Glossary

Accessing archival terminology and abbreviations

Archivists use specialist terms in the course of their work. This glossary consists of definitions drawn from the International Council on Archives Multilingual Archival Terminology Database and Irish Guidelines for Archival Description (Society of Archivists, Ireland 2009). For the purposes of this document, definitions were selected which reflected the understanding of archival terms in the Irish context.

The ability to make use of material from a fonds or collection, subject to rules and conditions.

Records sent to the National Archives to ensure their permanent preservation and access.

The unique number or code assigned to permanently identify an accession.

A form or log that summarises standard information about the process of transferring records to the National Archives.

A document/database in which accessions are recorded according to a unique identifying number, usually in chronological order by date of receipt, and giving the source and other identifying information for each accession.

Record(s) added to an existing collection.

A second or subsequent accession to an existing collection. For example, each year the National Archives accepts accruals from the Department of the Taoiseach as this department continues to create records in the course of its work.

The degree to which data, information, documents or records are precise, correct, truthful, free of error or distortion, or pertinent to the matter.

Materials received by a repository as a unit; an accession.

The process of identifying and acquiring, by donation or purchase, historical materials from outside sources, including government departments, agencies and the courts as well as private donations.

The structure, functions and procedures of the organisational environment in which records were created.

The usefulness of records or archives for the conduct of current and/or future administrative business.

An arm of the State such as a government department or court office that creates records. Each agency from which records are accessioned is given a specific prefix and identifying code. See Department of State.

A note added or attached to an original record.

The process of determining the length of time records should be retained.

A record of enduring or legal value that provides evidence of the activities of a person or institution.

An agency or institution responsible for the preservation and access to records of enduring value that warrant permanent preservation as archives.

The process of analysing, organising, and recording details about the formal elements of a record or collection of records, such as creator, title, dates, extent, and contents, to facilitate the work’s identification, management, and understanding.

A place of deposit for archival records.

An individual responsible for appraising, acquiring, arranging, describing, preserving, and providing access to records of enduring value, according to the principles of provenance, original order, and collective control to protect the materials’ authenticity and context.

The process of organising records with respect to their provenance and original order, to protect their context and to achieve physical or intellectual control over the materials.

Information in records that track a transaction from beginning to end, making it possible to review whether it was done according to relevant policies and standards.

Documentation of all the interactions with records within an electronic system in which any access to the system is recorded as it occurs.

The quality of a record that is what it purports to be and that is free from tampering or corruption.

A reproduction that has been officially certified, especially so that it may be admitted as evidence. See Certified copy.

A record that is what it purports to be and that is free from tampering or corruption.

The process of establishing the preferred form of a heading, such as proper name or subject, for use in a catalogue, and ensuring that all catalogue records use such headings.

A copy of all, or portions, of software or data files on a system kept on storage media, such as tape or disk, or on a separate system so that the files can be restored if the original data is deleted or damaged.

A code made up of the digits 0 and 1, called bits, transmitted as a series of electrical pulses (0 bits at low voltage and 1 bits at higher voltage).

Part of a catalogue record or finding aid that places the materials in context by providing basic information about the materials’ creator or author.

A single numeric character recognisable by a computer. Each bit of a binary number can either be 0 or 1.

An original record created in digital format. A paper record scanned to an electronic system is not born digitally. See Retrospective scanning.

A sequence of bits used to represent a control character, an alphanumeric, or punctuation mark.

A deliberate action which results in the registration of a record into a recordkeeping system. For certain business activities, this action may be designed into electronic systems so that the capture of records is concurrent with the creation of records.

A collection of documents (a file) relating to a particular investigation or in support of some administrative action.

A unit of a Department of State responsible for the creation, control and maintenance of current records and/or semi-current records.

An official copy of a document(s) with an accompanying letter and seal of authentication issued by the National Archives for records required for legal purposes.

An individual appointed under the National Archives Act, 1986, Regulations, 1988 3(1) by the Secretary General, or equivalent, of a Department of State to oversee the implementation of the National Archives Act, 1986 and Regulations, 1988 within their Department of State.

The succession of offices or persons who had custody of a body of documents from its creation to its acquisition by the National Archives.

The date (and, possibly, the time of day) of a record, included in the record by its author, or by the electronic system on the author’s behalf, in the course of its compilation.

A group of documents or an identifiable sub-division of a series, record group or archive having common characteristics or the same archival value. Sometimes this term is used to mean series.

