Definition
The process of creating a finding aid or other access tools that allow individuals to browse a surrogate of the fonds or collection to facilitate access and that improve security by creating a record of the collection and by minimizing the amount of handling of the original materials.
Introduction
Description is akin to library cataloguing but archivists also have to ensure descriptions are organized according to a pre-defined intellectual arrangement. The Canadian Rules for Archival Description define description as "the recording in a standardized form of information about the structure, function and content of records."