LIS 111 Introduction to Records Mgt.

and Archives

Topic: Provenance, original order and respect des fonds

Learning Objectives
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
1. Explain the provenance, original order, respect des fonds, and concept of
fonds of the records.

Introduction
This module Provenance, original order and respect des fonds
examines the concept of provenance relating to who created the records or
used them at the time of their creation. It discusses also the original order of
the physical and intellectual structure of the records, and the respect des
fonds in order to protect.

Lesson 1. The principle of provenance, orginal order, respect des fonds, and
concepts of the fonds

How are Archives Organized?

Archives are arranged according to provenance and, where possible,

original order is maintained. Archives are not dispersed into subject areas
but are kept as evidence of the creating body, not, in the first instance, as a
resource for subsequent research. The concept of provenance is crucial to
the authenticity of the archival record.

 Each archival document or group of documents (known as a fonds) is

assigned an accession number and shelved as it was created and
subsequently forwarded to the archives whether it consists of one letter
or a hundred boxes.
 Archives have no subject categorization schemes as libraries do.
Materials pertaining to specific subjects are not removed from
the fonds. Some "extra" information adheres to the archival record by
 maintaining the papers according to provenance and with absolute
respect for the context of each and every component of the fonds.
Papers accumulated by a creator and kept intact tell us more about the
creating body than would any sum of their parts if we broke it up into
subject groupings or removed specific media from it without ensuring
that appropriate intellectual linkages were in place. That is, maps for
example might be physically removed from a group of papers to be
stored more safely in special cabinets but any finding aids would
include reference to those maps. Their contextual existence would be
secure. Archival practice requires that the records of a person or
agency be kept together, and, in addition, be kept in the same order as
they were originally arranged. These are the rules of "provenance"
and respect des fonds which govern the arrangement and description
of archival material in every archival depository.
 Archival materials are less managed, and less manageable, than
library materials. The maintenance of fonds holistically, and in the
order in which they were created, dictates mechanisms of acquisition,
description, arrangement and accessibility within the archival
repository.

Trent University Library & Archives

https://www.trentu.ca/library/archives/tutorial. Retrieved July 1, 2020

The Provenance emphasizes the importance of respecting the

individual, family or organization that created or received the items that make
up a unit of archival materials. Provenance is defined as the origin or source
of something, or as the person, agency or office of origin that created,
acquired, used and retained a body of records in the course of their work or
life. In order to preserve the provenance of groups of archival materials that
have come from different creators of have distinct and separate origins. Also,
the archivist does not recognize groups of archives by subject, chronology,
geographic division or other criteria; to do so would be to destroy the context
in which the archival record came to be, diminishing the role of the creator
and the relationship that person or agency had with other people or agencies.
The term ‘Provenance’ and ‘Provenience’ are also used in
archaeology, museology and librarianship, which can lead to confusion over
the meaning of the word. Archaeologist use term ‘Provenience’ to document
the geographical and physical environment in which an object was found. To
capture the provenience, the archaeologist identifies precisely where the
object was found and indicate the location of one object in relations to others.
In museum, galleries, libraries, the concept of provenance relates to the
‘pedigree’ of the object, which is documented in the chronological history or
chain of custody of the piece. Here, provenance includes information about
who owned the artefact or publication; who bought it and when; and who sold
it and when.

The principle of original order

The original order is defined as the organization and sequence or
records established by the creator of the records. To respect the original
order, the archivist should maintain records in the order in which those
records were created, received, files or used, thereby preserving relationship
among the records and to respect the context in which the records came to
be. Original order allows users to see not just the content of an archival
collection but also the context of how the materials came to be. Applying
original order also offers a practical advantage, retaining existing filing
system and saving the archivist from having to decide upon and apply a new
and artificial structure.
The principle of respect des fonds
Archivists combine the principles of provenance and original order into
an overarching principle called respect des fonds or respect for the creator
of the archives. Respect des fonds in the principle that, first, archives from
different creating agencies should not be intermingled, and second, that the
original order in which materials were created and used should be respected.
By protecting the external integrity of archives their provenance and their
internal integrity of the original order, the archivist will support the protecting
of the content and reliable documentary evidence.
The content of Maureen Lee’s archives is what is in the boxes
of documents, including Lee’s photographs of landscapes, celebrities,
buildings and her own family. Structure of her archives is defined by how the
materials came to be created and how Lee filed, managed and used them,
including how she applied her own particular coding system. The context of
Lee’s archives is found in the events of Maureen Lee’s life career. Who is
she? What is the nature of her photographic work? What is the story of her
personal life? In order to preserve the evidence of Maureen Lee, the archivist
adheres to respect des fonds: protecting the integrity of the archives as a
unified whole, and maintaining the structure and order in which the archives
were created and used.
Respect des fonds and evidential value
In keeping with the fundamental principle of respect des fonds, the
archivist would preserve the provenance and original order of the archives
by retaining the records according to the filing system used by the creating
departments. She would then prepare descriptive tools that explain the role
and scope of these different government agencies, along with indexes that
might include specific search terms of the particular events.

The concept of the fonds

The end result of this combination of principle- provenance+ original
order = respect des fonds- has been articulated by archivist in the concept
of the fonds: a unified body of archives with one discernable provenance,
maintained with respect for its origins and order of creation. The fonds has
been defined as the whole body of documentary materials, regardless of
form or medium, that were created by or accumulated and used by a
particular individual , family or corporate body in the course of that creator’s
life and work. Maureen Lee’s archives are kept together as one group or
fonds, in the order in which she created and used them. Archivist would then
identify these archives as the Maureen Lee fonds. Similarly the archives of
the Condon City Council might be identified as the Condon City Council
fonds. The archives of Alfred Zahler would be the Alfred Zahler fonds.

References:
1. Millar, L. (2010). Archives: principles and practices. London: Facet Publishing.
2. https://www.trentu.ca/library/archives/tutorial, Retrieved July 1, 2020