Index to Archival Descriptions

An access point in archival description is "a name, term, etc., by which a descriptive record may be searched and identified" (Rules for Archival Description, Glossary). Its purpose is to facilitate access and retrieval. This document provides a list of all access points that have been assigned by the SFU Archives to its descriptions.

Currently we index our descriptions by three types of access point: names, subjects and media terms. Each is briefly explained below, so that researchers can understand how and why particular access points are selected, and so they can also be aware of the current limitations of indexing at the SFU Archives.

Note that this document will be updated from time to time as new archival descriptions are added and indexed, new indexing terms are incorporated into the descriptive system, and the scope of indexing is expanded to include lower levels of descriptions.

• Download the complete index (pdf)

Name access points

An entry in the Name Index includes the authorized heading for the name and the descriptions (fonds and series) indexed by it. The Name Index includes non-authorized headings (previous names or name variants), with see references back to the authorized form of the name. The Archives currently applies name access points at the fonds, collection and series levels, but not at the file or item levels.

At the fonds level of description, the Archives assigns name access points:

• For the creator of a fonds.
• For a custodian of the fonds if the custodian is mentioned in the Custodial history element.
• For a person who was a senior officer (typically the head) of the corporate body that created the fonds if the person is mentioned or listed in the Administrative history element.
• For a person who is a member of the family that created the fonds if the fonds includes material created by or related to that person.

In collections, the Archives assigns name access points:

• For the collector of a collection.
• For a custodian of the collection if the custodian is mentioned in the Custodial history element.
• For the subject of a collection if that subject is primarily a corporate body, person or family.

At series levels, the Archives assigns name access points only if ALL of the following conditions apply:

• The name was not used at a higher level of description (e.g at the fonds level).
• The series contains records relating to the corporate body, person, or family (e.g. the fonds creator received correspondence from the person).
• The name is included in the series title or mentioned in the description.

Researchers should be aware of the limitations of the Name Index:

• Name access points are not currently assigned at the file or item levels of description.
• All fonds and collections have been indexed, but only about 20% of series have been consistently indexed.
• Even where fonds and series are indexed, the names selected tend to be high-level, and access points do not capture all possible names.
• E.g. in the President's fonds a series of correspondence with the English Department will be indexed by the name "Department of English"; the files themselves, however, may include material relating to a plethora of other names not indexed (individual faculty members, students, scholars and administrators at other institutions).
• Accordingly, the Name Index is by means definitive; it is just a starting point to assist users as they attempt to surmise where material relating to their research subjects may be located.

Subject access points

The Archives currently assigns subject access points only at the fonds and collection levels of description. Subjects are drawn from a controlled vocabulary of 30 terms, based on the BC Thesaurus maintained by the Archives Association of British Columbia (AABC).

• The 30 terms represent a selection of the top terms of the BC Thesaurus.
• The same 30 terms are used in MemoryBC, the AABC-administered portal for archival descriptions from repositories across the province.
• Download information on the list of terms, including scope notes and explanations.

The purpose of the Subject Index is to indicate the existence of archival materials relevant to research in very broad subject areas.

• Fonds and collections can be indexed under more than one subject.
• There is no subject indexing at the series, file or item levels.

Again, the index functions merely as a starting point, communicating the broad scope of our holdings. The Archives plans in the future to incorporate subject indexing into lower levels of description (especially series and items); and to expand the list of controlled terms by including other vocabularies (e.g. the full BC Thesaurus and the Society of American Archivist's Thesaurus for Use in College and University Archives).

Media term access points

The Archives assigns media access points to indicate the existence of material in non-textual media (e.g. photographs) in various fonds and collections.

• Media terms are based on the General material designation (GMD) terms in the Rules for Archival Description (RAD).
• Media access points are applied only at the fonds / collection level of description.
• Each media access points is qualified in terms of the number of items the fonds / collection contains in that medium: large (200+ items), medium (50–200 items), or small (less than 50 items).

Page last revised:
May 31, 2010