The Rooms Provincial Archives

GLOSSARY

ACCESS
The legal right of citizens to use archival records in publically-supported archives. However, some archival records may be restricted.   See also:  Restrictions on access

ACCESS POINT(S)
Access points direct users to individuals, families and corporate bodies that created records. Access points are recorded according to international standards. Access points do not include subject headings. Access points may be browsed online  See also: Author access point(s); provenance access point(s); and non-subject access point(s)

ACCESSION
An item, fonds or collection acquired at one time from a single source. A fonds or collection may be acquired in several accessions from an individual, or from different individuals.

ACCOMPANYING MATERIALS NOTE
Complementary records which frequently accompany specialized media. Example: textual script for audiovisual presentation

ACCRUAL(S) NOTE
An acquisition of archival materials which belongs to a collection/fonds already in the custody of the repository. The note indicates whether PANL expects additional records in the near future.

ACQUISITION
An addition to the holdings of an archives by transfer under an established and legally based procedure, by purchase or gift.  See also:  Immediate source of acquisition

ADMINISTRATIVE /  BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
The administrative history of a corporate body details its activities, including date of establishment, mandate, functions, administrative structure, predecessor and successor bodies, and changes in corporate name.

The biographical history of an individual includes genealogical information, education, professional activities, accomplishments and honours.

ALBUM(S)
Unpublished sets of pages, bound or loose-leaf, with affixed images, writing, and other material. This term is used in PANL database for presentation album* (album designed to be presented to a person or an organization), autograph albums*, stamp albums*, etc. See also: Photograph album; Scrapbook

ARCHITECTURAL DRAWING(S)
Drawings of architecture and drawings for architectural projects. This includes proposed projects and completed projects

ARRANGEMENT
The organization of archival materials according to accepted archival principles. Physical arrangement includes numbering, foldering, labelling and shelving.

The intellectual arrangement involves the organization of a fonds and collection which reflects the use of the records by an individual, family, or corporate body. Usually a fonds/collection is arranged hierarchically: Series; sub-series; files; items. See the Whiteway example

ARRANGEMENT NOTE
Details any rearrangement by archivist, or any alterations in record-keeping practices by creator.

ARTIFACT(S)
Term used in the PANL database for items of material culture, such as badges, insignia, pennants, ribbons, pins medals, plaques, etc.

ASSOCIATED MATERIAL NOTE
Records created by the same creator available at another public institution

AUTHOR ACCESS POINT(S)
Author access points indicate individuals, families or corporate entities that created records within fonds/collections. An author may be a photographer, an architectural designer or an artist, as well as a writer. Author access points are included in the browse index.

See: In the Whiteway example, Lady Catherine Whiteway is indicated as an author because she used the guest book, while William Vallance Whiteway is the provenance access point

AVAILABILITY OF OTHER FORMAT(S) NOTE
Indicates if records are available in other formats, including transcripts, photocopies, digital image, cassette, VHS, etc.

BILL-OF-LADING
Acknowledgement of shipped goods. Usually 3 copies, "original" (for purchaser), "shipping order" (for carrier), "memorandum" (shipper)

BIOGRAPHICAL / ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY
See:  Administrative / Biographical History

BLUEPRINT(S)
Reproductive prints of architectural and other technical drawings, having white images on blue backgrounds. "Blueline prints" are blue images on white backgrounds, "Cyanotypes" are blue-toned photographs produced by the blueprint process

CASH BOOK(S)
Records commercial transactions involving cash, including money, drafts, money orders, and checks. The standard cash book included date, memoranda, debit value and credit value

CERTIFICATE(S)
Documents containing certified statements, pertaining to ownership, membership, fulfilled requirements, or legal status.

CHART(S)
Graphic representation of statistical data or hierarchical structures. Used at PANL for graphs, organizational charts

COLLECTION
Records collected from various sources to document a certain subject (ex. shipwrecks), genre (ex. women’s diaries), place (ex. Ferryland). Collections are usually described in the same way as fonds, and the name of the collector is frequently used in the title.

CONSERVATION
Treatments (physical repair or chemical treatment) to improve the condition of damaged archival records, or to prevent further deterioration. Conservation treatment should be recommended by a conservator, a professional trained in the field.

