Arrangement and Description of Manuscript Collections

This course has been retired.

Certificate Eligibility:

N/A

Credits:

10 ARC, 1.5 CEU

Length:

2 days

Format:

In-Person

Max Attendees:

Tier:

Foundational

ACE Category:

Arrangement and Description

Description:

This workshop focuses on the day-to-day decisions made in arranging and describing manuscript collections, including developing processing work plans, identifying common arrangement schemes for particular types of collections, and physically organizing materials during processing. Essential elements of a finding aid, applying descriptive standards, and the creative construction of container lists are highlighted as well.

Day One: The Patterns of Arrangement
Day Two: The Craft of Description

Learning Outcomes:

Understand the concepts and principles of arrangement

Learn to arrange various types of manuscript collections and formats

Identify the essential elements of a finding aid

Discuss the application of archival descriptive standards

Demonstrate an understanding of best practices

Who Should Attend:

Novices and seasoned archivists who want to learn more about processing manuscript collections effectively and efficiently

Reviews:

"The explanations of the process/theories/application of the subject." — Naomi Taplin

"Aspects on arrangement—I always had problems with a poorly arranged collection and how to fit it." — Monica Blank

"Excellent review, with new knowledge acquired. I found the entire workshop interesting and useful. If I had to choose most useful aspects, some would be the review of archival principles and practices, experiences of instructors and participants, and ideas for way to better handle real-life issues." — Valerie Anne Lutz

"The instructor's experience and knowledge and willingness to address questions was excellent. The handouts and PowerPoint were very valuable as they provided good structure for discussing and instruction. Bibliographic lists were good too. Excellent refresher and very current." — Brian A Hoduski

"Everything! I especially liked the sample worksheets and electronic tools that the speakers were using at their own institutions. Very helpful!" — Rona Razon

"I liked that the nitty gritty details of processing that were covered. This is the sort of class I wish I had in library school."

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