This column will present basic principles,
Archives and manuscripts
The nature of archives
and manuscripts
Randall C. Jimerson
The author
Randall C. Jimerson is Associate Professor of History and
Director of the Graduate Program in Archives and Records
Management, Western Washington University, Bellingham,
Washington, USA, and a Fellow of the Society of American
Archivists.
Keywords
Archives, Records management
Abstract
Archives and manuscripts require special techniques based
on their distinctive nature as the byproducts of transactions
rather than the result of deliveration or creative endeavors.
They are natural, organic, impartial, authentic and unique
materials that acquire significance from the context of their
creation rather than from their subject matter. Archival
principles of provenance, original order and collective
description ensure the preservation of these important
qualities. Understanding the nature of archives and
manuscripts forms the basis for the archival theory and
practices that anyone responsible for such collections should
know.
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Volume 18 . Number 1 . 2002 . pp. 21±23
# MCB UP Limited . ISSN 1065-075X
DOI 10.1108/10650750210424788
21
concepts, and methods of archives and
manuscripts as a means of helping librarians
understand and manage these important but
often unruly sources of information. To ensure
that this column meets the readers' needs, the
author encourages questions and comments.
Future columns will include responses to your
questions as well as examination of key issues in
the management of archives and manuscripts.
Our focus will be on issues relating to
cataloging or organizing these materials, rather
than on the management of institutional
archives or manuscript repositories staffed by
professionally trained archivists and curators.
At first glance collections of archives and
manuscripts may appear to be confusing and
disorganized masses of materials that defy the
desire for order and control. Lawrence Dowler,
when he was head of the manuscripts and
archives department at Yale University Libraries,
said that manuscripts were like weeds in the
carefully tended garden of the library. He
certainly did not mean that they should be
rooted out and destroyed, but that manuscripts
seem to be difficult to manage, extraneous to the
library's focus on bibliographic materials, and
capable of growing wildly and profusely.
However, what may at first appear to be weeds
may turn out to be medicinal herbs or edible
plants that add zest and richness to our diets.
Perhaps these weeds simply need to be examined
more closely to find their beneficial properties.
In finding ways to manage archives and
manuscripts, archivists have devised sound
principles and theories as well as useful
methodologies that librarians can adopt. These
principles and techniques differ from those
developed by librarians for books, journals,
audiovisual materials, maps and other resource
materials. Before examining these concepts in
detail, it will be useful to define some of the
important terms and outline several key
concepts of archival management.
Definitions
Although many of the principles and techniques
for managing archives and manuscripts are the
same, it is important to distinguish these related
terms:
. Archives are ``the documents created or
received and accumulated by a person or
 The nature of archives and manuscripts
Randall C. Jimerson
organization in the course of the conduct of
affairs, and preserved because of their
continuing value'' (Bellardo and Bellardo,
1992). The term may also refer to the
building or part of a building where archival
materials are located, and to the agency
responsible for managing archival
materials.
. Manuscripts are ``the papers of a person, an
artificial collection of materials from a
variety of places or persons, or individual
items acquired because of some special
significance'' (Yakel, 1994).
In common usage, ``archives'' and
``manuscripts'' are often used interchangeably,
and they are often treated similarly. But
``archives'' typically refers to documents that
form a coherent body of materials from a single
source, whereas ``manuscripts'' may be groups
of related materials, documents collected and
assembled from a variety of origins, or discrete
single items. Because both terms refer to
unpublished original sources, they both share
the characteristic of being unique. The
distinguishing feature of archives is their
organic nature as the records of an organization
or individual.
A further distinction should be recognized
between the terms ``records'' and ``documents'':
. Records are ``recorded information,
produced or created in the course of an
activity or working process of an agency''
(Hofman, 1998).
. Documents are any form of recorded
information, regardless of the purpose for
which they were originally created or used.
The latter term is broader and more inclusive. All
records are documents, but not all documents
are records. Only those documents that are
created as part of a formal activity or transaction
are properly considered to be records. In general
practice, however, ``records'' typically refers to
the official documents created by an office or
organization. Those documents created by an
individual are referred to as ``papers.''
Archival principles
Unlike the books, journals and other resources
typically collected by libraries, archives and
manuscripts typically do not exist in multiple
copies. When individual documents are
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duplicated, their accumulation in archival or
manuscript collections created by organizations
or individuals remain unique. Such archival
materials are created naturally in the course of
performing an organization's basic functions
and activities. They are the byproducts of
transactions, not the result of deliberation or
creative endeavors. Thus, archival records tell
us much about activities, functions and
responsibilities, but only indirectly relate to
subject matter or intellectual and creative
actions (Schellenberg, 1956; Norton, 1975).
