Archival Records Organization:
We organize by who CREATED the records not by subject
We keep records in ORIGINAL ORDER or the same order the creator of the records kept them in
Archival Jargon:
Fonds - all of the records of one creator, sometimes casually called a 'collection'
Collection - records not created but 'collected' by someone, PAS has very few of these
Series - a major subdivision of a collection, or the records of an entire government agency
File and Items - a subdivision of a series, literally a file folder or an individual photo or other item
Finding aids or Guides - a tool to learn about the history of a creator and the records in their fonds
Digital Object - a digitized version of the item attached to the record description, often a photo or pdf
General Material Designation - the physical format of the material
Cartographic Material - a map
Graphic Material - photographs, posters, or other visual records
Moving Images - a film or videocassette
Sound Recording - an audio reel or audio cassette
Textual Record - paper files
Special Search Characters:
| Symbol | Use |
|---|---|
| " " | Use quotation marks around your search terms to search for that exact phrase Ex"Regina City Hall" would look for all three of those words together and not with only Regina |
| + | Use this when a word must be in the search result. Ex +Regina City means Regina must show up but city is optional |
| - | Use this when a word must not be be in the search result. Ex -Regina City means no Regina results |
| ? | A wildcard for a single character Ex p?per would look for paper and piper but not pepper |
| * | Multiple character wildcard Ex galax? would look for galaxy and galaxies but not galactic |
- Use the menu on the far left ('Part of', 'Creator') to look at only the records you searched for that have been identified as belonging to a particular creator or fonds/collection
- Use 'Advanced Search Options' to open a panel to add search terms with a qualifier ('and', 'or', 'not') to broaden or narrow your search or the 'General Material Designation' to search for formats like 'Graphic items' (photographs)
- Click the 'Show results with digital objects' link in the top centre to see all the digitized photos and documents attached to descriptions
- Use the 'Sort by' drop down on th far right to change the order of your list. 'Relevance', 'Title', 'Start Date', and 'End Date' are often the most useful
- Use the paperclip icon on the right side to save a particular description to a clipboard for later use. Use the big paperclip at the top right menu to see your saved records and print them