Arrangement
- Creighton Barrett
Definition
The process and results of the analysis and identification of documents, in accordance with archival principles, undertaken with the aim of achieving different types of control (e.g., intellectual, physical, etc.).
Introduction
The process of physically and intellectually organizing archival records. Arrangement refers to both, the process of separating materials of different provenance and establishing an internal organization of a fonds.Â
Intellectual arrangementÂ
The hierarchical structure of the fonds and its parts. The intellectual arrangement primarily refers to the nature in which series, sub-series, and files are created. The intellectual arrangement does not need to match the physical arrangement (i.e., the files in a given box could come from several intellectual groupings).Â
Physical arrangementÂ
The sequential order and physical storage of archival material. A fonds is usually housed in folders and boxes. The physical arrangement refers to the numerical order of those folders and boxes and their location in the stacks.Â