Grants & Awards: DHP: Grant Application & Reference Material:
Finding Aid Template
Part I. All Finding Aids
Title Proper: the name of the finding aid itself, as opposed to the collection title. Title proper includes both the name of the creator and the nature of the materials being described.
Repository: name of the institution holding the collection.
Origination: name of the creator of the collection.
Unit Title: title of the collection. As long as the title proper (above) contains both the creator and the nature of the materials, the unit title does not have to repeat the creator. Some repositories, however, follow the convention of including creators in series/collection titles. This is perfectly acceptable.
Unit Date: creation date (or range of dates) of the collection. Bulk dates can be used if appropriate.
ID of the Unit: collection identification number, or other alpha-numeric code by which the materials are cataloged or controlled, if applicable.
Physical Description: quantity or physical extent of the collection in cubic feet.
Abstract: A very brief summary of the materials being described, composed of biographical or historical information about the creator and concise statements about the content of the materials.
Arrangement: manner in which the collection or series is divided into smaller units; also used to describe the physical filing sequence used, such as chronological by meeting date or alphabetical by correspondent, etc.
Biography or History: information about the creator(s) that provides the context in which the specific materials being described were created.
Scope and Content: detailed information regarding the nature, range, topical coverage, physical form, and arrangement of the collection.
Conditions Governing Access: specific conditions that affect the availability of the materials being described, such as restrictions imposed by a donor, legal statute, repository, or other agency. If no restrictions exist, the finding aid should indicate “There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of this series (or collection).”
Controlled Access Headings: this parent element is used to group specific access elements
including Personal Name (specify whether Personal Subject or Personal Author), Corporate
Name (specify whether Corporate Subject or Corporate Author), Geographic Name, Family Name, Subject, Genre/Physical Characteristic, Function, and Occupation.
Processing Information: information about preparing the collection for research use. Reference should be made to the fact that the New York State Archives’ Documentary Heritage Program provided funding for the project.
Part II. Finding Aids with a Second Level of Description
(such as collections within which the component series are being described, or series within which the component subseries are being described)
Unit Title: for the second level only, as opposed to the full collection or series.
Unit Date: for the second level only, as opposed to the full collection or series.
ID of the Unit: needed only if the second level is identified by a code that is different from the full collection or series.
Physical Description: quantity or physical extent of the second level only, as opposed to the full collection or series.
Arrangement: second levels may feature different ordering systems and therefore make it desirable to include arrangement elements for each component series or subseries.
Biography or History: in certain cases, additional information regarding creator(s) of the second level may be supplied in order to more firmly establish the context in which those specific materials were created.
Scope and Content: detailed information regarding the nature, range, topical coverage, physical form, and arrangement of second level only, as opposed to the full collection or series.
Part III. Container List, Box and Folder List, or Inventory
Container List, Box and Folder List, or Inventory: include if the size of the collection warrants (i.e. between 5-10 cu ft or more).
Complete DHP Grant Application Guidelines PDF format (Requires Adobe Reader)