Systematic identification and arrangement of business activities and/or records into categories according to logically structured conventions, methods and procedural rules represented in a classification system to aid business use, continued access and appropriate retention and disposal.

A plan for the systematic identification and arrangement of business activities and records into categories according to logically structured conventions, methods and procedural rules.

A system in which related material is filed under a major subject and its subheadings.

A file containing records generated by a process that has been completed and to which additional information is not likely to be added; a cut-off file.

A file that is restricted and which is not on open access to researchers in the reading room.

An artificial assemblage of documents accumulated on the basis of some common characteristic without regard to the provenance of those documents. Not to be confused with an archival fonds.

The property of having every necessary step concluded.

An officer of the Department of the Taoiseach of at least Principal Officer grade, appointed by the Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach. The Consenting Officer is responsible for approval or refusal of applications by Certifying Officers in Departments of State and public bodies for the withholding of records, in accordance with the National Archives Act, 1986, 8(2), 8(4), Regulations 1988 6, 7.

The repair or stabilisation of archives to ensure that they survive in their original form as long as possible.

The profession devoted to the preservation of cultural property for the future through examination, documentation, treatment, and preventive care, supported by research and education.

The framework in which a record is created, used, and maintained.

Process of changing records from one medium to another or from one format to another.

A duplication, in whole or in part, of an original document. See Plain copy.

A property right that protects the interests of authors or other creators of works in tangible media (or the individual or organisation to whom copyright has been assigned) by giving them the ability to control the reproduction, publication, adaptation, exhibition, or performance of their works.

The dates of the oldest and most recent items in a collection, series, or file.

The Department of State, agency, corporate body or individual that is responsible for the creation, accumulation or maintenance of records.

Records regularly used for the conduct of the current business of an agency, institution, or organisation and which, therefore, continue to be maintained in their place of origin; active records.

The responsibility for the care of documents based on their physical possession. Custody does not always include legal ownership or the right to control access to records.

Facts, ideas, or discrete pieces of information, especially when in the form originally collected and unanalysed.

A structured assembly of logically related data designed to meet various applications but managed independently of them.

A unit of information as defined within an information system, typically corresponding to a field in a database record or printed form.

The fact that data are not modified either intentionally or accidentally without proper authorisation.

The process by which an archive formally removes material from its custody. An archive may deaccession material because the material has been reappraised and found to be unsuitable for its holdings, the legal owner has requested permanent return of the materials, or the institution has agreed to transfer the materials to another repository.

A Departmental record is defined in section 2(2) of the National Archives Act, 1986 and includes books, maps, plans, drawings, papers, files, photographs, films, microfilms and other micrographic records, sound recordings, pictorial records, magnetic tapes, magnetic discs, optical or video discs, other machine-readable records, other documentary or processed material made or received, and held in the course of its business, by a Department of State.

A Department of State is defined in section 1(2) of the National Archives Act, 1986 as all government departments, all court offices, bodies listed in the schedule to the Act and any ‘body which is a committee, commission or tribunal of enquiry appointed from time to time by the Government, a member of the Government or the Attorney General’.

To place of documents in the custody of an archives without transfer of legal title.

See Archival description.

An essential and necessary component of digital archiving ensuring longevity of an electronic object. Digital preservation covers the processes and operations involved in ensuring the technical and intellectual survival of authentic electronic records over time (such as the ongoing monitoring, migration and storage of records and managing the metadata which describes the origin and successive treatment of the record).

A record in electronic form. See Born digital.

The discipline which studies the genesis, forms and transmission of archival documents, and their relationship with the facts represented in them and with their creator, in order to identify, evaluate, and communicate their true nature.

Policies, procedures, and information that direct the appropriate actions to recover from and mitigate the impact of an unexpected interruption of operations, whether natural or man-made.

The transfer of records, especially non-current records, to their final state, either destruction or transfer to the National Archives. Disposal of departmental records without the authorisation of the Director of the National Archives is a breach of section 7 of the National Archives Act, 1986.

The range of processes associated with implementing records retention, destruction or transfer decisions which are documented in disposition authorities or other instruments.

Recorded information regardless of medium or characteristics.

A rough or preliminary form of a document, sometimes retained as evidence.

Transmission of messages, their metadata, and possible attachments over communications networks. Email is a message format and should be filed with the appropriate file, according to the message content.

A record that is stored electronically, regardless of the media or whether it is in the original format in which it was created, as opposed to stored in hard copy (i.e. on paper).

