Archival item
Original research draft · October 2026
Working pattern
[Creator], [Item description] ([date]), [collection/series/item], [repository].
Capture from the source
Creator; date; item; collection; container; repository; reproduction
Check before you use it
Distinguish facts visible on the item from catalog-supplied or inferred information.
Common error: A repository homepage cannot locate an individual archival record.
Completed example
Creator, memorandum, repository, collection, identifiers, handwriting, and dates are fictional. No actual archival provenance or historical attribution is asserted.
Lena Rowan, Register Room Arrangement memorandum (undated; catalog dates circa 1932), Harbor Office Papers, ser. 4, box 7, folder 2, item TRAIN-H91-6, Northmere Historical Repository.
Read the supplied source facts
Fictional packet TRAIN-H91 contains a scanned memorandum headed Register Room Arrangement, signed by Lena Rowan but bearing no visible date. The Northmere Historical Repository catalog assigns an estimated date of circa 1932 and locates it in the Harbor Office Papers, series 4, box 7, folder 2, item TRAIN-H91-6. The reverse side has a handwritten note by an unidentified person. The assignment asks for Rowan's memorandum text, which appears on the first side. A draft treats the catalog's estimated year as a date written on the original and attributes the reverse-side note to Rowan.
Why this works
The creator, description, collection hierarchy, item identifier, and repository give a path to the individual record. Label the estimated date as catalog-supplied rather than silently converting it into an original date. The source card should distinguish visible document facts, catalog metadata, and researcher inference. Do not attribute the reverse-side handwriting to Rowan without supporting evidence. If the argument turns on physical features, record which scan or reproduction was inspected and any missing sides or edges. A repository home page may establish where a collection is held, but it is too broad to locate this memorandum without the item information.
When the facts change
If another catalog revision changes the estimated date, preserve the metadata version used and investigate the reason before altering a historical claim. If the original is inspected in person, record that access separately from the digital reproduction. If quoting the reverse-side note, identify it as an unattributed annotation and give its side or image locator rather than incorporating it into the memorandum's authored text.
Apply the receiving court or publication’s requirements. These working forms do not establish citation permission, precedential weight, or support for a legal proposition.