A guide to using archival sources

How are archival materials organized and made accessible?

Archival materials are typically organized according to fonds. A fonds is the entire body of records created and accumulated by a person, family, or individual during the course of their activities or functions. Archival fonds are distinct from collections. Fonds are created and accumulated organically, while collections are brought together as a result of some unifying characteristic (subject matter, document type, etc.).

Fonds are arranged and described by an archivist so that they may be consulted by interested researchers. This work takes the form of a guide called a finding-aid. A finding-aid is a tool that facilitates the discovery of materials within a fonds. It tells researchers about the types of materials contained in the fonds and helps them understand its contents.

Each fonds is kept separately from others to prevent the records from becoming intermingled and to preserve their original context. Fonds are sub-divided in a hierarchical structure consisting of series, sub-series, files, and items. This hierarchy is reflected in the finding-aid. Each fonds will not necessarily be composed of each level. Some may include fonds and series level descriptions only, while others will also be composed of file and item level descriptions.