Because modern organizations ± and even
many individuals in today's society ± engage in
extensive networks of activities and functions,
archival records have become voluminous,
challenging our powers of intellectual and
physical control over them. Nearly two centuries
ago archivists in Prussia and France devised a
reliable principle for gaining control over
modern records. This is the principle of
provenance, based on the concept that the true
significance of information contained in archives
is best realized by understanding the context of
activities and functions within which the records
were originally created. This principle of
provenance thus stipulates that records
originating in one office, agency or individual
must be grouped together and not intermingled
with those created by any other office or
individual (Schellenberg, 1961 in Daniels and
Walch, 1984; Nesmith, 1993).
The principle of provenance has become the
basis of archival theory and practice because it
resolves many of the most perplexing aspects of
modern records. It provides a logical and
coherent framework for organizing archives and
manuscripts, based on their origins. It protects
the integrity of archival sources by maintaining
control over their care and management,
ensuring that the purposes for which they were
created is identified and retained. It also
suggests that one solution to the dilemma of
managing voluminous modern records is to
maintain them as they were organized in their
office of origin.
This concept, called the principle of original
order, stipulates that in order to preserve an
understanding of how archival materials were
created and used, archivists must retain the
filing arrangement established by the records'
creator. This enables us to see the relationships
among the records in an archival collection and
 The nature of archives and manuscripts
Randall C. Jimerson
how they relate to the basic functions and
activities of the records creator. It also preserves
evidence of the office's activities, such as how it
conducted its business affairs (O'Toole, 1990).
Sometimes the original order of records is
hopelessly lost through moving, careless
handling or neglect. Archives and manuscripts
often reach the repository in a hodge-podge of
disorganized clutter. In such cases an attempt
should be made to re-establish the original filing
order, if it can be determined, or else to create a
simple and logical arrangement based on
knowledge of other similar offices' procedures.
The nature of archives and manuscripts
Archives and manuscripts are organic records
arising from the functions and activities of
agencies, offices and individuals. The nature of
archival documents, and many manuscript
collections, is thus determined by the
circumstances of their creation. Archival
materials are therefore:
. natural (accumulated in the normal course
of doing business);
. organic (functionally related to each other
within the corpus of office records);
. impartial (by reflecting the activities which
they complete, they should accurately
reflect those activities rather than a later
interpretation);
. authentic (original and untampered, in
relation to their creator);
. unique (the relationship of each document
to the creator of the records and the
accumulation of records is unique) (Bellardo
and Bellardo, 1992; Jenkinson, 1944 in
Daniels and Walch, 1984).
Archival collections are much more than the sum
of their parts. The significance of individual
documents derives from their context within the
accumulated records of an office, agency or
individual. These documents must be identified
and arranged according to their provenance
rather than an artificially imposed subject
classification. The description of such materials
is thus completed collectively, by presenting the
context of the records' creation, their original
order and their relationships within the overall
records of the agency (Miller, 1990).
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All of these principles clearly require a system
of intellectual control different from that
imposed on most library materials. The
methodology used in describing archival
collections will be discussed in a subsequent
column. For now it is important to understand
the reasons for establishing the principles of
provenance, original order and collective
description as the basis for providing access to
archives and manuscripts. Although discrete
manuscripts might be cataloged on an item
level, any grouping of manuscripts from a single
source should be described according to
archival principles. Not only will this preserve
evidence of their origins and organic nature, but
it will also reduce the time required to catalog
hundreds of individual items.
These principles are the basis for modern
archival theory and practice. They should be
applied to all archival and manuscript
collections, whether they are found in
institutional archives, an academic library or a
local historical society. Preserving the context
and organic relationships among archival
materials will ensure their accessibility and
usefulness for the widest possible audience of
researchers. It is the essence of providing
intellectual and physical control for these
voluminous and irreplaceable resources.
References
Bellardo, L.J. and Bellardo, L.L. (1992), A Glossary for
Archivists, Manuscript Curators, and Records
Managers, Society of American Archivists, Chicago, IL.
Daniels, M.F. and Walch, T. (1984), A Modern Archives
Reader, National Archives and Records Service,
Washington, DC.
Hofman, H. (1998), ``Lost in cyberspace ± where is the
record?'', The Concept of Record, Riksarkivet, Sweden.
Miller, F.M. (1990), Arranging and Describing Archives and
Manuscripts, Society of American Archivists, Chicago,
IL.
Nesmith, T. (1993), Canadian Archival Studies and the
Rediscovery of Provenance, Scarecrow Press,
Metuchen, NJ.
Norton, M.C. (1975), Norton on Archives, Society of
American Archivists, Chicago, IL.
O'Toole, J.M. (1990), Understanding Archives and
Manuscripts, Society of American Archivists, Chicago, IL.
Schellenberg, T.R. (1956), Modern Archives, Principles and
Techniques, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL.
Yakel, E. (1994), Starting an Archives, Society of American
Archivists, Chicago, IL.