Moving the information to new hardware but with an additional software component which emulates the old hardware, thus allowing execution of the old application software.

Materials, usually printed documents, created for a specific, limited purpose, and generally designed to be discarded after use.

Evidence refers to the records of a business transaction which can be shown to have been created in the normal course of business activity and which are inviolate and complete. They are evidence of how an agency or person conducted their business, including decisions, actions, non-decisions and inactions.

The quality of records that provides information about the origins, functions and activities of their creator.

A universal format for structured documents and data on the Web having the potential to alleviate many of the interoperability problems associated with the sharing of documents and data.

An organised unit of documents grouped together either for current use by the creator or in the process of archival arrangement, because they relate to the same subject, activity, or transaction. A file is usually the basic unit within a record series. A file can be physical or electronic. For example, a personnel file or a grant application containing an application form and supporting documentation.

The organisation of data within digital objects, usually designed to facilitate the storage, retrieval, processing, presentation and/or transmission of the data by software.

Metadata attached to a file that establishes its identity.

A classification scheme describing different types of files maintained in an office, how they are identified, where they should be stored, how they should be indexed for retrieval and a reference to the approved disposition for each file.

A group of conventions, methods, and procedural rules according to which documents are sorted, classified, cross-referenced, stored and retrieved.

A description of records that gives the repository physical and intellectual control over the records and that assists users to gain access to and understand the records.

The entire body of records of an organisation, family, or individual that have been created and accumulated as the result of an organic process reflecting the functions of the creator.

The activities of an organisation or individual performed to accomplish some core mandate or mission. The functions of Departments of State are mandated by statute.

A broad description of the holdings at one or more archives, typically at the collection level.

A method of presenting digital information that allows related files and elements of data to be interlinked, rather than viewed in linear sequence; usually differentiated from the normal text in a document by a different colour, by underlining, or by both.

The process of copying documents by reproducing their appearance through photography, micrographics or scanning.

A record no longer needed to conduct current business but preserved until it meets the end of its retention period.

Recorded data.

The usefulness or significance of records based on their content, independent of any intrinsic or evidential value.

The control established over archival material by documenting in finding aids its provenance, arrangement, composition, scope, informational content and internal and external relationships.

An idea, secret, mark or expression that has property rights created through intellectual and/or discovery efforts of a creator and that are generally protectable under patent, trademark, copyright or other law.

The smallest intellectually indivisible archival unit, e.g. a letter, memorandum, report, photograph, sound recording.

The smallest intellectually indivisible archival unit (e.g., a letter, memorandum, report, or photograph). Items accumulate to form classes or series.

The ability of different systems to use and exchange information through a shared format. Standards facilitate interoperability.

The responsibility for the care of documents based on their physical possession. Custody does not always include legal ownership, or the right to control access to records.

Usefulness of a record in complying with statutes and regulations, as evidence in legal proceedings, as legal proof of business transactions or to protect an individual’s or a Department of State’s rights and interests.

The hierarchical, intellectual, and physical divisions used in archives management, including repository, record group, fonds, collection, subgroups, series, subseries, file, and item.

The position of the unit of description in the hierarchy of the fonds.

A model of records management and archival science that characterises the life span of a record from its creation or receipt to its final disposal.

A finding aid, in manual or electronic format, providing the physical location in the repository of all holdings.

Records in a medium or format that requires a mechanical device to make it intelligible to humans.

A handwritten or typed document. A typed document is more precisely called a typescript; documents of manuscript character usually having historical or literary value or significance.

The physical material, container, and/or carrier in or on which information is recorded (e.g. parchment, paper, magnetic tape).

Data describing context, content and structure of records and their management through time.

A discrete component of metadata.

A framework that specifies and describes a standard set of metadata elements and their interrelationships that need to be recorded to ensure the identification of records and their authenticity. Schemas provide a formal syntax (or structure) and semantics (or definitions) for the metadata elements.

A flexible transparent sheet of film bearing a number of micro images arranged in horizontal rows and vertical columns with a header.

The use of photographic processes to produce very small images of original material on a film base. Preservation microfilming is undertaken to minimise handling and use of fragile records and enhance their preservation and accessibility.

The act of moving records from one system to another, while maintaining their authenticity, integrity, reliability and usability. Migration involves a set of organised tasks designed to periodically transfer digital material from one hardware or software configuration to another, or from one generation of technology to another.

The method of transmission of a record (e.g., by fax).

