archival Sources 

IUHPS/DHS

Document: Methodological Guidelines for the elaboration of archival databases.   

Elaborated by: Secretary General of the DHS/Commission on Bibliography and Documentation.

The Commission on Bibliography and Documentation of the DHS recommends the use of a recognized international standard for archival description prepared and promulgated by the International Council on Archives (ICA). This standard is usually referred to as ISAD(G) (General International Standard Archival Description). This standard can be adapted to suit particular national traditions or particular purposes.

The Commission proposes to follow a similar model as the one that was prepared by the National Cataloguing Unit for the Archives of Contemporary Scientists (NCUACS) for the American Institute of Physics History Center's International Catalog of Sources (ICOS) for History of Physics and Allied Sciences. This is an ISAD (G) compatible template and can be used for the elaboration of archival databases, although other examples of ISAD (G) compatible templates can also be considered.

The layout of the form is clear and easy to use with a minimum of explanation. It works for personal archives where the creator is an individual scientist and for administrative archives where the record creator is an institution such as a research institute or laboratory. Some linguistic and general compatibility issues must be considered.

ISAD(G):

General International Standard Archival

Description

Second Edition

INTRODUCTION

I.1 This standard provides general guidance for the preparation of archival descriptions. It is to be used in conjunction with existing national standards or as the basis for the development of national standards.

I.2 The purpose of archival description is to identify and explain the context and content of archival material in order to promote its accessibility. This is achieved by creating accurate and appropriate representations and by organizing them in accordance with predetermined models. Description-related processes may begin at or before records creation and continue throughout the life of the records. These processes make it possible to institute the intellectual controls necessary for reliable, authentic, meaningful and accessible descriptive records to be carried forward through time.

I.3 Specific elements of information about archival materials are recorded at every phase of their management (e.g., creation, appraisal, accessioning, conservation, arrangement) if the material is to be on the one hand securely preserved and controlled, and on the other hand made accessible at the proper time to all who have a right to consult it. Archival description in the widest sense of the term covers every element of information no matter at what stage of management it is identified or established. At every stage the information about the material remains dynamic and may be subject to amendment in the light of further knowledge of its content or the context of its creation. Computerized information systems in particular may serve to integrate or select elements of information as required, and to update or amend them. While the focus of these rules is the description of archival materials after the point at which they have been selected for preservation, they may also be applied at earlier phases.

I.4 This standard contains general rules for archival description that may be applied irrespective of the form or medium of the archival material. The rules contained in this standard do not give guidance on the description of special materials such as seals, sound recordings, or maps. Manuals setting out descriptive rules for such materials already exist. This standard should be used in conjunction with these manuals to enable appropriate description of special materials.

I.5 This set of general rules for archival description is part of a process that will a. ensure the creation of consistent, appropriate, and self explanatory descriptions; b. facilitate the retrieval and exchange of information about archival material; c. enable the sharing of authority data; and d. make possible the integration of descriptions from different locations into a unified information system.

I.6 The rules accomplish these purposes by identifying and defining twenty-six (26) elements that may be combined to constitute the description of an archival entity. The structure and content of the information in each of these elements should be formulated in accordance with applicable national rules. As general rules, these are intended to be broadly applicable to descriptions of archives regardless of the nature or extent of the unit of description. However, the standard does not define output formats, or the ways in which these elements are presented, for example, in inventories, catalogues, lists, etc.

I.7 Archival descriptive standards are based on accepted theoretical principles. For example, the principle that archival description proceeds from the general to the specific is the practical consequence of the principle of respect des fonds[1]. This principle must be articulated if a generally applicable structure and system of archival description is to be built which is not dependent on the finding aids of any given repository, whether in a manual or automated environment.

