An Assessment of the Application of the Principle of Provenance on Archival Arrangement and Description in Selected Academic Archives in Metro Manila.

Bongalos, Florbella S (2004). An Assessment of the Application of the Principle of Provenance on Archival Arrangement and Description in Selected Academic Archives in Metro Manila. Unpublished Master’s Thesis. University of the Philippines, Diliman, Q.C.

Introduction

Provenance or respect des fons is respect for the source or creator. This means maintaining the Integrity of a whole body if records are organically related, thereby preserving inter-relatedness and context of records at the time they were created. Going by the definition of archives as “records organically related to an entity” and the archival principle, “Archivists think groups,” it is imperative that the principle of provenance be adhered to in the arrangement and description of archives.

The Problem

The objectives of the study were: 1) to identify the different arrangement and description practices in selected academic archives in Metro Manila; 2) to determine the extent of compliance in these selected archives to the principle of provenance in the arrangement and description of archives; 3) identify the problems and issues in the application of the said principle of provenance in these academic archives.

Methodology

To attain these objectives, the study used the descriptive method of research. Eight academic archives, which have established archives in Metro Manila were assessed. Ocular visits, observations, and organization and analysis of documentary sources were utilized.