Archival science

Diplomatics (in American English, and in most anglophone countries), or diplomatic (in British English), is a scholarly discipline centred on the critical analysis of documents, especially historical documents. It focuses on the conventions, protocols and formulae that have been used by document creators, and uses these to increase understanding of the processes of document creation, of information transmission, and of the relationships between the facts which the documents purport to record and reality.

science of storage and registration of historic data

grande école in Paris specialised in history

thumb|upright=1.3|An archivist surveying an unprocessed collection of materials. Surveying is commonly done to determine priorities for preservation and/or conservation of materials before an archivist begins arrangement and description. An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records that are maintained by an archivist can consist of a variety of forms, including but not limited to letters, diaries, logs, other personal documents, govern

standardized set of metadata elements

protocol to harvest metadata

set of activities aimed at prolonging the life of a record or object in the fields of museum, library and archive

organization

thumb|upright=1.35|Diana and Actaeon (Titian)|Diana and Actaeon by [[Titian has a full provenance covering its passage through several owners and four countries since it was painted for Philip II of Spain in the 1550s.]]

In archival science, a fonds (plural also fonds) is a group of documents that share the same origin and have occurred naturally as an outgrowth of the daily workings of an agency, individual, or organization. An example of a fonds could be the writings of a poet that were never published, or the records of an institution during a specific period.

archival system

The General International Standard Archival Description, abbreviated as ISAD(G), defines the elements that should be included in an archival finding aid. It was approved by the International Council on Archives (ICA) as an international standard for registering archival documents produced by corporations, persons and families.

document containing detailed information about a specific collection of papers or records within an archive

library cataloging standard

XML schema

XML standard for encoding archival finding aids

object identifiers used in galleries, libraries, archives, and museums

Memory of the World inscription, submitted by the United Nations Office at Geneva, added in 2009

work performed to ensure meaningful and enduring access to data

principle in modern archival science

institution which has curatorial care over a collection and whose mission it is to preserve the collection for future generations

thumb|300px|The Nachlass of the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner is housed in the [[Rudolf Steiner Archiv in Dornach, Switzerland. This file drawer houses the philosopher's letters to individuals with surnames from N through Z.]] Nachlass (, older spelling Nachlaß) is a German word, used in academia to describe the collection of manuscripts, notes, correspondence, and so on left behind when a scholar dies. The word is a compound in German: nach means "after", and the verb lassen means "to leave". The plural can be either Nachlasse or (with Umlaut) Nachlässe. The word is not commonly used i

right|thumb|Poster from World War II promoting the use of V-mail

three year project to improve access to biodiversity literature

process of examining a body of records to determine its value for an archival library

type of shelving which is designed for increased storage capacity

branch of archival science and genealogy

archival metadata standard

validation of actual items present in a collection against official inventories of such items

MoReq2 is short for “Model Requirements for the Management of Electronic Records”, second version. It consists of a formal requirements specification for a generic electronic records management system, accompanied by testing documentation and related information. Published in 2008 by the European Commission, it is intended for use across the European Union, but can be used elsewhere. MoReq2 is generally considered a de facto standard in Europe but it does not have any formal status as a standard.

Concept involving intangible goods

concept in archival theory