Guide to cataloguing

What is a ‘collection’?

• An archival ‘collection‘ (sometimes known as a ‘fonds‘) is a group of archival items that are connected and form a body of linked items within an archive.
• A ‘collection’ or ‘fonds’ is formed when all the archival material originated from the same organisation – ‘The Kentucky Bowling Club Papers’ – or from the same person – ‘Personal papers of Mavis Gray of Springfield’; in some cases a “collection” may also be created out of items linked by theme, such as ‘Materials relating to farming in Springfield’, or by format, ‘The Springfield photo collection’.
• Some archive holders, such as a Heritage Society, hold several different archive fonds / collections. This could be, for example, (a) the papers of John Smith local butcher, (b) papers of the village golf club, (c) local political pamphlets from the 1960s – 1990s. Each of these collections should have its own catalogue.
• Other heritage societies may hold only one fonds / collection; for example the Village Flower Society may hold just papers relating to running that society, the ‘Village Flower Society Records’.

How do I know which/how many collections we have?

• If you have material that has all come from the same place – a person, organisation, society or similar, as described above, archivists will try to keep such materials together as a collection. So, if you have a box of Mr Forbe’s papers, photos and pamphlets, that may become the ‘Mr Forbes Collection’.
• BUT – community archives often work a little differently to traditional archives. So, how your group currently uses and stores your materials can offer clues to what your ‘collections’ may be: do you have a box of ‘Bruce family history stuff’, a series of files on ‘research on local houses’, a crate of ‘Artefacts from local Schools’? Each of these could be one of your collections. How a collecting organisation, such as a heritage society, has gathered and used archival materials over time becomes part of the history of those items, and is also important.
• Note that an item can only be in one collection and should stay in that collection over the longer term; however, a different version of that item may appear in a different collection. So, the ‘Order of Service for Harvest Festival 1949’ may appear in Reverend Brigg’s Personal Papers, as well as a different copy of the same Order of Service being within the Parish Records for the Kirk of St Stephen.
• Items from the same collection do not need to be physically next to one another: the ‘Junior School Collection’ may include a box of items in the cupboard, 3 building plans in the loft, and a roll of honour displayed in the hallway. The thing that connects them is their provenance – which you will identify with a reference code and through a catalogue.

Archival approaches to making a collection catalogue

The approach which archivists and museum curators (and librarians) take to making a catalogue of their collections is different. This has developed in part because they have historically looked after different kinds of materials collected in different ways.

Museums generally have a flat approach to cataloguing, where each historic item/object is listed individually:

e.g. Village Museum Collection

• item 1: letter
• item 2: book
• item 3: bowl
• item 4: dress

Archivists take a hierarchical approach, viewing each collection as a whole within which there are subsections, and then items.

This is based on two important ideas:

• Provenance: part of what makes an archival record unique is the history of that collection. This history includes the context of where, when and how it was made; which person(s) or organisation created it; and how it has been used and kept since that time. These aspects form the provenance of the collection. In general, archive services will keep material with the same provenance together as a fonds / collection; material which has a different provenance should not be added to this fonds / collection; however, material which has become accidentally separated from the collection may be re-integrated.
• Original order: this is the idea that the way the items within a collection were ordered or arranged by the person(s) or organisation creating and using them in the first place is part of the evidence and value that the collection provides. It is important to keep information about this order or arrangement in place when a collection is cared for by an archives service.

Archive services use a structured cataloguing approach – a hierarchy or tree – as it helps to capture and remember the way a fonds/collection was used by the person or organisation creating the collection in the first place; the way different records were made and used along side each other originally is part of what makes the records in an archive unique.

e.g. Collection: “The Bowling Club Collection”

Series 1: Minute Books

Series 1: item 1: Minute Book 1

Series 1: item 2: Minute Book 2

Series 2: Club correspondence

File 1: Administrative correspondence 1930 – 1933

Series 2: file 1: item 1: Letter on opening times

Series 2: file 1: item 2: Letter on dispute over grass cutting payments

File 2: Summer Prize Competition

Series 2: file 2: item 1: Letter of application to participate in competition

Series 2: file 2: letter 1: Letter of thanks for receipt of prize trophy

What is a ‘level’ of description?

