| Abstrakt: |
The archival principle of original order, while maintaining the authenticity of records, also allows an archival collection to be arranged in a manner that simultaneously imposes intellectual control and retains the added value of the creator's intent; other systems of arrangement that have been imposed on archival collections may hinder a researcher's understanding of the context in which the collection was created. My project in the archives focused on the concept of original order. Working with donor records, I removed a large collection of books in an archive from call number order and returned it to its original order. In doing so, the groupings were analyzed and I, along with the others working within the archives, were made aware of personal connections and how they affected what was donated to this collection. The more removed the donors were from the person honored by the collection, the less likely they were to donate something with a personal inscription. The focus of this article is the modern day application of this concept and its use, significance, and relevance. |
