Authority control databases
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| National | |
ISAD(G) (General International Standard Archival Description) defines the elements that should be included in an archival finding aid. It was approved by the International Council on Archives (ICA/CIA) as an international framework standard to register archival documents produced by corporations, persons and families.
ISAD(G) defines a list of elements and rules for the description of archives and describes the kinds of information that must and should be included in such descriptions. It creates a hierarchy of description that determines what information should be included at what level.[1]
ISAD(G) follows 4 general principles:[2]
Multilevel description starts from a general level of description, which is usually the fonds, and proceeds to more detailed levels, such as the subfonds, the series, the file, the item, etc. This hierarchical structure must be represented and properly defined in the archival description.[2]
Information in each level of description must be related only to the archival unit described in that level.[2]
Every archival unit must be linked to its parent level within the hierarchy and its level must be made explicit.[2]
To avoid repetition, general information common to a group must be declared in the highest level possible. Sublevels must, in turn, contain common information applicable to its child levels.[2]
ISAD(G) defines 26 data elements of description, 6 of which are mandatory, divided into 7 areas:
1.Identity Statement [3](All elements in the Identity Statement area are mandatory.)
2.Context [3](Of the 4 elements that make up the Context Area, only the first one is mandatory.)
3.Content and Structure[3]
4.Conditions of Access and Use[3]
5.Allied Materials[3]
6.Notes[3]
7.Description Control[3]
The standard provides a framework for a common approach, rather than a rigid format.[3][4]
The advent of the internet and electronic records changed the way curators conceived archives. The ability to interrelate archives around the world constitutes both an advantage and a challenge. Thus, there was a need to standardize archival descriptions to make the best use of the technologies available. Standardization in the Archival world was born to increase the number of points of contact between multiple archives across different institutions. Standardization can be considered a tool that archivists must adopt and adapt for their functioning in the contemporary information age.[5]
After initial activities since 1988 supported by UNESCO, a subgroup of the AdHoc Commission on Descriptive Standards discussed the first draft of these standards beginning in 1990. The first version of ISAD(G) was released and adopted by the ICA in 1994.[1] In 1999, an evaluation of ISAD(G) was conducted in order to determine its effectiveness of describing datasets and to evaluate how it had been being used in data archives.[6] After lengthy research and evaluation, the ICA published a revised version, the second edition, in 2000. Sometimes abbreviated as ISAD(G)2, the revised version remains the current standard today.[7]
Since its publication, ISAD(G) has been adopted by a great number of institutions around the world.
ISAD(G) has been adopted as the standard for archival description by many national and international institutions. For example:
National Organizations
Transnational Organizations
ISAD(G) has been implemented by many institutions together with other protocols such as ISO 15489 record management protocol or the ISSAR(CPF) protocol on archival authority records. ISAD(G) has been mapped into archival finding aids protocols such as EDA and structure standards like Dublin Core.
EAD: Encoded Archival Description (EAD) uses XML schemas to encode content descriptions mapped to ISAD(G) standards as a guide to determine required data elements and hierarchical relations between said elements. These protocols are not exclusive but complimentary. ISAD(G) is not as specific as EAD with respect to finding aid data, but it offers a useful model for determining both essential elements and the amount of descriptive detail an archivist may wish to gather at each hierarchical level.[12]
Example: Excerpt of an XML schema describing the archival unit Records of the Global Environment Facility from the World Bank Group Archive using the ISAD(G) protocol:[13]
<archdesc level="fonds" relatedencoding="ISAD(G)v2">
<did>
<unittitle encodinganalog="3.1.2">Records of the Global Environment Facility</unittitle>
<unitid encodinganalog="3.1.1">WB IBRD/IDA GEF</unitid>
<unitdate id="atom_503_event" encodinganalog="3.1.3">1988 - 2007</unitdate>
<physdesc encodinganalog="3.1.5"> 265.00 linear feet of textual records (approximate) </physdesc>
<repository>
<corpname>World Bank Group Archives</corpname>
</repository>
<langmaterial encodinganalog="3.4.3">
<language langcode="eng">English</language>
<language langcode="fre">French</language>
</langmaterial>
<origination encodinganalog="3.2.1">
<name id="atom_503_actor">Global Environment Facility</name>
</origination>
</did>
<bioghist id="md5-f21fc51e335ca4fbfd1d0638c5abdd59" encodinganalog="3.2.2">
<note>
<p>
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) began operations in (...)
<lb/>
<lb/>
The purpose of the GEF is (...)
<lb/>
<lb/>
Initially, the World Bank (...)
<lb/>
<lb/>
At the conclusion of its pilot phase (...)
<lb/>
<lb/>
The governance structure of the (...)
<lb/>
<lb/>
* implementing the decisions of the GEF Assembly and Council;
<lb/>
<lb/>
* coordinating the formulation and overseeing (...)
<lb/>
<lb/>
* ensuring the implementation of (...)
<lb/>
<lb/>
* reviewing and reporting to (...)
<lb/>
<lb/>
Its business activities include: (...)
<lb/>
<lb/>
As of 2012, the GEF involves (...)
</p>
</note>
</bioghist>
<odd type="publicationStatus">
<p>Published</p>
</odd>
<scopecontent encodinganalog="3.3.1">
<p>
The fonds consists of (...)
<lb/>
<lb/>
Records related to GEF's role (...)
<lb/>
<lb/>
The fonds also consists of (...)
<lb/>
<lb/>
Also included are records related to (...)
<lb/>
<lb/>
This fonds also consists of (...)
<lb/>
<lb/>
Records related to (...)
<lb/>
<lb/>
Also included are the (...)
</p>
</scopecontent>
<arrangement encodinganalog="3.3.4">
<p>
The following arrangement is provisional. Records are arranged into eight series:
<lb/>
<lb/>
* Project files
<lb/>
<lb/>
* Monitoring and evaluation records
<lb/>
<lb/>
* Policy development and business strategy records
<lb/>
<lb/>
* Focal Area program records
<lb/>
<lb/>
* Corporateaffairs, liaison, and convention records
<lb/>
<lb/>
* Meetings
<lb/>
<lb/>
* Communications and outreach
<lb/>
<lb/>
* Senior management correspondence
</p>
</arrangement>
<acqinfo encodinganalog="3.2.4">
<p>Records were transferred directly from (...)
</acqinfo>
<accruals encodinganalog="3.3.3">
<p>Accruals are expected.</p>
</accruals>
<processinfo>
<p>
<date>22 June 2012</date>
</p>
</processinfo>
<relatedmaterial encodinganalog="3.5.3">
<p>
* See Records of the Environment Sector (...)
<lb/>
<lb/>
<lb/>
<lb/>
* See Records of the Operations (...)*
<lb/>
<lb/>
<lb/>
<lb/>
* See Records of Individual Staff Members (...)*
<lb/>
<lb/>
<lb/>
<lb/>
*See records related to the (...)
</p>
</relatedmaterial>
<accessrestrict encodinganalog="3.4.1">
<p>Records are subject to the World Bank Policy on Access to Information.</p>
</accessrestrict>
<userestrict encodinganalog="3.4.2">
<p>Records are subject to the Copyright Policy of the World Bank Group.</p>
</userestrict>
<otherfindaid encodinganalog="3.4.5">
<p>A finding aid for this fonds does not exist.</p>
</otherfindaid>
<dsc type="combined"> </dsc>
</archdesc>