For archival catalogues, the ‘level’ of description refers to whether the description relates to a whole collection, a section within that collection, or a smaller group of items or item within that collection:

• the whole of the collection or materials being described – sometimes known as a “top level” description. This gives a summary or overview of a single collection which may be comprised of many smaller sections and many items. E.g. The Bowling Club Papers
• a smaller section within the collection – sometimes known as a “lower level” description. This could be a series of items, a group of items, or a file of items: e.g. Series 1: Bowling Club Minute Books
• an item within a smaller section within a whole collection – another “lower level” description. E.g. Series 1, item 1: Minute Book 1

NOTE: while the names of level values may be descriptive, this is not always the case e.g. a ‘file’ level description does have to relate to items physically or digitally stored in a file, it may simply represent a smaller group of items than a collection, series, or sub-series

Detailed advice on using levels and the names given to each level is provided in the Descriptive fields tab

Do I need to use a hierarchy for my catalogue?

• All catalogues added to Your Scottish Archives must have a top level ‘collection’ record, but following this you do not need to use sections and can simply list each item.
• Large catalogues which have a flat structure cannot be processed by the Archives Hub system, as this system is designed for catalogues with an archival approach. Some tips for adapting collections catalogued in this way are provided in the Adapt a Catalogue tab.
• Please do get in touch if this is the case and we can discuss which approach may suit your collection.

Information you must include

Our partners, Archives Hub, requires that all catalogues include certain key bits of information about each collection added.

Why?

This ensures that:

• Catalogues follow the professional standard for archives, ISAD(G)
• Each description can be identified easily in an online and international context
• Researchers get an accurate impression of the archival material
• Researchers are made aware when they may need particular skills to use the archives, e.g. ability to read Gaelic.

Which information must be included?

Archives Hub requires that ten catalogue fields are included for top level descriptions. These are: reference number; level; title; display dates; start date; end date; language; extent; scope and content; access conditions.

For lower level descriptions, your catalogue must include (at minimum): reference number; level; title.

An outline of the difference between top level and lower level descriptions is available under the previous tab on ‘Archive cataloguing’.

In addition to these fields, there are many different kinds of information you can include if you wish; however, there is no requirement to do so.

Must include at top level

Optional additional fields

Using the Archives Hub spreadsheet to create a catalogue

This is an overview of how to use the Archives Hub template spreadsheet. Using this spreadsheet allows you to:

• create a catalogue that can be populated offline
• publish your catalogues online on Archives Hub and Your Scottish Archives

Note: even once your catalogue information has been uploaded to Archives Hub, you should always keep your own master copy of your catalogue data.

Overview of using the Archives Hub spreadsheet

Archives Hub provides a detailed guide to using this spreadsheet; you may find it helpful to read this before starting your catalogue.

The template spreadsheet is available to download here

• The top row of the spreadsheet shows field names (categories of information about your collection). Fields you must complete are shown in red, recommended fields in yellow, and other optional fields in black. You should not delete this row
• You can get tips on how to fill in each field by hovering your cursor over the field title; more detail is available in the guide linked above and here in the ‘Descriptive Fields’ tab
• Your first description, under the field name row, should be a top-level description, such as a ‘collection’ description; this is a summary or overview of the whole collection you are describing.
• Your top level description should include information in all 10 required (red) fields
• You should include one description per row
• Lower level descriptions should include information in the fields: reference number; level of description; title.
• The text options for the field ‘level of description’ are fixed; you will see a drop down menu appear to the right hand side of the field.
• You should include your descriptions in the order you wish them to appear when published; this is usually in order of your archival hierarchy (tree) or order of box listing

Naming and saving

Give your catalogue file a unique name that directly relates to the collection you are cataloguing. You may wish to use the collection’s reference number.

Excel in browser versus on desktop

Note that some functions within Excel work differently depending on whether you are using an online version – working on a file in an internet browser – or working offline.

Adjusting the spreadsheet for your needs

Protect / unprotect sheet

You may find that when you first download the Archives Hub spreadsheet template it is a ‘protected sheet’; this will prevent you from making certain changes, such as adding and deleting columns.

• To change this, select the review tab at the top of your sheet, select ‘manage protection’ in the ‘protection’ area, and switch the ‘protect sheet’ toggle to off.

Hide/unhide columns

You can adjust the template spreadsheet to fit your needs. For example, if there are fields (columns) you are not using for this particular collection, you can hide these.

• Highlight the column by clicking on the column letter at the top of the column; right click with your mouse, then select the hide columns option.
• To unhide the column again, highlight the preceding column and subsequent column by clicking on the top of the column to highlight, holding down the shift button, then clicking on the subsequent column, right click mouse, select ‘unhide columns’ option.

