Looking at a box of old records often inspires the desire to sort. Letters look like they can be organized by person. Photos look like they can be sorted by subject. Office papers look like they should be put in files by topic. It is tempting to pick up some folders and refile them. Doing so looks and feels productive at the moment, but it destroys evidence about the records’ creation and use. An archival survey buys time long enough for you to notice that evidence. It provides a working picture of the collection in advance of making actions that may not be easily reversible.
The survey starts with the collection as you found it. How many boxes, folders, binders, envelopes, and online directories are present? Are there labels, citation codes, date ranges, creator names, and recurring record types? A folder labeled “Committee Meetings, 2008 to 2011” conveys more information than a collection of minutes removed from the folder they once filled. Even an apparently random filing order may contain meaningful relationships. Do not try to reorganize the materials at this point. The goal of a survey is to determine what organization, if any, you have in front of you.
Make broad notes as you review the collection using a collection survey form or a notebook. Describe formats, general quantity, date range, subjects, and topics represented in the collection. Write down if records seem to be organized chronologically, administratively, by projects, or randomly. Write down any evidence of mold or other damage, moisture, surface grime, torn or sticky fasteners, oversize or tightly packed folders, or inappropriate plastics. Do not fix problems during the survey. Mold and extensive water damage or unstable media or fragile materials should be referred to a conservator or experienced archivist for guidance.
Be sensitive to provenance. Documents produced by or for a particular person or family, corporation, or agency should be kept separate from the records of another creator, even if the contents are similar. A folder of invoices, letters, and meeting notes can constitute a related series. Putting all of the invoices in one subject file, letters in another, and meeting notes in a third could separate these materials from each other. As you conduct the survey, record the records’ possible series, but resist the urge to impose order. Note your ideas as hypotheses for further consideration.
A helpful way to develop archival judgment is to survey a small collection without moving or changing any records. For a single box, prepare a description of the collection including the creator or creators, what the records document, the date range covered, and the current organization, along with a possible or two proposed arrangements (e.g., keeping materials in their current order, grouping the box contents into correspondence, financial, and project files, or another way). Compare the two descriptions. Which makes more sense? What do you see that you would lose in the other arrangement? The comparison builds judgment far more than picking whichever arrangement looks neatest initially.
A collection survey must identify what you do not know or what you cannot explain. Folders with unclear titles (such as “Documents”), incomplete dates, strange abbreviations or numbers, or reference codes that only cover some of the collection in a box should be written down as uncertainties and issues to be addressed as part of processing. Do not try to fill in gaps or relabel everything on the first pass. You will have more context as you process and can create meaningful folder names, consistent date notation, and stable identifiers without losing reference to earlier labels and numbers.
An archival survey is ready for you to move to the next step in processing when you can summarize the collection and explain to an experienced archivist what the next action might be. You should understand the collection’s general quantity and formats, who created the records, what dates the collection covers, the existing organization, and its major record types or series, and if there are obvious handling issues you must address. You will not have read through every file. You know you are progressing when you can pause before moving that first file that appears misplaced and tell someone why it belongs where it is, or why re-filing it in another box would aid its future location.