Archives

The following provides some tips on how to navigate and sort search results the ECU Archives database, and then explore the information included in each description. 

After searching, the Results page displays all of the relevant descriptions and offers different ways to sort, view, and narrow the results.  

• Views:  

• Table view: The default results view that displays the title of the description and associated information, like the reference code, level of description, date, and scope and content.  

• Card view: Displays the results with the associated thumbnail. This is a helpful view for descriptions with digital objects. 

• Hierarchy: displays the results within their hierarchical levels of description.

• Sort by: Use the drop-down menu on the right-hand side to select a field to sort by. Start/end date are the most useful options for reviewing records. Use "descending" or "ascending" to change the sort order. 

• Narrow results by: The sidebar on the left provides facets to help narrow your search results. These include "Part of" (the fonds/collection); Subject terms; and level of description.  

For example, in a simple keyword search for graduation, the results display 77 results for all descriptions that include this in the any field. The results are sorted so that the most recent records are first ("Start date" sorted descending). The sidebar displays the fonds/collections that the results could be narrowed by, and the subjects and levels of descriptions that are included in these results. All facets are sorted by their associated count.  

Click any result to go to the full description. The result below is the first description from the previous search. The description provides all information available about the archival record. Some key features of the description include:  

A. Identifier: This indicates that this is a file-level description, and it is the 63rd file in the series this file belongs to. 

B. Title: Title of the file. The square brackets indicate that the title was supplied by the archivist, rather than taken from the record itself. 

C. Tree: This shows where the current description lives within its hierarchical relationship to other levels of description; you can use this to browse nearby records. 

D. Breadcrumb trail: These hyperlinks also show the levels of description above the selected description and will take you to those levels of description. Shows that this file is under the series "Commencement ceremony and graduation show materials," which is under the Emily Carr University Archives Graduation collection. 

E. Reference code: The unique code assigned to each description that combines the codes for all levels of description. This combines the identifiers of the levels of description to provide a unique code for each record.  

F. Physical description: A description of the record as an object. Physical description includes extent (either the size in cm or the number of records or folders) and the type of record, including often specific information like type of photographic process or duration of a sound recording. General material designation provides a broader category of the type of archival material.  

G. Scope and content: A description of the content of the record and what the record consists of; this is a file, and so the scope and content describes the multiple items within the file. Scope and contents are not always exhaustive, and provide an idea of the contents of a record; there may be more archival materials included that are not listed and could be relevant to your research. 

H. Access points: These provide the subject and place terms assigned to the record. 

I. Sidebar: Provides hyperlinks to associated subject and place terms, the physical storage location, and some other features of AtoM, including the Clipboard function. This can also include the link to the name authority for a creator (like a photographer), when it is included in the description. 

Other information can appear in the record description depending on the type and which details were required. This includes information in the Note area (terms governing use, reproduction, and publication, general notes about the records) and Rights area (information about copyright status and term).