Kathleen Roe's guide to arranging and describing archival materials provides both practical advice and critical context, creating an important resource for archivists in all walks of their professional lives.

The arrangement and description of archival materials has so changed since Fredric M. Miller's 1990 edition of ARRANGING AND DESCRIBING ARCHIVES AND MANUSCRIPTS that it may nearly seem a new practice. Kathleen Roe's thorough and readable revision, however, shows that this critical function of archival work is truly one based on core principles that still hold today.

Roe has intermingled the theory and context in which collections are arranged and described with clear and practical instructions on the process, resulting in a work that is richer than an instruction manual, yet equally valuable. The chapter on "The Context of Arrangement and Description" provides a clear discussion of the origins of the practice in Europe and the United States, and moves into an historical overview of developing standards that archivists of all levels will appreciate for its clarity. The lengthy chapter on "The Practice of Arrangement and Description" is complemented by appendices that offer sample scenarios, arrangement patterns, and finding aids. Together, these provide a sturdy foundation for students or novice archivists seeking to hone their processing skills. Just as the importance of arrangement and description to the archivist cannot be overstated, neither can the significance of this text in describing that process. Roe's work will introduce new archivists to the practice as well as refresh the sensibilities of seasoned professionals for years to come.

"Kathleen Roe has produced the definitive basic manual for the archival profession. There is nothing so fundamental to what we do as archivists as arranging and describing our holdings; everything else follows from that."
--STEVEN L. HENSEN, Director, Planning and Project Development, Special Collections Library, Duke University, and author of ARCHIVES, PERSONAL PAPERS, AND MANUSCRIPTS

"Kathleen Roe's book is essential background for understanding and applying the rules in Describing Archives: A Content Standard."
--KRIS KIESLING, Elmer L. Andersen Director of Archives and Special Collections, University of Minnesota Libraries

Table of Contents

Preface to the Archival Fundamentals Series II
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 Overview
The Nature of Archives and Manuscripts
Archival Repositories and Their Clientele
The Function of Arrangement and Description
The Relationship of Arrangement and Description to Other Archival Functions

2 Core Concepts and Principles of Arrangement and
Description
Defining Basic Terms
Core Principles Guiding the Practice of Arrangement and Description
What “Entity” Should Be Described?
The Relationship of Archival Descriptive Practice to Libraries and Museums
When Are Archival Arrangement and Description Practices Appropriate?
The Relationship of the Arrangement and Description Function to the Institutional Context and Users

3 The Context of Arrangement and Description
Development of Archival Practice
The Movement Toward Standardizing Archival Arrangement and Description

4 The Practice of Arrangement and Description
Overview
Accessioning Archival Records
Establishing the Context in which Records Were Created
Arrangement of Archival Records
Physically Processing the Records
Description of Records
Developing Access Tools
Professional Standards for Archival Arrangement and Description

Conclusion, Future Directions, and Issues
Glossary
Bibliography

Appendices
A: Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Statement of Principles
B: Arrangement Scenarios
C: Examples of Arrangement Patterns
D: Finding Aids for Sample Records
E: Examples of Bibliographic Description

Index