This can also be helpful when describing at lower levels, where, for example, you may only wish to use the ‘reference number’, ‘level of description’ and ‘title’ fields.

Deleting columns

If there are fields you will not be using for an entire collection, you may also delete columns. To do this, click on the top of the column to highlight the whole column, right click on your mouse, and select delete

NOTE: You must retain the columns ‘reference number’, ‘level of description’, ‘title’, ‘display dates’, ‘start date’, ‘end date’, ‘languages’, ‘extent’, ‘scope and content’, ‘conditions governing access’ and at least one creator column e.g. ‘Name of Creator – Person’.

Freeze top row

Freezing the top row – which shows the field names – enables you to continue to see the required content for each column as you fill rows of the spreadsheet. This can make it easier to keep track of which information to include in which column when you are cataloguing a large collection.

To do this, highlight the top row by clicking in the number at the left hand side, select the ‘view’ tab at the top of the page, select the ‘freeze panes’ option in the ‘window’ area, and click on ‘freeze top row’.

Selecting cells

To select a cell, place your cursor in that cell and click

To select multiple cells in a continuous area, click in first cell you wish to select, hold down the shift button on your keyboard, and click into the final cell you wish to select.

To select multiple non-continuous cells, click into the first cell, hold down the control key, click into the next cell you wish to select.

Copying, Cutting and Pasting

Copy: This makes a duplicate copy of selected text, which may be subsequently replicated elsewhere in your spreadsheet.

• To do this, select the cell or cells you wish to copy; select the ‘copy’ function in the clipboard area at the top of your page OR right click and select copy from the menu OR use shortcut CTRL + C

Note: if you try to copy multiple cells in a row while a column is hidden, the hidden column will also be copied

Cut: This ‘cuts out’ and removes selected text, which may be subsequently place somewhere else in your spreadsheet; note the original cut text is removed completely.

• To do this, select the cell or cells you wish to cut; select the ‘cut’ function in the clipboard area at the top of your page OR right click and select cut from the menu OR use shortcut CTRL + X

Paste: this places items you have previously copied or cut into your spreadsheet.

• To do this, click into the field where you wish to paste the item; select the ‘paste’ function in the clipboard area at the top of your page OR right click and select paste from the menu OR use shortcut CTRL + V

NOTE: when copying and pasting dates, you may notice that your text or numbers change when you paste your selection in a new location. Selecting the ‘paste as value’ option should ensure your date remains in the same format as that you have copied

Drag and fill

Filling multiple cells with the same text:

• enter the text you want in the first cell;
• click into the cell with your cursor;
• moving the cursor to the lower right hand corner of the cell, hover the cursor until it appears as a black cross;
• click with this cross and drag downwards. The cells will fill with the same text as the first cell.

Useful for:

• groups of very similar items, which may have the same title e.g. ‘Letter from Mr Patrick to Mrs Patrick’
• groups of items with the same date. NOTE: you will need to fill in two example dates, then select both fields and drag your cursor down.

Simple numerical pattern:

• enter the numbers you want in the first and second cells;
• highlight the first and second cells;
• moving the cursor to the lower right hand corner of the cell, hover the cursor until it appears as a black cross;
• click with this cross and drag downwards. The cells will fill with the desired numerical pattern, e.g. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7; OR ARCH/1, ARCH/2, ARCH/3; Minute Book 1, Minute Book 2, Minute Book 3;

Useful for:

• reference numbers;
• titles of items in a numbered sequence.
• NOTE: The drag and fill pattern will not work if the final character you enter is not a number, i.e. ARCH/3a will disrupt the pattern

Find and replace

The command ‘control’ + ‘h’ allows you to find and replace text in your spreadsheet

Useful for:

• replacing consistent typos e.g. find: respository – replace: repository
• changing reference numbers in bulk. For example if you introduce a series, this function can be used to adapt a reference number by changing only the element that has changed without impacting other elements of the reference e.g. find: ARCH/ – replace: ARCH/S1/

Go to cell

The command ‘Ctrl’ + ‘g’ allows you to go to a particular cell within your spreadsheet, by using the column letter (shown at top of the sheet) together with the cell number (shown at the left hand of the sheet)

ConCat

The ConCat function within Excel allows you to join text from multiple separate columns. This can save time if you already have information within an existing spreadsheet. See the ‘Adapt a catalogue’ tab for details on how to use this function.

