Archival Terms Explained: Part 2

To continue the "Archival Terms Explained" blog series, today's post features additional terms that may be unfamiliar to new researchers. (For the first post in the series, see Archival Terms Explained) The following are some key terms from the Society of American Archivists (SAA) dictionary and Describing Archives: A Content Standard that a researcher may come across while searching through our collection guides or digitized collections. 

Creator: The individual, group, or organization that is responsible for something's production, accumulation, or formation.

For manuscript collections, the creator usually didn't create the material itself, but created the collection by accumulating the material. For example, a collection of correspondence may contain letters written by other individuals but the person known as the creator received those letters and kept them, thus creating the collection.

Individuals or organizations who have secondary responsibility for the creation of a collaborative work or a collection are known as contributors. A collection may have multiple contributors or creators.

Call number: A unique combination of letters and numbers used to identify an item and to facilitate storage and retrieval.

Call numbers at the SCRC contain begin with either MC, MSS, or UA. MC indicates manuscript collections, which are typically personal, professional, or family papers. MSS collections are very small manuscript collections. UA indicates university archives records, or collections related to the history of the university and its operations. 

MC and MSS collection numbers are assigned sequentially as collections are received. UA numbers indicate what unit within the University created the record group or subgroup. Any UA number starting with UA 001, for example, comes from the Board of Trustees.

Conditions Governing Access: Information about access restrictions due to the nature of the information in the materials being described, such as those imposed by the donor, by the repository, or by statutory/regulatory requirements.

Generally speaking, there are three types of conditions governing access notes in our collection guides. The collection may be open to researchers, open with limited access, or completely restricted for a duration of time. Please contact the SCRC if you have any questions regarding access of materials.

Abstract: A concise summary of the key points of a larger work, often used to assist the reader in determining if that work is likely to be of use.

Abstracts, also known as summaries, contain information found in the biographical/historical and scope and contents notes (see below) in collection guides. 

Biographical/Historical Note: The part of a catalog record or collection guide that places the materials in context by providing basic information about the materials' creator or author.

A biographical note for individuals may include date and place of birth, full and variant forms of the name, occupations, significant accomplishments, places of residence and work, family members, and date and place of death.

Scope and Contents: A narrative statement summarizing the characteristics of the described materials, the functions and activities that produced them, and the types of information contained therein.

The scope and contents note may contain information about the specific types and forms of materials present, the dates of the materials, the functions or activities resulting in the creation of the records, and the most significant topics, events, persons, and places represented in the collection.

To search for additional terms and phrases, the SAA has several resources for archivists and researchers, including a glossary and dictionary. SAA's newest resource, the Dictionary of Archives Terminology (DAT), features a brand-new online platform for searching archival terms. 

The Special Collections Research Center contains a growing collection of archival materials, which can be accessed by searching our digitized collections and archival collection guides. For more information about our collections and services, use our online request form.

Due to the NC State University Coronavirus Response NC State University Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open by appointment only* starting on August 10th. Please note that according to Library policies, on-site Library access is limited to NC State students, faculty, staff, and university affiliates with a Wolfpack One Card, including Centennial Campus partners. For requests from these communities, we will respond to your inquiry as soon as possible and will email you when your requested materials are ready so that we can confirm your appointment time. For all other requests, we will respond to your request as soon as possible.