Term: Inventory

The fundamental tool for carrying out research: it describes a archival holdings (see entry) as a whole and in its component parts, from the highest level down to individual units. An inventory includes a presentation of the records creator (see entry) and a description of the methodology adopted in any rearrangement. The description of units generally includes: title, chronological dating and, where relevant, geographical dating; content (subject matter and types of documents present); classification (see entry); shelfmarks (see entry); and any other significant feature.
An inventory may be “analytic” or “summary”, depending on the degree of detail adopted in describing each unit. The introduction to the inventory must explain the criteria used in arrangement and inventorying.