Workbook on Digital Private Papers > Arranging and cataloguing digital and hybrid archives > EAD templates for a personal archive
EAD templates for a personal archive
Paradigm exemplars for arrangement
Example A
This exemplar collection consists of two accessions.
Accession 1: this accession was made from the personal computer of a personal assistant to the politician based at the constituency office. It includes subject folders and sub-folders, arranged along the following lines:
Europe
Election leaflets
Mailings
Diary back-up
My Pictures
Letters
Accession 2: This accession was made from the office computer of a politician’s Westminster-based personal assistant. The records were kept in two areas of the PC: the ‘My Documents’ folder and C:/. There was no apparent logic to this split. In order to retain the original directory, the archivist accessioned the two areas as two separate series. The accession also included select folders of email, arranged by subject.
The original order of the accession was along these lines:
Briefings
Diary
Library research papers
Ministerial responses
Press release
Website
C drive
Answers to written questions
General constituents’ reports
Press releases
Parliamentary questions
Speeches
Council of Europe
Debates
Oral questions
Statements
Email folders
Various subject files
These types of records are readily comparable to their paper equivalents and their arrangement seems very straightforward. Where a good record keeping system has been established by the creator, archives are much more logical and accessible, even if filed only to the level of folder. Archivists are also assisted in their arrangement decisions by the capacity of computers to automatically order material in a hierarchical structure, and often to impose alphabetical or other arrangements.
Suggested arrangements for Example A
Paradigm identified two possible arrangements for this example, based on the in-house cataloguing guidelines of the Bodleian and the Rylands.
1. The Bodleian approach resulted in this arrangement:
Papers of politician (fonds)
Westminster papers (series)
Subject folders (subseries)
Email correspondence (subseries)
Paper correspondence (subseries)
Diary (subseries)
Speeches (subseries)
Constituency papers (series)
Subject folders (subseries)
Email correspondence (subseries)
Paper correspondence (subseries)
Diary (subseries)
In EAD:
2. The JRUL approach resulted in this arrangement:
Papers of politician (fonds)
Westminster papers (subfonds)
Subject folders (series)
Paper correspondence (series)
Email correspondence (series)
Diary (series)
Speeches (series)
Constituency papers (subfonds)
Subject folders (series)
Paper correspondence (series)
Email correspondence (series)
Diary (series)
In EAD:
Example B
This example contains three accessions of digital archives from the London office of a politician, accessioned from the personal computers of two assistants. The folders are arranged by brief and then into subject folders. Some work would be required to arrange the three accessions into one structure, but it looks like it would be possible to harmonise the three as they are arranged similarly.
Suggested arrangement for Example B
Papers of politician
Papers relating to brief ‘X’
Subject folders
In EAD:
Hybrid archives
In either of these examples, paper and digital records would be combined and arranged according to context and content, rather than format. Email and paper correspondence would be arranged in separate series because interleaving the two would offer little benefit for considerable effort.
