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How are archives organized?

Archives organize records by the person or organization that created the records or collected the records.  The records are organized into:

Fonds

The entirety of a collection of records created, received or used by a specific creator. The creators can be individuals or organizations. The fonds is named after creator.  For example, an archive that holds the manuscripts and notes Waubgeshig Rice created to write his books then it would be called the Waubgeshig Rice Fonds. 

OR

Collections

A group of documents by different creators brought together based on a common theme or characteristic. The collection is named after the collector.  If Waubgeshig Rice had a passion for photography and collected the photographs of famous photographers, then it would be called the Waubgeshig Rice Collection. 

  1. What are archives?completed
  2. Why do research in the archives?completed
  3. How are archives organized?
  4. How to find information in the archivesnot completed
  5. How to read a fonds level descriptionnot completed
  6. Searching the archives using Archeionnot completed
  7. Evaluating your sourcesnot completed
  8. Accessing the archives and help with your researchnot completed

Step 3 of 8 Searching the Archives