Dictionary of Archives Terminology

Andy

I was reading the recent discussion "Switching from Zettelkasten ID to Timestamp ID", and I was reminded of the similarity between:

1. @ZettelDistraction's zettel UIDs (unique identifiers), which include a subject keyword, and
2. @mlbrandt's zettel UIDs, which include a subject numeric code. See also "Numerology in the UID...?" (January 2024).

I wanted to mention this UID similarity in the discussion, so I consulted Google to see if there are standard terms for each. And Google pointed me to a delightful resource:

The Dictionary of Archives Terminology of the Society of American Archivists (SAA): dictionary.archivists.org

This is a dictionary for institutional archives, not for zettelkästen, so there is no dictionary entry for folgezettel filing, for example. (There is a form to suggest a term, so any of you zettelkasten experts who are more audacious than I am can submit your favorite missing terms!)

Below, I've copied and pasted some terms from the dictionary that are relevant to zettelkästen. It seems that this dictionary's term for the subject-keyword part of @ZettelDistraction's zettel UIDs is subject-numeric filing, and its term for the numeric-coded-subject part of @mlbrandt's zettel UIDs is numeric filing (or decimal filing if the number codes include decimal points).

(By the way, public libraries are famous for using the Dewey Decimal Classification, a decimal filing system, for filing documents, but some public libraries have switched to subject-numeric filing for reasons similar to @ZettelDistraction's reasons for his subject-numeric zettel UIDs; see "Is Dewey Dead", Public Libraries Online, 2012.)

This is the most pedantic aspect of knowledge organization, but you would expect nothing more interesting from me.

Selected entries from the category Arrangement

• follow-up file: "(also pending file, suspense file, tickler file), n. A group of documents filed chronologically under some future date when they require attention or action."
• organic collection: "n. an archival resource originating from the activities of its creator."
• processed adj. 1. of an archival resource, prepared for use. 2. of photographic film, having the latent image made visible. Notes: Archivists disagree on criteria for determining whether an archival resource is processed or not."
• unprocessed: "adj. 1. of an archival resource, not prepared for use. 2. of photographic film, having the latent image not yet made visible."
• weeding: "(also culling, purging, stripping), n. the process of identifying and removing unwanted items from a collection."

Selected entries from the category Description

• controlled vocabulary: "n. an enumerated list of terms preselected from natural language and chiefly used to aid discovery in information retrieval systems. Notes: Controlled vocabularies may be managed locally or shared by a broad community and controlled by an institutional authority. An example of a nationally standardized controlled vocabulary is the Library of Congress Subject Headings. Archivists include terms from controlled vocabularies in their descriptions of archival resources."
• divided catalog: "n. A catalog in which similar types of entries are grouped into different sections. Notes: Divided catalogs often have separate sections for authors, titles, and subjects. Another common arrangement separates name and title entries, which includes all proper names and titles of works, from subject entries. Entries in each section are generally in alphabetical order, although the section for subjects may be classified. Divided catalogs are distinguished from dictionary catalogs, in which all entries are organized in a single alphabetical sequence."
• index: "n. (indexes, indices, pl.) 1. An ordered list of headings that points to relevant information in materials that are organized in a different order. 2. A portion of a book, usually located in the back, that provides an ordered list of subjects covered in the book, with page numbers or other reference to where those subjects are discussed. 3. A scale or reference used as a measure. 4. A typographical ornament in the shape of a fist with the index finger extended. Notes: Generally, an index¹ provides no explanation about the information it points to beyond its location. It is distinguished from a catalog, which provides additional information to help determine relevance. An index may be created on cards, with separate cards for each entry to allow interfiling. It may also be on paper or in a database or word processing file. - An index² usually uses page numbers for the pointers, but some works may use section numbers. - Examples of index³ include quality index and time-weighted preservation index."
• numbering note: "n. A note explaining the numeric or alphanumeric scheme used in the materials being described. Notes: A numbering note may indicate gaps or changes in numbers or alphanumeric codes used to identify materials. For example, a numbering note may indicate that a code consists of a series, subseries, file, and date."
• subject classification: "n. The organization of materials into categories according to a scheme that identifies, distinguishes, and relates the concepts or topics of the materials. Notes: Subject classification systems may use words or phrases to represent the subjects, or they may use codes, such as alpha-numeric, alphabetic-subject, decimal, duplex-numeric, mnemonic, or subject-numeric."

Selected entries from the category Management and Administration

• intellectual control: "n. the establishment and maintenance of documentation that describes and accommodates access to the informational content of archival resources. Notes: This archival function occurs during accessioning and processing with the intent to help staff and researchers locate relevant archival resources, and it can incorporate information tools developed by the creator or repository staff. Additionally, intellectual control includes descriptive efforts that point to where the content should be stored. Distinct from this, physical control ensures that archival resources are stored where descriptions indicate."
• physical control: "n. the establishment and tracking of the location of holdings in a repository’s custody. Notes: This archival function often occurs as part of accessioning or processing. Physical control ensures that archival resources are stored where descriptions indicate. Intellectual control includes descriptive efforts to identify potentially relevant materials and point to where those materials should be stored. Sometimes the pointers are absolute, indicating a specific box on a specific shelf in a specific room. In other cases, the pointers may be relative, directing users to a collection and box number that are positioned within a range of similar numbers."