COPY
Duplication, whole or in part, of an original document

COPYRIGHT NOTE
The regulations defining the legal rights of the author of a document and his/her heirs or assignee to publish or reproduce the document or to authorize publication or reproduction of it.  See also:  Fair dealing

CORPORATE BODY
Organization or association that is identified by a particular name and that acts as an entity, and creates records. A corporate body may also be a project, a conference, or a vessel

CORRESPONDENCE
Written communication, consisting of letters, postcards, memoranda, notes, telegrams and cables

CREATOR
The person or family or corporate body which creates or receives, and uses records. The creator is also the provenance. See also: Provenance

CUSTODIAL HISTORY
History of the location and/or ownership of the records before acquired by PANL. It includes custodians who have had physical possession and/or legal ownership of records

DAGUERREOTYPE(S)
Early photographic process which used iodine-sensitized silver plate and mercury vapour

DATES OF CREATION
The dates of the archival records indicating earliest and latest dates. These are called inclusive dates. Note the following ways in which dates of creation are also entered

Aberrant dates:
A fonds may include items for a single year; the remainder of the fonds covers a consistent time period. Example: 1934, 1945-1949

DATES OF CREATION NOTE
Provides any clarification concerning dates of creation, indicating significant gaps, conflicting dates, etc.

DAY BOOK(S)
Book which recorded daily purchases on credit, noting date, customer’s name, nature of transaction, and monetary value

DESCRIPTION
The recording of information in a standardized form about the structure, function and content of archival materials. In Canada the CCA has endorsed Rules for Archival Description (RAD).

DOCUMENT(S)
Recorded information regardless of medium or characteristics. Documents may be textual, photographic, cartographic, audiovisual or electronic.

DONOR
A person, family or corporate body that has given materials to an archives.. See also:  Immediate source of acquisition

ELECTRONIC RECORDS
Records on electronic media, such as computer disks, CD-ROMs, etc.

EPHEMERA
Items created for specific and limited use. A very useful term for miscellanea. Used for business & advertising cards, tickets, menus, display cards, forms, invitations, bookmarks, ballots, etc.

FAIR DEALING
Concept in copyright law which provides exceptions to exclusive rights of copyright owners. These exceptions are limited use for research or educational purposes.  See also:  Copyright note

FILE
A level of description, usually linked to a series. Includes materials are related to the same subject, activity, time frame or transaction.

FINDING AIDS
A finding aid provides a context for the records, explains their arrangement and facilitates their retrieval. It may be published or unpublished, printed or online.

Note the PANL finding aid number to facilitate retrieval

FOLDER
A folded sheet of cardboard or heavy paper serving as a cover for a set of related documents. A case file may be arranged in several file folders.

FONDS
The term "fonds" has been borrowed from French archival practice for records created, described and used by an individual, family, or corporate body. The fonds is the highest level of description in a multilevel description.. A fonds may contain one or more accessions; similarly, an accession may contain more than one fonds.

FORMAL TITLE
The title on an item, similar to a title on a book. This is recorded in the RAD description.

GENERAL NOTE
Includes any information relevant to the fonds / collection which has not been included in other descriptive fields. Example: Notes related artifacts at the Provincial Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador

GUIDE TO HOLDINGS
A finding aid arranged by fonds, which describes the archival materials in an archives. A RAD-compliant Guide is in accordance with Canadian Council of Archives rules for description. A guide to holdings may also focus on a specific topic: Example: A guide to the military records at PANL

INSTITUTIONAL NUMBER
Please note the institutional number, as it is necessary for retrieval. GN designates government records; MG indicates manuscripts; MF indicates a small fonds (smaller than 2 cm.).  SL identifies records held by the Sports Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador

IMMEDIATE SOURCE OF ACQUISITION NOTE
The individual, family or corporate body who donates or sells records to the archives. The note details the date of the donation/purchase and the relationship of the donor /seller to the records

INTELLECTUAL CONTROL
Documentation which enhances access to archival materials by describing the context of the archival materials, their arrangement and their informational content.

LANGUAGE OF MATERIALS NOTE
Details languages in the archival records, and notes if translations are available

LANTERN SLIDE
Transparent positive image made or mounted on glass for projection, usually photographic, sometimes hand-tinted. Frequently termed magic lantern slides.

