Online finding aids
Online finding aids are directories of archive material that have been created in an archive with the help of various archive software and that allow online research on the Internet.
Online finding aids and online finding aids
Both terms are often used synonymously or online finding aids as a generic term. In a narrower sense, the difference between dynamic online finding aids and static online finding aids corresponds to the difference between “analog” finding aids and finding aids . The description database of the Hessian state archives Arcinsys is an online finding aid in its purest form. Completed finding aids are no longer created here. Instead, the entire database with its, in some cases, constantly growing holdings is displayed on the Internet with up-to-the-second information and can be searched there by interested archive users. In contrast, the Federal Archives , for example, produce finding aids from completed holdings, which are then published online.
Both methods facilitate access to the archival material and research before visiting an archive. Each shape has advantages and disadvantages. Online finding aids offer the user the convenience of a closed inventory with an introduction and structure, but do not make collections that are still to be developed accessible. Ideally, online finding aids show the current status of the cataloging process, but the user then also has to research stocks that have not yet been broken down or that have not yet been given an introduction or description of the stock.
See also
- Archive software
- Archive portal (with an overview of the various online finding aids).
- Archiving