A finding aid or other access tool that consists of separate, interrelated descriptions of the whole and its parts, reflecting the hierarchy of the materials being described.

Records that are no longer used in the day-to-day course of business, but which are preserved and occasionally used for legal, historical or operational purposes. See Current records, Semi-current records.

The process of losing the capacity to be accessed.

A complete, final and authorised copy of a record, especially the copy bearing an original signature or seal. See Departmental record.

A file to which documents continue to be added.

A file on open access to researchers in the reading room.

The first complete and effective version of a record that is designated as the official record.

A general term used to designate more than one type of manuscript material.

A collection of personal or family documents; personal papers.

The administrative, fiscal, legal, intrinsic, evidential and/or informational values, which justify the indefinite or permanent preservation of records as archives.

Documents created, acquired or received by an individual in the course of his or her affairs and preserved in their original order (if such order exists).

The control established over the physical aspects (such as format, quantity or location) of documents in the physical custody of an archives. Physical control does not necessarily imply legal title.

The overall appearance, configuration, or shape, derived from a document’s characteristics and independent of intellectual content.

A duplicate of an original document used for information purposes only. A plain copy may have no legal standing. See Certified copy.

A high-level overall plan, containing a set of principles, embracing the general goals of the Department of State, and used to base decisions.

A file documenting the development and implementation of a high-level overall plan and set of principles.

Processes and operations that minimise chemical and physical deterioration over time and prevent loss of information. This includes storing, protecting and maintaining records in an optimum manner and may include reformatting if required. See Conservation.

The whole of the external archival and institutional controls expressed as a coherent synthesis of requirements for preservation of (digital) records.

Microfilm made using materials and techniques to ensure continued access to materials that are in poor condition or to protect the originals from repeated handling.

An inference as to the fact of a record’s authenticity that is drawn from known facts about the manner in which that record has been created and maintained.

The worth that records/archives possess, by virtue of their contents, for the continued transaction of the business that gave rise to their creation.

Records or archives of non-governmental provenance deposited in, or purchased by, the National Archives.

The business procedure in the course of which a record is created.

Instructions, exhibits, and/or other methodologies to follow in order to complete tasks in a predictable and orderly way.

In reference to hardware technology, software applications and/or file formats, the state of being privately owned and controlled.

Information regarding the origins, custody, and ownership of record(s).

See Departmental record.

An institution established under the Public Record Office (Ireland) Act, 1867 for the permanent preservation of public records and to facilitate their access to researchers. The Public Record Office of Ireland was amalgamated with the State Paper Office to form the National Archives, under the terms of the National Archives Act, 1986.

See Departmental record.

A defining characteristic of a record or of a record element (e.g., the name of the author).

See Departmental record.

The distinct character of a record, identifiable through the attributes that uniquely characterise it and distinguish it from other records.

Quality of being whole and unaltered from loss, tampering or corruption.

The systematic creation, use, maintenance and disposition of records to meet administrative, programmatic, legal and financial needs and responsibilities.

Coordinated policies and procedures that enable records to be collected, organised and categorised to facilitate their management, including preservation, retrieval, use and disposition.

The records continuum is the whole extent of a record’s existence. It refers to a consistent and coherent regime of management processes from the time of the creation of records (and before creation, in the design of recordkeeping systems), through to their disposal or preservation and use as archives.

See Creator.

The field of management responsible for the efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and disposition of records, including processes for capturing and maintaining evidence of, and information about, business activities and transactions in the form of records.

An individual responsible for the administration of programmes for the efficient and economical handling, protecting and disposing of records throughout their life cycle.

A set of rules governing record-making and recordkeeping, as controlled by the creator’s records management function, and the tools and mechanisms used to implement these rules.

A number or code assigned to uniquely identify a record or fonds.

A copy of a record kept for easy access to the information it contains, as opposed to its intrinsic or evidential value.

A document, usually a volume, in which regular entry is made of data of any kind by statutory authority or because the data are considered of sufficient importance to be exactly and formally recorded.

The process of formally recording information in a register.

A division within an organisation responsible for the recording, control and maintenance of records.

The policies and procedures that govern the recording, control and maintenance of records within an organisation through the use of formal registers, lists and indexes.

From 1189 official documents in England and Wales were dated using the regnal year. Each regnal year begins on the anniversary of the day the sovereign succeeded to the throne (e.g. 1509 was the year Henry VII acceded to the throne of England and may be cited as ‘1 Hen. 8’).

