Original Order and Provenance in Archival Arrangement

Archival arrangement organizes and structures archival materials to ensure efficient management, access, and preservation.

It involves grouping records into coherent units based on factors like provenance, function, or subject matter and arranging these groups logically. This hierarchical approach, which can include series, subseries, and files, reflects the original context of the records and facilitates their retrieval.

Where Access and Historical Context Meet

By grouping records according to their origin or creator, archival arrangement maintains the materials’ integrity and context. Consistent organization schemes, such as chronological, alphabetical, or thematic sorting, are applied to physical and digital records. Finding aids, like inventories or catalogs, are created to describe the arrangement and content of the archives, helping researchers locate and access specific materials. Archival arrangement aims to make archival materials accessible while preserving their historical context.

Two Guiding Principles for Archival Arrangement

Two principles guide arrangement: original order and provenance. Understanding and applying these principles allows archivists to maintain the integrity of collections and provide researchers with valuable insights into the materials.

Applying the principles of original order and provenance requires careful judgment and a deep understanding of the materials being processed. Archivists must consider the unique characteristics of each collection, including the nature of the records, the circumstances under which they were created, and the needs of potential researchers. This process often involves making nuanced decisions about prioritizing and balancing these principles, especially when dealing with collections that have been disrupted or partially rearranged before they reached the archives.

Additionally, archivists must remain mindful of the broader context in which these records will be accessed and interpreted, recognizing that their decisions in arranging and describing archival collections impact how history is understood and represented. By navigating the challenges of original order and provenance, archivists play a crucial role in preserving the authenticity and usability of archival materials.

First Principle: Original Order

The principle of original order refers to the arrangement of records in the sequence established by the creator of the records. This principle assumes that the original order of materials provides important context about how the records were used and how the creator conducted their work. By preserving this order, archivists retain the relationships between records that may be lost if materials are rearranged.

For instance, if a personal archives includes correspondence, diaries, and financial records, maintaining the original order may reveal patterns in the creator’s life that would not be evident if archivists reorganized the materials. Researchers can gain insights into the creator’s priorities, workflows, and connections, which might be obscured if the records were rearranged.

Second Principle: Provenance

The principle of provenance, or respect des fonds, dictates that records from different origins should not be mixed. Each set of records should be kept as a distinct entity, reflecting its origin and the context in which it was created. This principle is crucial for maintaining the authenticity and reliability of archival materials.

When materials from different sources are combined, the unique context provided by the provenance can be lost, making it difficult for researchers to understand the origin and significance of individual records. For example, mixing the personal papers of two different individuals, even if they were contemporaries or worked in the same field, would obscure the unique perspectives and experiences each set of papers represents.

Balancing the Principles

While original order and provenance are fundamental to archival arrangement, they sometimes can be at odds. For example, suppose a collection’s original order is unclear or has been disrupted. In that case, archivists may need to decide how best to arrange the materials to respect both the original context and the principle of provenance.

In some cases, archivists may decide to re-establish an original order that has been lost over time, using available evidence to reconstruct the likely sequence in which records were originally arranged. In other cases, where the original order cannot be determined, archivists may arrange records by provenance, ensuring that each creator’s materials are kept together and not intermingled with those of others.

Honoring History, Providing Insights

The goal of the archival arrangement is to facilitate access and understanding while preserving the context and integrity of the records. By adhering to the original order and provenance principles, archivists can create arrangements that honor the materials’ history and provide researchers with valuable insights.