NOTE: if you wish to cut and paste the results of a ConCat formula, such as the now combined text of two cells, to a new sheet or new location, you will need to select the ‘past as value’ option. This should ensure the data appears as text rather  than as a formula.

Text to columns

The text to columns function within Excel allows you to separate data in a single column into multiple columns. Again, this may be helpful if you already have data in a spreadsheet, and would like to split this information into the relevant columns for the Archives Hub fields. See the ‘Adapt a catalogue’ tab for details on how to use this function.

Adding existing lists or catalogues to Archives Hub 

For information on adding catalogues based within an archival cataloguing system, such as Axiell Calm, Axiell Collections or AtoM, please see: guide to adding your collections

Other catalogues can be adapted for use in Archives Hub. This may be the case if:

• You use a Museum cataloguing system, such as PastPerfect
• You use a Library cataloguing system, such as Koha
• You are not using any cataloguing system or software
• You describe your materials in accordance with a non-archival or specialised standard, which is not archival cataloguing standard ISAD(G). For example, you catalogue in line with museum standard SPECTRUM

Collection information from such catalogues may be included in Archives Hub by using an Excel spreadsheet:

• to create an ‘umbrella’ description of all the materials your service holds, such as your main collections, your service’s core collecting areas, key associated individuals, topics or geographic areas, archive material formats
• to create top-level (‘collections level’) descriptions for each of your collections
• to write out a whole catalogue, including all archival levels
• to provide links to your existing online catalogue or other digital or digitised materials you have made available online

An ‘umbrella’ or ‘top level’ approach may be a good option if:

• Your existing catalogue is not in a spreadsheet or your cataloguing system does not have the capacity to export spreadsheets
• Your catalogue relates to a large collection described on an item by item basis only (a flat cataloguing approach), without any sections or catalogue levels
• You hold a specialised collection, such as a music or moving image archive, which has specific description requirements that are not standard fields within ISAD(G)

Uploading a spreadsheet

Catalogues may be submitted to Archives Hub using an Excel spreadsheet. This allows you to submit a whole catalogue/multiple descriptive entries within a catalogue for the same collection, in a single batch.

Archives Hub provides a template spreadsheet; however, it is possible to use your own spreadsheet, as long as your spreadsheet includes columns for each of the required fields (categories of information). It is also possible to use the Manage Your Collections (MYC) spreadsheet for the National Archives Discovery system.

Note that some fields may only be completed using fixed terms; please see the tab on descriptive fields for further details.

Using a spreadsheet may be a good option if:

• You already have a catalogue in spreadsheet format
• You can export or report from your current catalogue system or database in spreadsheet or CSV (comma separated value) format. This includes systems such as: Microsoft Access; PastPerfect; Community Chest; eHive; Vernon; EMU; Koha.
• Your catalogue is in Word – in particular if this is in tabular form – as this can be converted to Excel
• You wish to be able to work on your catalogues offline / without internet access

Detailed instructions on how to use a spreadsheet catalogue are available through Archives Hub

Adapting your current catalogue spreadsheet

1. Each collection you have should be catalogued on a separate spreadsheet; so, ensure only one collection is included on your spreadsheet. If you have multiple collections, these will be uploaded individually on separate spreadsheets.
2. Only the first ‘sheet’ within an Excel book will be read, so ensure your catalogue appears on the first sheet
3. The first row at the top of your spreadsheet should show the catalogue field names [categories of information], for all required fields: reference number; level; title; scope and content; languages; extent; display dates; start date; end date; access conditions; creator. Take a look at the tab on ‘descriptive fields’, where these fields are outlined in detail. NOTE (a) you do not need to include all fields shown on the template spreadsheet; (b) You may retain your own field names as long as these contain the appropriate information; it is possible for Archives Hub to map your own field names with the required fields when submitting to Archives Hub for the first time; (c) fields may appear in any order
4. The second row of your spreadsheet should be a top level description, such as a ‘collection level’ description; this is a summary of the whole collection you are describing, for which all 10 required fields should be completed. Detailed information on completing these fields is provided in the ‘descriptive fields’ tab.
5. The subsequent rows should show the rest of your catalogue, with one description per row. Each description should appear in the order you wish the descriptions to appear, when the catalogue is published. For example, this may be in order of your collection’s hierarchical arrangement or box listing.
6. Ensure the required fields for lower levels are filled in – these fields are: level, title, reference number. Additional fields may be completed if desired.
7. In general, read over your catalogue for suitability of content and language for sharing with the wider public. In some cases, catalogues which have only been used internally within a society or organisation may include unsuitable aspects such as:

