Introduction

This page outlines some of the principles that guide archival description activities at the Dalhousie University Archives.

Guiding principles

• Archival descriptions should use descriptive language that is respectful to the subjects of the archival record and the larger communities of people invested in the archival record. Emphasize respect and care over traditional concepts of “neutrality.” For more guidance, see the metadata recommendations found in the Anti-Racist Description Resources created by Archives for Black Lives in Philadelphia.

• Archival description activities are guided by the statement of principles of the Canadian Rules for Archival Description.

• Archival authority records are created in accordance with the International Standard for Archival Authority Records (ISAAR-CPF).

• Archival material cannot be described if it has not been intellectually and physically arranged. Archival description proceeds from and reflects archival arrangement (see RAD Principle P5.0).

• Descriptive requirements and writing style vary across each level of description. Descriptive requirements vary if a file- or item-level description contains a digital object.

• All descriptions, including file- and item-level descriptions, should be able to “stand alone” as individual search results in the Archives Catalogue and other library and archives systems (e.g., MemoryNS.ca).

• In general, RAD Principle P1.0 overrides RAD Principle P5.3 and RAD Rule 1.1B4 for supplied titles for parts of a fonds or collection. In other words, repetition of select information (e.g., the name of the creator of a fonds in the supplied title for a series of correspondence) is acceptable and sometimes necessary to ensure search results are comprehensible to users of the Archives Catalogue and Online Collections.

• Archival descriptions should be written in ways that support faceted searching in the Archives Catalogue and other library and archives systems.