Finding aids typically contain the following descriptive notes: abstract, biographical/historical note, collection level scope and contents note, and, when necessary, scope and contents notes for each series and/or subseries. Notes contextualize the collection, detailing its importance and uniqueness. Notes are also used by researchers to determine a collection’s usefulness to their research.
Review existing descriptive documents before you begin. Existing descriptive information may be repurposed or used as a starting point for more in depth research and writing. Sometimes little revision or addition is necessary. If you use other publications to create notes, be sure to cite the source using the Chicago Manual of Style.
The following notes should be used for all collections, with the exception of the optional notes listed at the bottom of the page. Check the Style Guide tab for information pertaining to all notes, like how to format links.
The abstract is a brief and tidy statement that sums up the collection. It includes the most basic and essential information from the biographical/historical note and the scope and contents note. It serves as the primary gateway to the collection, and is usually included in the collection’s MARC record.
Though the abstract is the first descriptive element encountered by a researcher, the abstract should be written last. The easiest way to compose the abstract is to combine the first paragraph of the biographical/historical note and the first paragraph of the collection level scope and contents note, and then edit down to the most important aspects.
The abstract should describe the collection in a few sentences, which should include the following information:
The scope and contents note is a narrative description about the contents of the collection. It is a place to discuss collection highlights, obvious gaps in records, or unique perspectives on topics presented in the collection. Collection information should be provided in complete sentences and should be organized in the same order as the collection’s intellectual arrangement.
In every scope note, at least the following information should be included:
The scope and contents note is formulaic and can be organized into three basic parts:
Use the Descriptive Notes worksheet for assistance in crafting this narrative section.
The biographical/historical note provides important historical context. It is about the subject of the collection, USUALLY the creator, who may be a person, institution, or business. Sometimes, the creator of a collection is a collector, and then the biographical/historical note focuses on the subject of the collection with some information provided about the creator. The biographical/historical note should cover the general scope of the person, institution, or business, but it should focus on the aspect of the person, institution, or business that is reflected in the collection and provide context for the era and geographic location in which the creator lived or operated.
Every biographical or historical note should include some or all of the following information:
For linking to digitized materials, use the "Existence and location of Copies Note":
Label field: Digitized materials available
Text (edit as needed depending on what has been digitized): Some images [materials, whatever] from this collection have been digitized and are available in <extref href="insert-link-here
" show="embed" actuate="onrequest">OHSU’s Digital Collections</extref>.
The arrangement note describes the current organization of the collection. It should be used both to:
1. Describe the current arrangement of the material in terms of the various aggregations within it (series/subseries) (e.g., This collection is organized into three series: "I. Writings," "II. Correspondence," and "III. Subject files.")
2. Give information about the system of ordering the component files or items. (e.g., The records of this series are filed chronologically.)
An arrangement note can be included within the scope and content note or can stand-alone. Typically, collection level arrangement notes stand-alone, while series/subseries level notes are incorporated into the scope and content note for the series/subseries.
The "Preferred citation" note alerts researchers to the holding repository's preferred method of citing sources.
Conditions governing access note: This lets researchers know whether they can have access to a collection.
Some materials in this collection may be restricted due to the presence of protected health information (PHI) or other confidential information. Please contact Historical Collections & Archives for more details regarding access.
Conditions governing use note: Many collections are made available for research, even though copyright restrictions dictate how the materials or information contained therein may be used.
OHSU Historical Collections & Archives (HC&A) is the owner of the original materials and digitized images in our collections, however, the collection may contain materials for which copyright is not held. Patrons are responsible for determining the appropriate use or reuse of materials. Consult with HC&A to determine if we can provide permission for use.
In addition to the notes detailed above, finding aids may also include the following (please make note of any of these on the processing worksheets):
For more information on writing any of these notes, refer to Arranging & Describing Archives & Manuscripts and Describing Archives: A Content Standard, Second Edition (DACS).