I.8 In Appendix A-1 one may find a hierarchical model of the levels of arrangement for the fonds and its constituent parts. There are levels of description, with differing degrees of detail, appropriate to each level of arrangement. For example, a fonds may be described as a whole in a single description or represented as a whole and in its parts at various levels of description. The fonds forms the broadest level of description; the parts form subsequent levels, whose description is often only meaningful when seen in the context of the description of the whole of the fonds. Thus, there may be a fonds-level description, a series-level description, a file-level description and/or an item-level description. Intermediate levels, such as a sub-fonds or sub-series, may be expected. Each of these levels may be further subdivided according to the complexity of the administrative structure and/or functions of the organization which generated the archival material and the organization of the material. In Appendix A-2 the model represents the complex relationships between creator(s) and the units of description, regardless of level, as expressed in the boxes representing authority records according to ISAAR(CPF) and the links between them and the boxes representing the units of description of the fonds and its parts. Appendix B shows full examples of archival descriptions and some of its parts.

I.9 Each rule consists of: a. the name of the element of description governed by the rule;

b. a statement of the purpose of incorporating the element in a description; c. a statement of the general rule (or rules) applicable to the element; and d. where applicable, examples illustrating implementation of the rule(s).

I.10 Paragraphs are numbered and are given for citation purposes only. These numbers should not be used to designate elements of description.

I.11 The rules are organized into seven areas of descriptive information:

1. Identity Statement Area (where essential information is conveyed to identify the unit of description)

2. Context Area (where information is conveyed about the origin and custody of the unit of description)

3. Content and Structure Area (where information is conveyed about the subject matter and arrangement of the unit of description)

4. Condition of Access and Use Area (where information is conveyed about the availability of the unit of description)

5. Allied Materials Area (where information is conveyed about materials having an important relationship to the unit of description)

6. Note Area (where specialized information and information that cannot be accommodated in any of the other areas may be conveyed).

7. Description Control Area (where information is conveyed on how, when and by whom the archival description was prepared).

I.12 All 26 elements covered by these general rules are available for use, but only a subset need be used in any given description. A very few elements are considered essential for international exchange of descriptive information:

a. reference code;

b. title;

c. creator;

d. date(s);

e. extent of the unit of description; and

f. level of description.

Examples throughout the text of ISAD(G) are illustrative and not prescriptive. They  illuminate the provisions of the rules to which they are attached, rather than extend those provisions. Do not take the examples, or the form in which they are presented as instructions. To clarify the context, each example is followed by an indication of the level of description to which it pertains in italic and in parentheses. On the next line, the name of the institution that holds the material which the example illustrates and/or supplied the example is indicated, also in italic. Further explanatory note(s) may follow, also in italic, preceded by the word Note:. Do not confuse the indication of the level of description, the source of the example, and any notes with the example itself.

I.13 The extent to which a given archival description will incorporate more than the essential elements of information will vary depending on the nature of the unit of description.

I.14 Access points are based upon the elements of description. The value of access points is enhanced through authority control. Because of the importance of access points for retrieval, a separate ICA standard, International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families: ISAAR(CPF), has been developed. ISAAR(CPF) gives general rules for the establishment of archival authority records that describe the corporate bodies, persons, and families that may be named as creators in descriptions of archival documents.

(See Appendix A-2 for a schematic illustration of the relationship between descriptive and authority records.) Vocabularies and conventions to be used with other access points should be developed nationally, or separately for each language. The following ISO standards are useful when developing and maintaining controlled vocabularies: ISO 5963 Documentation — Methods for examining documents, determining their subject, and selecting indexing terms, ISO 2788 Documentation — Guidelines for the establishment and development of monolingual thesauri and ISO 999 Information and documentation — Guidelines for the content, organization and presentation of indexes.

I.15 In citing a published source in any element of description, follow the latest version of ISO 690 Documentation — Bibliographic references — Content, form and structure.

ISAD (G) Template Example  

American Institute of Physics/National Cataloguing Unit for the Archives of Contemporary Scientists

International Catalogue of Sources Survey

A. REPOSITORY AND COLLECTION INFORMATION

B. CONTEXT INFORMATION

C. DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

Please include:  

D. CONDITIONS OF ACCESS & USE