Term: Level of description

Position of an archival unit within the hierarchical structure of the archival holdings.
The organisation of archival holdings can be represented as a multi‑level “tree”, from the highest level (archival holdings, first level) through intermediate levels (sections, series, etc.) down to the lowest levels (archival units and documentary units). According to international standards for archival description, archival holdings are described from the general to the particular. The description is therefore structured into multiple levels, corresponding to the levels of organisation of the archival holdings.