Workbook on Digital Private Papers > Arranging and cataloguing digital and hybrid archives > Arranging and cataloguing emails
Arranging and cataloguing emails
Suggested elements for use at c03 or c04 (email folder/subseries) level
Elements in the <did>
<unitid> The shelfmark for the folder.
<unittitle> Title should reflect the type of object described, along with the creator’s original title
<unitdate> Ideally this should record a span date, by month, covering the earliest and the latest dates of sending or receipt by the creator. Use traditional date format and normalise to ISO 8601.
<physdesc><extent> Supply the number of: email messages; the number of these which also include attachments (and total number of attachments); and the size of the folder in MB. This information should be available via automatically extracted metadata
<materialspec> Use this element to record the file formats of any attachments; the email client will have been recorded at a higher level.
<dao> Use to link to the digital folder and its associated metadata. As described under generic folder level, attributes will indicate the type of link, how it will be activated and how it will appear.
Example <did> for folder level:
Other elements
<scope and content> An overview of the intellectual content of the folder, which will usually be based around a specific subject/project or correspondent. Include some specific detail about what the emails refer to; pick out significant individuals represented; also places; subjects, events, activities and dates. An indication of research value can also be supplied. When the folder is very large and unsorted a higher level of detail may be required here. This may be facilitated by the use of indexing tools to pick out frequently used words.
<arrangement> A note on the arrangement of the component messages; this will usually be based on original (chronological) order. If the repository supplies one version in original order and one that users can manipulate/reorder, this should be explained here too.