• informal notes intended for internal use only;
• information on your respository’s private agreements with donors or other heritage organisations
• abbreviations or shorthand forms of terms which are not widely understood
• sensitive information relating to living people, such as donor addresses or notes on volunteers

Common adaptations

Joining cells:

Your catalogue may include useful information over multiple columns, that would appear in a single column (field) in the Archives Hub spreadsheet. For example, in your ‘Village Newspaper Clippings Collection’, you may have a separate columns for publication name, publication location, author and article title. All this information is best included under the ‘Scope and Content’ field in the Archives Hub spreadsheet, as, together, it provides a summary of what the item being described it, and its context.

Excel allows several fields to be joined using the ConCat function. To do this:

• choose an empty field where you wish the completed description to appear in the same row as the information you wish to join together
• enter the equals symbol (=) into that empty field
• click your cursor into the first field containing information you wish to include
• click the ampersand symbol (&), then click your cursor into the next field with information you wish to include
• You can also add in punctuation, spaces or text to make your collated text easier to read by placing this within quotation marks, e.g. &”article by”
• E.g. using the formula =B2&” (“&C2&”), ‘”&D2&”‘ “&”by “&E2 the first four columns may be joined to create ‘Scope and Content’

Newspaper	Place	Title	Journalist	Scope and Content
Farming times	Hopelstoun	Are Cows better than Sheep?	E. Grumpton	Farming times (Hopelstoun), ‘Are Cows better than Sheep?’ article by E. Grumpton
Village Voice	Elsrickledon	The New Look Town Centre	Betty Parker	Village Voice (Elsrickledon), ‘The New Look Town Centre’ article by Betty Parker
Crochet Weekly	Higginford	Seasonal Patterns	Horace McDougall	Crochet Weekly (Higginford), ‘Seasonal Patterns’ article by Horace McDougall
Farmers’ Journal	Meidle	This week on the farm	F. Brown	Farmers’ Journal (Meidle), ‘This week on the farm’ article by F. Brown
Farmers’ Journal	Mortonfeld	A roundup of winter feeds	Sally Harper	Farmers’ Journal (Mortonfeld), ‘A roundup of winter feeds’ article by Sally Harper
The Organic Florist	Beech Hill	Working without plastic for the modern floral display	Dr I.F. Greenleigh	The Organic Florist (Beech Hill), ‘Working without plastic for the modern floral display’ article by Dr I.F. Greenleigh

Dividing cells:

In other cases, you may wish to separate information in a single column into multiple columns, so that you are able to include it in the most appropriate Archives Hub field.

In some cases, this can be done using the Excel ‘text to columns’ function. This is most effective when your original catalogue data is entered in a highly consistent fashion, e.g.

1770. Letter from Paul to Mary Ross. Describes Paul’s voyage on a herring fishing expedition and putting in to harbour at Cellardyke.

1773. Letter from Paul to Mrs Ross. Describes visiting Holland for the first time, Paul’s impressions of Dutch food and people, and describes Paul’s visit to a protestant church service.

1780. Letter from Annie Ross to Mrs Ross. Describes Annie’s family life, the illness of her younger son James, and the upcoming marriage of her sister Harriet.

• select the ‘data’ tab at the top of your Excel sheet
• highlight the area you would like to separate
• In the ‘data tools’ area, select the text to column option
• choose the symbol you would like to use as a point to separate the text in your column. For the example above, this may be a period ( . )
• The text will then be separated into three columns, which, in this example provided, may become ‘Display Dates’, ‘Title’ and ‘Scope and Content’ within the Archives Hub spreadsheet.

Reference numbers:

In the first instance, the Archives Hub processing system will use the reference numbers you provide to build the hierarchy (tree) for your catalogue.

If you wish to use reference numbers to build a hierarchy, your reference numbers must be constructed using a slash (/) rather than a period ( . ) e.g. ARCH/1/2 NOT ARCH.1.2.

• TIP: A quick way to change this is to highlight the appropriate area and use the find and replace function, holding ctrl + H, to replace the periods with slashes.
• Any reference number should include a collection identifier + item identifier e.g. the Henry Gray photographic collection may have collection reference ‘HGPC’, meaning that photo 12 would appear as HPCG/12.