Selected entries from the category Records Management

• alphabetic-subject filing system: "n. A system for ordering topical headings in strict alphabetical order, rather than classifying them on the basis of intellectual relationships. Notes: The arrangement is sometimes called dictionary arrangement or dictionary order."
• alphanumeric filing system: "n. a method for classifying materials for storage and access through use of letters and digits that represents a concept. Notes: Alphanumeric filing systems typically use indirect access, with users locating file headings through a hierarchical or alphabetical list that indicates the code used for filing or retrieval."
• chronological file: "(also chron file, chrono file, continuity file, day file), n. A file containing materials ordered by date or other time sequence. Notes: A chronological file circulated for reference is often called a reading file.
• classification: "n. The organization of materials into categories according to a scheme that identifies, distinguishes, and relates the categories. The process of assigning materials a code or heading indicating a category to which it belongs; see code. The process of assigning restrictions to materials, limiting access to specific individuals, especially for purposes of national security; security classification. Notes: Classification may involve physically arranging the materials or use of a class code to index and retrieve documents stored in a different order. For electronic documents, classification may involve assigning a class code used to index and retrieve the document. In some schemes, documents may be assigned to more than one class. Classification² in libraries refers to the process of assigning a Dewey, Library of Congress, or other code to indicate where a book is to be shelved."
• classification scheme: "(also classification plan), n. A diagram or chart that describes standard categories used to organize materials with similar characteristics. Notes: Classification schemes are often hierarchical in nature and frequently associating codes with each class. Typically used in an office of origin to file active records or in archives as a finding aid. Libraries commonly use either the Library of Congress Classification System or the Dewey Decimal Classification to organize their books. These bibliographic standards have only limited use in archives, which maintain the records in their original order."
• decimal filing system: "n. A technique to classify materials using numbers to represent concepts and any subdivisions. Notes: In a decimal filing system, related concepts are often grouped in units of ten, and subdivided as necessary for greater specificity. Major categories are typically integer values; secondary and tertiary headings are separated using subsequent decimal points. For example, 50 through 59 might be used for major classes of policies. Policies for fringe benefits might be coded 55, and the maternity leave policy might be coded 55.2."
• duplex-numeric filing system: "n. A technique to classify numbers by assigning groups of numbers that represent a hierarchy of concepts. Notes: The major classes and subdivisions may be separated by a dash, decimal, space, or other punctuation. For example, Policies 5, Fringe Benefits 5-1, Maternity Leave 5-1-3."
• file code: "(also file designation), n. A short sequence of letters or numbers used to indicate a file classification; code¹."
• file plan: "n. A classification scheme describing different types of files, how they are identified, where they should be stored, how they should be indexed for retrieval. Notes: Sometimes called a filing system. A file plan is usually identified by the type of code used to classify the files, such as alphabetical, numerical, alphanumerical, or decimal."
• filing system: "n. policies and procedures directing how files should be stored and indexed to ensure their retrieval, use, and disposition. Notes: Sometimes called a recordkeeping system. Filing systems often include a records inventory, a retention schedule, and a file plan."
• mnemonic filing system: "n. A system to classify files using codes that are reminiscent of the category they represent. Notes: Examples of codes used in a mnemonic filing system include ADM for administrative files, FIN for financial files, and PER for personnel files. The codes are usually arranged alphabetically."
• numeric filing system: "n. 1. A system for organizing records through the use of numbers that appear on the materials. 2. A system to classify materials using numbers as headings. Notes: A numeric filing system¹ is commonly used for purchase orders, checks, and other records that have a unique number assigned to each document. - A numeric filing system² uses an index or file plan to associate concepts with specific numbers, which are then applied to the materials being filed."
• subject-numeric filing system: "n. A technique of organizing materials alphabetically under a word used as the principal topic, then under a number for any subdivision of that topic. Notes: An example of a subject-numeric heading is Accounting 6, where 6 represents purchase orders."
• time stamp: "n. A notation made on a record indicating the time, and sometimes the date, that some action occurred. Notes: 'Time stamp' connotes some sort of mechanical mark (see stamp). The mark may be added to a record, such as a stamp indicating the time a letter was received. In electronic records, the time stamp may be an entry in a log that is linked as associated metadata."

ctietze

How many notes in your ZK did you use to create this, and do you have an overview with all of this? That is a whole department's worth of notes from a first look

Andy

@ctietze: None of this is in my ZK. I just browsed the dictionary and copied and pasted text into a single file outside my ZK!

I'm tempted to say that the information about different filing systems is much less relevant to my ZK than to @ZettelDistraction's and @mlbrandt's ZKs (and others like theirs), because I don't put a subject in my UIDs. But that's not true, because the timestamp UIDs that I use could be considered a chronological filing system. (But ZKs, as we know, are not only archives but are also "integrated thinking environments".)

However, there is more to the backstory than what I already said above. I am interested in dictionaries and glossaries as information sources that cross the boundary between a personal knowledge base and a publication.

An example is the lexicon on Dorian Taylor's website. I am also reading Mario Bunge's sassy Philosophical Dictionary (enlarged edition, Prometheus Books, 2003) after having read other books by Bunge, and I am amazed how Bunge is able to communicate his philosophy just as well through the dictionary genre as through a more conventional philosophical treatise or monograph.

I wonder what kind of information system Bunge used to write his dictionary. At the time he was writing it, he reported that he had switched to a computer and no longer used a paper card file and electric typewriter. The lexicon on Dorian Taylor's website that I mentioned above is in software that Dorian coded himself.

So now I'm interested in the dictionary/glossary as a thinking environment and genre of writing.