[NHCOLL-L:4893] Archaeological Collections: associated documentation methodology question

[Clevenger, Liz]

Hello fellow Listers -

This query is for those who curate or otherwise manage archaeological collections that include associated documentation, and in particular, for those who have cataloged or otherwise developed formal metadata for associated documentation. We are beginning to digitize our hard copy documents and create catalog records to facilitate access to them. Various sources suggest treating associated documentation as archival collections, which would mean (1) not reorganizing the documents in any fashion unless you have archival training (and none of us do) and (2) developing a metadata structure that employs a fairly extensive hierarchy (series--subseries--sub-subseries--file unit etc) for organizing the documents.

I am curious to hear if this archival approach to organization is taken by others who curate associated documentation, particularly in archaeological repositories, or whether the real life situation varies. In my experience, associated documents (especially from older projects) are often not in any particularly sensible order and could benefit greatly from gentle reorganization. And, in my assumption, an extensive hierarchy for describing project documents is potentially overkill.

I welcome any advice or experiences people are willing to share. Please feel free to contact me off-list at lclevenger at presidiotrust.gov<mailto:lclevenger at presidiotrust.gov>.

Thanks in advance -

aloha
~Liz


Liz N. Clevenger, MA, RPA
Curator of Archaeology
(415) 561-5086
lclevenger at presidiotrust.gov<mailto:lclevenger at presidiotrust.gov>



Presidio Archaeology Lab  |  www.presidio.gov/history/archaeology<http://www.presidio.gov/history/archaeology>  |  (415) 561-ARCH  info  |  (415) 561-5089 fax
The Presidio Trust  |  P.O. Box 29052, San Francisco, CA 94129

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