Some collections may have a pre-exiting accession number/object number type system for identification numbers, which uses a date + running number approach, e.g: 2012.0032.

• A simple way to convert this so it will upload successfully to Archives Hub is to add a collection reference in front of the existing number e.g. ARCH/2012.0032.
• This can be used to form reference numbers for a simple top level description with flat item listing e.g.

ARCH [collection level]

ARCH/2012.0032 [item]

ARCH/2012.0037 [item]

ARCH/2020.0016 [item]

• This has the advantage that the existing reference number is clearly present as part of the adapted reference number.
• TIP: if you need to adapt your existing reference or identity numbers in order for your catalogue to upload, there is an ‘alternative reference’ field where you can also include you current identifier/reference

Creating an Archival Arrangement

In principle, collections which have not been arranged, or follow a flat list or museum approach can be included in Archives Hub. However, the Archives Hub system is not designed to manage large collection catalogues which are in simple list format with no hierarchy (sections).

The first option is to create a summary of your collection within a spreadsheet, that will provide an overview of what is in your collection, and highlight key associated people, organisations, places and themes or topics. This is described above.

The second option is to introduce sections. There are several ways to do this, and it is very dependent on your collection and how you look after this. Some options are:

Working with your catalogue as it is:

Consider whether your collection or catalogue already has sections which may be used; at the top of each section, introduce a new row, and give the section a reference number, level (“series”) and title

• These sections may be physical sections: for example, if you have a box by box list, you may be able to designate ‘box 1’ as section 1, ‘box 2’ as section 2 etc. If you follow this approach, it is recommended that you note in the ‘Arrangement’ field that the collection has not been arranged, and the catalogue is a box list.
• You may notice that your existing catalogue has descriptions clustered together in groups of related items, even though you have not deliberately arranged the collection. For example, within a photographic collection, images 1 – 50 may be related to farming, images 51 – 80 related generally to schools; images 81 – 170 related generally to Villages A and B. Each of these may be designated as a section
• If your catalogue follows a chronological accession pattern, you may be able to create sections for chronological periods e.g. “series 1: accessions 1950 – 1955”; “series 2: accessions 1956 – 1960” and so on

Re-arranging your catalogue to create sections:

In some cases, you may be able to re-order your catalogue descriptions to create logical sections.

• This should be undertaken with caution: you must ensure you remain able to identify the original item and description in your own catalogue and which item this relates to in your physical collection.
• This can be achieved through retaining your original reference or identification numbers as part of the new reference number hierarchy

If it is the case that when looking through your box list / flat list catalogue you can see material which appears to be linked to other material in the same collection, consider whether it would be beneficial to undertake a formal re-arrangement of your collection.

We are happy to provide support and advice on the best way to proceed with your catalogues. If in doubt, please do contact an Archivist!

Cataloguing guides and resources

These are some great resources which provide tips on how to go about cataloguing your collections. Bear in mind that in order to be able to share your catalogues through the Your Scottish Archives portal, you will need to be able to add your collections to Archives Hub, so it is important to ensure you include all the required information.

General cataloguing guides

• Detailed outline on surveying and arranging a collection from scratch: Surveying – Archival Processing – Guides @ UF at University of Florida (ufl.edu)
• Community archives and heritage group: Cataloguing guidelines for community archives | | Community Archives and Heritage Group
• The National Archives: Cataloguing archive collections – Archives sector (nationalarchives.gov.uk)
• Norfolk community archives toolkit (with cataloguing video): Arrangement and cataloguing training video – Archives (norfolk.gov.uk)

Fair and inclusive cataloguing

• All Our Stories Webinar series on inclusive cataloguing: All Our Stories: Inclusive Practice for Archives Webinar Series – Scottish Council on Archives (scottisharchives.org.uk)
• Museum Galleries Scotland resources: Glossary and Sector Terms for Anti-Racism and Inclusion – Museums Galleries Scotland
• National Archives policy on offensive historic language: cataloguing-approach-on-offensive-terminology.pdf (nationalarchives.gov.uk)
• “Words Matter”, including glossary with good summary of how to approach terms commonly appearing in colonial era records: Words matter (English) by NMVW – Issuu
• Anti-racist descriptive resources: ardr_final.pdf (wordpress.com)
• Archives Hub tips on making a catalogue that will work for an international audience.