Introduction

Arrangement, description and preservation – the core activities involved in records processing – are aimed at safeguarding the context and authenticity of records as well as the physical and, increasingly, digital materials themselves in order to ensure their long-term availability and access. The archival function of processing is a key aspect of archives management: in preserving and providing access to records in a timely and effective manner, holding institutions discharge the responsibility that they undertake in selecting or acquiring the records in the first place. Often carried out at an earlier stage in the recordkeeping process, the records management function of classification is a key means of organizing and providing access to records during their active use. While this chapter will focus on archival processes, it is important to think holistically about archives management and recordkeeping in order to situate the function of processing in relation to both, and to understand the theory and practice of arrangement and description within the broader landscape of making and keeping archives/records. Processing is also closely tied to the other functions of archives management (appraisal, selection/acquisition, accessioning, reference/use, digitization), in that the decisions and actions taken in those other spheres impact upon and inform the function of processing, and vice versa. Processing, particularly arrangement and description, is also informed by the recordkeeping systems and behaviours of the organizations and/or individuals responsible for creating and maintaining the records, and thus there is a connection between the work of the recordkeeper and that of the archivist.

As with other archival functions, processing involves a continual mix of practical, conceptual and theoretical concerns. At any given time there are various forces (some of which may seem at cross-purposes) shaping what is or is not required, feasible and/or desirable in terms of processing. Such forces include: the needs of the records as both physical and intellectual objects; the needs of users; the demands of archival theory (the set of ideas about the nature of records); the practical limitations of archival methodology (the set of ideas about how to treat records based on their nature); and the even more practical limitations of available resources, systems and tools.