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Creating Your Fonds Structure

The end-to-end walkthrough for building out an archival hierarchy. Available on Starter and above.

Plan first, click second​

Before clicking + Collection, sketch out:

  1. Who created the records you hold? Each distinct creator becomes a fond.
  2. Are there major organisational divisions? Create sub-fonds for departments or major units.
  3. Are there topic areas or administrative groupings above series? Create sections (e.g. civil vs. ecclesiastical records in parish collections).
  4. What kinds of records did they create? Each record series becomes a series within the relevant parent.
  5. Do any series need fine-grained sub-division? Use sub-series or sub-sub-series as needed.

Five minutes on paper saves hours of rearranging later. Remember: you don't have to use every level.

The Catalogue page​

Catalogue in the sidebar, under HOLDINGS, opens the catalogue workspace. The structure tree sits in a resizable rail on the left; the collection you select opens beside it on the right.

Fonds empty

A workspace with nothing in its catalogue yet sees Nothing here yet, with Create a collection and Import a catalogue to start from.

A fond open in the catalogue: the structure tree on the left with reference codes and level labels, the fond's own record and ISAD(G) description fields on the right

At the top of the tree rail you'll find:

  • + Collection — create a new top-level collection
  • Search the catalogue (⌘K) — jump straight to a reference or title
  • Collapse all — close every open collection
  • Display options (⚙ icon):
    • Show first — reference code or title, whichever you want leading each row. It's your choice on this device, over the workspace default set in Settings.
    • Hide empty levels — fold any levels with no accessions or items filed to them

The page also carries a Deleted tab beside Catalogue, where a deleted collection can be recovered.

Creating a collection​

  1. Click + Collection at the top of the tree (or Create a collection on the empty state).
  2. Fill in:
    • Title (required) — the name of the creating person, family, or organisation
    • Reference code (optional) — your institutional identifier
    • Date span (optional) — the dates of creation
    • Scope and content — narrative description
    • Biographical / administrative history — about the creator
  3. Save. The collection appears in the tree.

Archivers.ai applies ISAD(G) and DACS defaults to the fond schema — you can adjust them in Settings → Data Model under the Collection category.

Adding sub-levels​

Select a collection in the tree and its record opens on the right: its ISAD(G) description, the items filed at that level, the accessions filed into it, and its activity.

Every row in the tree carries a ⋯ menu. Add child collection adds a sub-level beneath it. Nesting follows one rule rather than a table of permitted pairs: a collection may sit under any collection of a higher level, and sub-series and sub-sub-series may also nest inside themselves. So you can skip any level you don't need — Fond → Series → Sub-series is valid, and so is Fond → Section → Series.

The levels, highest first: Fonds · Sub-fonds · Section · Sub-section · Series · Sub-series · Sub-sub-series, plus Folder — a single level of children used by simple-list collections (see below), holding items and nothing else.

Each level has its own description fields, inherited defaults from the parent, and a date span computed from its children.

How a collection is arranged​

Settings… in a collection's ⋯ menu asks how it is arranged:

  • As an archive — sections, series and sub-series, with items filed inside them. References follow the tree.
  • As a simple list — items sit in the collection itself, in folders if you like. No sections or series.

The same dialog holds whether two things in the collection may share a reference, the Former reference prefix, and whether there is a paper list in the searchroom.

Editing ISAD(G) fields​

With a collection selected, its record on the right carries the ISAD(G) description panel — the full element set for that level. Edit the fields in place and click Save changes; AI draft in the corner of the panel offers to draft them from what is filed beneath (see AI Analyse ISAD).

Edit in the ⋯ menu opens a smaller dialog for the things that are not description: Title, Level, Reference code, Dates, Former reference and an Internal note. Changing the reference code after the collection exists is fine — useful when institutional identifiers arrive late or a numbering scheme is applied retroactively.

Rearranging​

Reparenting is done from a collection's ⋯ menu. Move to… opens the destination tree so you can pick a new parent in one step; the whole sub-tree goes with it. The same menu carries Renumber…, Move up, Move down, Add to dossier, Export…, Import into this collection… and Delete.

The Move to… dialog listing the whole destination tree by reference code, so a branch can be reparented in one step

Deleting a collection takes everything filed under it with it — the dialog says how many levels and records that is before you confirm, and the button reads Move to Deleted. Nothing is destroyed: it all goes to the Deleted tab beside Catalogue, where it can be brought back.

Best practices​

  • Mirror the creator, not the topic. Thornton Family Papers is a fond; World War One materials is a dossier.
  • Keep the hierarchy shallow. Three levels is usually enough. Five-level hierarchies become hard to navigate.
  • Reference codes are your friend. Set them once at fond level; sub-fonds and series inherit a prefix automatically.
  • Use the description field generously at the top. Researchers read fond-level descriptions first; that's where to put context.

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