Glossary of terms
Note: definitions are adapted from the Society of American Artists' Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology.
Access
The ability for archivists and users of archives to locate relevant information through the use of catalogs, indexes, finding aids, or other access tools.
Also: the permission to locate and retrieve information for use (consultation or reference) within legally established restrictions of privacy, confidentiality, and security clearance.
Acquisition
The process of acquiring records [i.e. materials] from any source by transfer, donation, or purchase, or the body of records so acquired (Ham 1993).
Acquisition policy
An official statement issued by an archives or manuscript repository identifying the kinds of materials it accepts and the conditions or terms that affect their acquisition. It serves as a basic document for the guidance of archival staff and organizations and persons interested in donating their records or papers.
Appraisal
Appraisal is the process of determining whether records and other materials have permanent (archival) value.... The basis of appraisal decisions may include a number of factors, including the records' provenance and content, their authenticity and reliability, their order and completeness, their condition and costs to preserve them, and their intrinsic value. Appraisal often takes place within a larger institutional collecting policy and mission statement.
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Description
The process of creating a finding aid or other access tools that allow individuals to browse a surrogate of the 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.