Dr Sigrid McCausland

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Archival basics Key archival principles PARBICA
12 Thursday 4 October 2007

• Dr Sigrid McCausland
• Education Officer
• Australian Society of Archivists

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Provenance

• Office of origin of records, ie the agency,
  office or person that created, received or
  accumulated and used the records in the conduct
  of business. In archival theory, the principle of
  provenance requires that the archives of an
  agency or person not be mixed with the archives
  of another.

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Why does provenance matter?

• To understand what the records do, you need first
  to know about who created them and why
• Respect des fonds you respect the creator

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Original order

• The order in which records and archives were
  kept when in active useThe principle of
  original order requires that the original order
  be preserved or reconstructed unless, after
  detailed examination, the original order is
  identified as a totally haphazard accumulation
  making the records irretrievable

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Dont mess with me
                                                
  Processors should keep the files in their
original order whenever possible.
                                              M
aintaining records in their original order
reveals how the creator used the records.
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Working out the order
                                               
                                                  
   If the records are in complete disarray, you
will need to re-organize them in the simplest way
that makes sense for the records.
                                                  
                                                  
                                                
                                                  
                    Pick one arrangement scheme
(here it's type) and stick with it
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Principles into practice

• Provenance and original order are the essential
  principles you need to understand before you
  begin work
• Sometimes resources will only permit you to
  establish basic control over the records you are
  responsible for

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Can you recognise this?
                                                
  Removing records from basement storage.
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Accessioning

• The process of formally accepting and recording
  the receipt of records into archival custody.
• Accessioning is the process which documents basic
  information about records.

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Records might look like this
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Or this
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Or this?
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A rough list is better than none
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Creating an accession record

• This is critical for the archivist you need to
  gather information and to present it in a
  standard way, even if you are only using pen and
  ink

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Agency

• A body, business or institution that creates or
  manages its own records in the course of its
  business or activities.
• Records created by an agency have the same
  provenance

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Series

• Those records or archives having the same
  provenance which belong together because
• they are part of a discernible filing system
  (alphabetical, numerical, chronological, or a
  combination of these)
• they have been kept together because the result
  from the same activity or
• they are of similar formats and relate to a
  particular function.

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The finished product
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Summary

• Key principles definitions and application
• See further reading
• Applying your learning after lunch