Levels of description reflect levels of arrangement. At the Beinecke, the commonly used levels of description include: collection, series, subseries, file, and item. (The subgroup level is used rarely.) Descriptive work proceeds from the general to the specific: that is, from the collection level down to the item level. Information provided at an upper level is not generally repeated at a lower level. For example, information provided at the collection level should not be provided again at the series level, and so on. At each level, provide only information relevant to that level. For example, at the series level do not provide details about subseries or files. Archivists are not necessarily required to describe down to the file and item level, and archivists are expected to use common sense in selecting appropriate levels of description for each collection.
Required and optional elements for each level of description are outlined below:
Collection
|
Required Elements |
Optional Elements |
|
Creator |
Custodial History |
|
Unit Title |
Processing Notes |
|
Inclusive Unit Dates |
Alternative Formats |
|
Call Number/Unit ID |
Associated Materials |
|
Physical Description |
Bulk Unit Dates |
|
Languages |
Note |
|
Summary |
Other Finding Aids |
|
Repository |
|
|
Acquisition Information |
|
|
Information About Access |
|
|
Ownership & Copyright |
|
|
Cite As |
|
|
Biography/History |
|
|
Description of the Papers/Records/Collection |
|
|
Arrangement |
Accession
EAD Analog: <c01 level=”otherlevel” otherlevel=”accession”>
|
Required Elements |
Optional Elements |
|
Call Number/Unit ID |
Languages |
|
Unit Title |
Associated Materials |
|
Inclusive Unit Dates |
Acquisition Information |
|
Physical Description |
Custodial History |
|
Arrangement |
Container |
|
Description of the Papers/Records/Collection |
Note |
|
Processing Notes |
Information About Access |
|
Physical Location |
Series
EAD Analog: <c01 level=”series”>
|
Required Elements |
Optional Elements |
|
Call Number/Unit ID |
Languages |
|
Unit Title |
Processing Notes |
|
Inclusive Unit Dates |
Associated Materials |
|
Physical Description |
Acquisition Information |
|
Arrangement |
Custodial History |
|
Description of the Papers/Records/Collection |
Container |
|
Note |
|
|
Information About Access |
|
|
Physical Location |
Subseries
EAD Analogs: <c02 level=”subseries”>, <c03 level=”subseries”>, <c04 level=”subseries”>
|
Required Elements |
Optional Elements |
|
Unit Title |
Description of the Papers/Records/Collection |
|
Inclusive Unit Dates |
Scope and Content |
|
Arrangement |
Languages |
|
Processing Notes |
|
|
Associated Materials |
|
|
Acquisition Information |
|
|
Custodial History |
|
|
Container |
|
|
Note |
|
|
Information About Access |
File
The level attribute is optional for file components. This documentation does not distinguish between the file and item levels of description.
|
Required Elements |
Optional Elements |
|
Unit Title or Date |
Inclusive Unit Dates |
|
Container |
|
|
Description of the Papers/Records/Collection |
|
|
Languages |
|
|
Processing Notes |
|
|
Associated Materials |
|
|
Provenance-Acquisition Information |
|
|
Provenance-Custodial History |
|
|
Physical Location |
|
|
Note |
|
|
Information About Access |