3.3 Collection-Level Information (Archival Description)
3.3 SECTIONS: «HomeBasic Description (The High-Level <did>)Controlled Vocabulary TermsAdministrative InformationBiographical Sketches and Agency HistoriesScope and Content NoteArrangementDescription of Subordinate ComponentsAdjunct Descriptive DataOther Descriptive Data
Tag:
<archdesc>
Description:
This wrapper element holds together the text of the finding aid, encompassing everything that is not included in the header or front matter. A required LEVEL attribute identifies the highest level of description represented by the finding aid; other attributes may be set as well.
See Also:
Section 3.3.1.6, Language of the Material Go to Section
Section 3.3.1.11, Digital Archival Object Group Go to Section
Section 3.3.9, Other Descriptive Data Go to Section
Other Attributes:
- level="collection" (entire collection described in finding aid) Required by DTD
- type="register" (for standard archival register) Recommended
- relatedencoding="MARC21" Recommended
See Tag Library for full list of attributes and their values.
Subelements:
The most significant subelements are listed below in recommended order:
- <did> Required by DTD See 3.3.1, Basic Description (The High-Level <did>)
- <controlaccess> Recommended See 3.3.2, Controlled Vocabulary Terms
- <descgrp type="admininfo"> Required See 3.3.3, Administrative Information
- <bioghist> Recommended See 3.3.4, Biographical Sketches and Agency Histories
- <scopecontent> Required See 3.3.5, Scope and Content Note
- <arrangement> Recommended See 3.3.6, Arrangement
- <dsc> Required See 3.3.7, Description of Subordinate Components
- <descgrp type="add"> See 3.3.8, Adjunct Descriptive Data
See Tag Library for full list of valid subelements.
Tagging Example 1:
All major subelements include <head> tags
<did>
<head>Collection Summary</head>
</did>
<controlaccess>
<head>Selected Search Terms</head>
</controlaccess>
<descgrp type="admininfo">
<head>Administrative Information</head>
</descgrp>
<bioghist>
<head>Biographical Note</head>
</bioghist>
<scopecontent>
<head>Scope and Content Note</head>
</scopecontent>
<arrangement>
<head>Organization and Arrangement of Papers</head>
</arrangement>
<dsc type="combined">
<head>Container List</head>
</dsc>
<descgrp type="add">
<head>Appendix</head>
</descgrp>
<archdesc>
Display of Tagging Example 1:
Table of Contents generated from headings of major <archdesc> subelements
Collection Summary
Selected Search Terms
Administrative Information
Biographical Note
Scope and Content Note
Organization and Arrangement of Papers
Container List
Appendix
Comments:
Attributes:
- The LEVEL attribute, required by the DTD, is set to level="collection" when the entire collection is described in the finding aid. If only one series of the collection is described in the finding aid, use level="series." See Tag Library for full list of values.
- Set the attribute type="register" for a standard archival register as created at LC. See Tag Library for full list of values.
- Set the related encoding attribute to relatedencoding="MARC21" for LC finding aids.
Recommended Order:
- Exceptions will occur in the recommended order, as listed above. For instance, most elements formerly subordinate to <add>, such as indexes and bibliographies, are most commonly found at the end of a finding aid. Other elements, like <relatedmaterial> and <separatedmaterial>, may be more logically found at the front part of the finding aid; these elements can be used where most appropriate. While EAD 2002 accommodates a flexible order of elements by unbundling the <add> and <admininfo> subelements, more demand is put on output specifications to handle greater variations in element configurations.
Subelements:
- A number of elements are available at the <archdesc> level but are also commonly appropriate at the component level. These include <note>, <odd>, and <arrangement>.
- The <daogrp> element can also be used at the <archdesc> level. This might be an image concordance for all <dao> elements in the finding aid. An image sampler would be encoded at the Collection Summary level, and component-level archival objects would be encoded at the appropriate level. See Sections 3.3.1.11, Digital Archival Object Group, and 3.3.7.4, Expanded Description of Components for treatment of <daogrp> in these cases.
Repeatable: no
Order: follows <eadheader> and optional <frontmatter>
Revision Date: 05/01/08