Qualities of a record that demonstrate its trustworthiness over time.

The process of generating a copy.

A Requisitioning Officer is an individual of at least Executive Officer level appointed under the National Archives Act, 1986, Regulations 1988 3(2) to oversee the implementation of the National Archives Act, 1986 8(9) within their Department of State. A Requisitioning Officer must be a named individual appointed by the Secretary General, or equivalent, of their Department of State.

The principle that the records of a person, family or corporate body must be kept together in their original order, if it exists or has been maintained, and not be mixed or combined with the records of another individual or corporate body.

The principle that archives of a single provenance should retain the arrangement, including the reference numbers, established by the creator in order to preserve existing relationships and evidential significance and the usefulness of finding aids of the creator.

A comprehensive document that identifies and describes an organisation’s records, usually at the series level, indicating the length of time each series should be retained and the point at which it should be permanently preserved as archives and transferred to the National Archives or disposed of in accordance with the provisions of section 7 of the National Archives Act, 1986.

The digitisation of records originally in paper format and ingestion into an electronic document management system.

The disposal of original paper records, including those scanned retrospectively, without the authorisation of the Director of the National Archives is a breach of section 7 of the National Archives Act, 1986.

The process of selecting items from a collection to represent the collection as a whole.

A die/matrix, usually of metal, engraved in intaglio with the device or design used to produce a seal by the application of pressure. Dies may be of one-sided design only or in pairs producing dissimilar designs simultaneously in each seal.

A piece of wax, lead, or other material upon which an impression in relief from a seal has been made, attached to a document, or applied to the face thereof, originally serving as a means of authentication; also used to close a document.

The capacity of documents to serve as evidence or sources of information for persons and organisations other than their creator. See Primary value.

The process of identifying materials to be preserved because of their enduring value, especially those materials to be physically transferred to an archives.

A record which is no longer needed for the purpose of carrying out the action for which it was created, but which is needed by the records creator for reference.

See Semi-active record.

Documents arranged in accordance with a filing system or maintained as a unit because they result from the same accumulation or filing process, or the same activity; have a particular form; or because of some other relationship arising out of their creation, receipt or use. A series is also known as a records series.

A name, initials or other distinctive mark made by an individual.

An institution established in 1702 for the permanent preservation of the records of the British administration in Ireland. The State Paper Office was amalgamated with the Public Record Office of Ireland to form the National Archives, under the terms of the National Archives Act, 1986.

Various types of storage materials on which information is recorded, such as paper, magnetic, microform, and optical.

A subdivision of a fonds containing a body of related records corresponding to administrative subdivisions in the originating agency or organisation or to geographical, chronological, functional or similar groupings of the material itself.

A body of documents within a series readily distinguished from the whole by filing arrangement, type, form or content.

Records that are not required to be made but are created to document and explain some action.

The characteristics of the hardware, software and other components of an electronic computing system in which records are created.

The period of time before Departmental records can be transferred to the National Archives and released to the public.

A word or phrase that identifies a unit of description.

Change of custody, ownership and/or responsibility for records (movement) moving records from one location to another.

The transfer of departmental records from Departments of State to the National Archives for release to the public under section 8 of the National Archives Act, 1986.

The whole of the rules that control the creation, maintenance, use and disposition of the records of the creator and provide a circumstantial probability of the authenticity of the records, and the tools and mechanisms used to implement those rules.

The whole of the rules that control the preservation and use of the records of the creator and provide a circumstantial probability of the authenticity of the records, and the tools and mechanisms used to implement those rules.

A traceable and uninterrupted line of care, control and usually possession of a body of records from creation to preservation that can serve as a means of protecting the authenticity of the record.

A document or set of documents in any physical form, treated as an entity, and, as such, forming the basis for a single description, e.g. fonds, record group, archive group, collection, subgroup, series, item.

Data or information that is not organised or categorised into a recognised data model, classification scheme or taxonomy.

Records vital to the continuity of business in cases of emergency or after a disaster.

A collection of pages bound together.

The process of the removal of individual documents or files lacking continuing value from a record series.

The retention of Departmental records by Departments of State as stipulated in section 8 of the National Archives Act, 1986.

A general-purpose specification for creating custom, cross-platform, text-based, mark-up languages used both to encode documents and to serialise data; a subset of General Standardized Mark-up Language (SGML) with use and design similar to Hypertext Mark-up Language (HTML) but employing user-definable mark-up tags that indicate the logical structure in addition to the display specifications of data elements.