The University Archives is a closed stack, non-circulating collection. Materials are accessed through a variety of finding aids. Use the record group links at the left to see finding aids for those university division records.
What is a finding aid?
Archival description is the process of establishing intellectual control over records and personal papers through the preparation of finding aids. Finding aids - whether published, unpublished, or in automated form - provide information on the content and nature of records and personal papers that is necessary to permit staff to identify and control the materials and to assist researchers to use them. [Daniels, Margaret F. & Timothy Walch. A Modern Archives Reader: Basic Readings on Archival Theory and Practice, page 201.]
At East Carolina University Archives most finding aids are made up of administrative histories; series and sub-series descriptions; and box and folders lists, see example 1. Only occassionally are individual items described. When the nature of the records described are repetetive there will be much less description, see example 2.
Example 1 - Box and folder list of personnel files, list indicates box, folder, dates of materials within the folder and subject of the folder. A box and folder list for a correspondence file would give more information regarding the topics of correspondence within the folder.
| Box No. | Folder No. | Folder Dates | Contents |
|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1935-1937 | Maude Adams, Business |
| 1 | 2 | 1909-1929 | Herbert E. Austin, Geography & Agriculture |
Example 2 - listing of Tecoan yearbooks. Since the sub-series is comprised of yearbooks which require little description except to indicate the dates of yearbooks in the collection and where they are located.
Sub-series 1: Tecoan
Dates: 1923-1952
Description: Yearbooks created from 1923-1952. The title is an abbreviation for Teachers College Annual. Two sets are available in the University Archives and a set is also found in the North Carolina Collection.
A body of organizationally related records established on the basis of provenance with particular regard for the complexity and volume of the records and the administrative history of the record-creating institution or organization. [Daniels & Walch, p. 342] In the University Archives this means that the entire organization of the university has been taken into consideration and broken down into it's component parts. Record group numbers are an alpha numeric code which roughly correspond to individual offices or departments on campus and are assigned by the archivist.
AA - Academic Affairs Division offices
BA - Adminsitration & Finance Division offices
CH - Chancellor's Office Division offices
FA - Faculty Senate Office
FS - Faculty Staff Personal Papers
GS - Research, Economic Development & Community Engagement Division offices
HS - Health Sciences Division offices
IA - University Advancement Division offices
OH - Oral History Collection
PO - Professional Organizations
SL - University Life Division offices
UHS - University Health Systems offices
UR - University Related Records
UW - University Wide Records
The letters indicate the division within which the department or office resides. There is also a mechanism in place to track the changes in the organization over time. When an office or department is moved from one division to another there should be an indication in the finding aid directing researchers to any previous record group number and title as well as subsequent record group numbers and titles. When an office or department is given a new name, but remains within it's division, only the title will change. All records will continue to be grouped together under the record group number. Use the record group links at the left to see finding aids for those university division records.
An administrative history is a biography of an office or department. Research is conducted to determine when an office or department was created, why it was created, what it's function was, how that function has changed over time, what title changes have occurred, what organizational moves the office or department has made, a list of chairs or department heads and other information that is relevant to understanding the kinds of records created by the office or department. Administrative histories can also be used to describe artificial collections such as the Memorabilia Collection or the Photograph Collection which have been created to deal with specific types of non-document records.
Administrative histories are constantly evolving as the university grows and expands.
A true series is composed of similar filing units arranged in a consistent pattern within which each of the filing units has its proper place. The series has a beginning and it has an end, and everything between has a certain relationship. The pattern may be a simple one -- alphabetical, numerical, or chronological -- or a complex one, as for example, annual reports arranged first by years, then by States, and they by counties within States. [Daniels & Walch, page 170.] In the ECU Archives series are determined by the records retention and disposition schedules. These are lists of records created and maintained by each office or department on campus. The schedule indicates the title and content of each type of record, how long it should be kept in the office and the final disposition. Only a fraction of the records created on campus are considered to have historical value. These come into the University Archives for permanent retention and use of researchers.
Within a finding aid series descriptions will provide additional and specific information regarding the creation and use of the records within the series.
University departmental records are processed and arranged in 17 basic series where applicable:
Series 1 - Accreditation File
Series 2 - Administrative File
Series 3 - Committees & Councils File
Series 4 - Conferences & Workshops Conducted File
Series 5 - Correspondence File
Series 6 - Department Head's File
Series 7 - Departmental History File
Series 8 - Faculty Meetings File
Series 9 - Grants File
Series 10 - Professional Organizations & Associations File
Series 11 - Publications File
Series 12 - Research Projects File
Series 13 - Self-Studies File
Series 14 - Staff Meetings File
Series 15 - Unit Annual Progress Reports File
Series 16 - Departmental Programs File
Series 17 - Publicity / Photograph File
Some units may produce different records or additional records. When those are deemed archival they will be processed and included in the finding aids.
Smaller filing units that make up a larger series. Sub-series can be a single document, but are much more often larger sub-units that are distinguished by title, function, transaction, person, case, or subject. In the finding aids sub-series descriptions will provide additional information regarding the creation and use of the records within the sub-series. Making these distinctions can help a researcher in getting to the documents that they are most interested in.
(1) The archival principle that records created or received by one recordskeeping unit should not be intermixed with those of any other. (2) Information on the chain of ownership and custody of particular records. [Daniels & Walch, page 342.] In the University Archives every attempt is made to determine the original order, chain of creation and custody; maintain that order during processing; and provide that information in the finding aids.
The activities intended to facilitate the use of personal papers and manuscript collections generally comparable to arrangement, description, and preservation of archival material. (To which the author would add the activity of screening or reviewing the material to insure that there are no legal or donor-imposed bars to opening it.) [Daniels & Walch, page 309.] In the ECU Archives this "process" begins with records management, the identification of records created in each office or department and the determination of the length of time that they will be maintained.
It continues when records are transferred to the University Archives for "appraisal and final disposition." This means that the archivist will review the records in each box to determine how much of a particular records series is worthy of the costs of time and supplies to process and house permanently. This appraisal and review will also determine the level at which the records will be described.
In a records series such as the Conferences & Workshops Conducted File, records will be "weeded" as a first step in processing. Duplicate records will be culled and items such as reservations, individual evaluations, and correspondence related to room reservations will be destroyed. Brochures advertising the workshop, compiled evaluation reports, lecture notes or transcripts and handouts would be preserved for researchers.
Records are then transferred to acid free folders and boxes, damaged items are sent to conservation for repair, oversize items are moved to larger boxes or flat files, and photographs are moved to the Photograph Collection. Finding aids are written describing the series to the level determined during the appraisal and review process. Preparing records for use by researchers can be a very time consuming process.
