Glossary

Access Conditions

Most of our records will be open but some - due to depositor conditions, data protection reasons or an item's physical condition - will have access restrictions applied to them. Please contact us for further information, if this affects an item you would like to see.

Archives

Unique, original records created or collected by a person, family, group or business and which are preserved permanently.

Collection

A single archive created by a person, family, group or business e.g. Diaries of Thomas Cairns Livingstone (ref: TD1969) or Records of the Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service (ref: TD1734).

Date

This refers to the dates of creation for the collection (beginning and end).

Description

Additional information of note which is not included in the title. This may include details about people, places or organisations connected to the collection or could include a list of all the major series of archives (e.g. Minutes, Correspondence, Photographs etc.) to be found in the collection. For particular series, this may include a breakdown of which fields are noted in the series' items.

Extent

How large the collection is. In the past, this information was recorded in linear (occasionally cubic) metres but the extent is now often recorded in terms of numbers of boxes, volumes, files and bundles.

Fonds

This is another name for an archive collection.

Fonds level description

This is a summary of an archive collection which includes the title, date, description and extent of the whole collection. It also includes an administrative history of the company or biographical history of the person or family.

GCA Reference

This is the unique reference number assigned to each file or item during cataloguing. Always quote this reference when requesting to view it in the searchroom.

Hierarchy Browser

You can view a collection's hierarchical structure (from fonds-level to individual items) through the Hierarchy Browser.

Level

Archive collections are hierarchical. The top level is called a fonds. Below that are sub-fonds which are used if a collection is large and includes multiple organisational or personal papers. Below the sub-fonds are series of records e.g. a run of minute books or diaries. Below a series are the individual files themselves i.e. a single minute book or diary. Below a file, is an individual item e.g. a single letter.

Not allocated

This appears in a title of a file or item which has existed at some point in the past but which has not survived to the present day. Similar to Wanting below.

Ref No

Not to be confused with the GCA Reference. This is used purely to build a collection's hierarchical structure. It cannot be used to request to view or copy a particular item.

TD

Transferred Deposit. These are records and papers of private individuals, families, businesses and groups.

Title

This provides the key information about the entry in the catalogue. Often, this is the original title which is printed or written on the item itself. Where no original title exists, one is usually supplied by the cataloguing archivist in square brackets. Fonds level titles are usually in the format of Records of Local Authority Unit of Administration / Business / Group and Papers of Person / Family. Levels below this usually include the type of record e.g. diaries.

Wanting

Some of our items are listed in this way when we know that they existed at some point in the past but they have not survived to the present day. As such, they do not form part of our archive collections.