LOCATION OF ORIGINALS NOTE
In the case of reproduced archival records, the note indicates the location of the originals

LETTER BOOK(S)
Book with copies of letters sent. Initially hand-written; later, included blotter copies, and carbon copies

MEDIUM
The physical material on which information is recorded.  Example:  paper, film, magnetic tape.

NON-SUBJECT ACCESS POINT(S)
Indicates offices held by individual(s); custodians; and titles. Used infrequently

ORDER BOOK(S)
Recorded orders for goods to be delivered. Noted type & quantity of goods, name & address of purchaser, price

ORIGINAL
Usually defined as the first copy of a document from which other instruments may be transcribed, copied, or imitated.

ORIGINAL ORDER
The principle that an archivist retains the arrangement within a fonds as established by its creator.

PARCHMENT
Thin material made from calf, sheep or goat skin. Term is used at PANL for parchment roll parchment, sheet, vellum etc.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Indicates the physical extent and the type of records. Example: 22 photographs

Textual records are measured by the shelf space occupied by the archival storage boxes. A standard box is 18 cm. In the Whiteway example, his textual records fill 2 boxes.

PHOTOGRAPH ALBUM
Albums made up of photographs, with or without identification.  Also used for postcard album*

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION NOTE
Clarifying information, usually indicating dimensions of items, processes, colour, etc.  Example: The photographs are 38 x 30 cm or smaller.  Some are hand-tinted

PRINT(S)
Pictorial work produced by transferring images by means of a plate, block or screen, using a variety of printing methods. Used at PANL for engraving*, lithograph*, etc..

PROCESSING
The accessioning, arrangement, description and proper storage of archival materials. During processing, preservation concerns are identified.

PROVENANCE
The individual, family or corporate body that created, accumulated and/or maintained and used records prior to their transfer to an archives. Provenance is the creator

PROVENANCE ACCESS POINTS
The provenance access point allows users to search for creators of fonds. The provenance access point is recorded in a standard fashion. A see reference directs clients from various forms (non-preferred or variant names) to the standard name..

RAD
Rules for Archival Description endorsed by the Canadian Council of Archives. These are standard rules for Canadian archives

RECORD
A document created to convey information and preserved by an individual, family or corporate body. A record may be a letter, memorandum, plan, map, photograph, videotape or any other documentary material, regardless of form.

RELATED RECORDS IN DIFFERENT FONDS / SERIES NOTE
Suggests other fonds at PANL generated by the same creator. Also interlinks series which have a direct relationship. Example: For William Vallance Whiteway, the Office of the Prime Minister is a related fonds

RESPECT DES FONDS
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.

RESTRICTIONS NOTES
A limitation on the use of archival materials or of single items. Restrictions may be imposed by law (example: privacy legislation), by PANL based on preservation concerns (example: fragile materials), or by the donor (example: access closed during life of creator). Restrictions may also limit reproduction.  See also: Copyright note

RETRIEVAL
Locating and withdrawing archival materials from storage.

SCOPE AND CONTENT
Provides an overview of types of records, their content, arrangement, and relevant dates

SCRAPBOOK(S)
Albums containing a variety of items, especially when those items serve as memorabilia

SOURCE OF SUPPLIED TITLE
The title of a fonds / collection is usually assigned by the PANL archivist, consisting of the creator’s name. An individual’s name is entered in full, without occupational or honourary titles. The name of a family is entered, with chief place of residence. The name of a corporate body is usually the last name for which PANL holds records.

TECHNICAL DRAWING(S)
Drawings intended for construction, mechanical or mapping purposes. Follows precise conventions of scale and projection

TEXTUAL RECORD(S)
Written records. Can be handwritten, typed, or printed. Non-textual records include photographic, cartographic, architectural & technical drawings, electronic records

TINTYPE(S)
Photographic process which produces a direct positive image on a thin sheet of lacquered metal, usually iron (never tin).

TITLE
At the fonds or collection level, the title is the full name of the creator, followed by the term fonds or collection.

At the series level, the title will indicate the creator of the series, if different from the creator of the fonds, Otherwise, the title reflects the function or activities, or the particular form. Example: Briefs, reports and submissions

VARIATIONS IN TITLE
Indicates any previous title used at PANL Also notes any abbreviated or common name for fonds. Example: Commonly called the Hughes Commission

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