Workbook on Digital Private Papers > Arranging and cataloguing digital and hybrid archives > Standards for archival description
Standards for archival description
ISAD(G) 2
ISAD(G) was formally adopted by the International Council on Archives' Committee on Descriptive Standards, Stockholm, Sweden, 19-22 September 1999 and published in 2000. The standard provides general guidance for the preparation of archival descriptions. It can be used in conjunction with existing national standards. The purpose of the archival description is to identify and explain the context and content of the archival material in order to promote its accessibility. This is achieved by creating accurate and appropriate representations and by organising them in accordance with predetermined models. The rules may be applied irrespective of the form or medium of the archival material.
Multi-level description
ISAD(G) advocates hierarchical multi-level description and recommends four descriptive principles to achieve this:
- Describe from the general to the specific: at the highest level the archivist should provide information which pertains to the archive as a whole; descriptions at lower levels should give information specific to that level. The end-result should be a hierarchical description which represents the relationships within the archive.
- The information provided should be relevant to the level of description: the archivist should provide information which relates to the level of description. For example, a biographical note about the creator of a series of letters received by an individual would be included in the description of that series, not at the highest level or at a lower one.
- Descriptions should be linked: the purpose of linking descriptions, or expressing the level of description, is to allow users to determine the context of an item within the archive as a whole.
- Information should not be repeated: by providing information relevant to subordinate levels of description at the highest possible level the archivist can avoid redundant description.
Elements of description
In addition to these overarching principles, ISAD(G) comprises 7 areas of descriptive information:
- Identity statement area, where essential information is conveyed to identify the unit of description.
- Context area, where information is conveyed about the origin and custody of the unit of description.
- Content and structure area, where information is conveyed about the subject matter and arrangement of the unit of description.
- Conditions of access and use area, where information is conveyed about the availability of the unit of description.
- Allied materials area, where information is conveyed about materials having an important relationship to the unit of description.
- Notes area, where specialised information and information that cannot be accommodated in any of the other areas may be conveyed.
- Description control area, where information is conveyed about how, when and by whom the archival description was prepared.
The key structural fields of an archival description proscribed by ISAD(G):
| Identity statement area 3.1.1 Reference code(s) 3.1.2 Title 3.1.3 Date(s) 3.1.4 Level of Description 3.1.5 Extent and medium of the unit of description (quantity, bulk or size) |
Context area 3.2.1 Name of Creator(s) 3.2.2 Administrative/Biographical history 3.2.3 Archival History 3.2.4 Immediate sources of acquisition or transfer |
| Content and structure area 3.3.1 Scope and content 3.3.2 Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information 3.3.3 Accruals 3.3.4 System of Arrangement |
Conditions of access and use area 3.4.1 Conditions governing access 3.4.2 Conditions governing reproduction 3.4.3 Languages/scripts of material 3.4.4 Physical characteristics and technical requirements 3.4.5 Finding aids |
|
Allied materials area 3.5.1 Existence and location of originals 3.5.2 Existence and location of copies 3.5.3 Related unites of description 3.5.4 Publication note |
Notes area 3.6.1 Note |
|
Description control area 3.7.1 Archivist's note 3.7.2 Rules or conventions 3.7.3 Date(s) of descriptions |
For a full description of each of these elements illustrated with worked examples see Appendix B of the ISAD(G)2 standard.
Access points and ISAD(G)
There are provisions in ISAD(G) for 'access points' for creators and subjects, and it was recognised that the content of these access points needed to be controlled if they were to function effectively. The use of standard terms for name and subject indexing facilitates consistency in the exchange of data between repositories, and in the retrieval of data by remote, online users. In accordance with practice at the Bodleian and the Rylands, Paradigm used the NCA rules for creating indexing terms for names and places, and the LCSH index for subject terms.
