Glossary
The words we reach for most often when we write about a household archive — not a professional archivist's full vocabulary, just the terms that come up on this journal.
AAccession
The act of formally adding an item to an archive, along with the date it entered — the moment a stray document stops being loose paper and becomes part of the record.
AAcid migration
The transfer of acidity from a low-quality sheet, such as newsprint, into a neighboring page through direct, prolonged contact — one reason archivists separate certain paper stocks.
CCall number
A short code assigned to a folder or box that fixes its place in a numbering scheme, independent of what the folder is actually about.
CCertificate box
A container reserved for one-off official documents — deeds, certificates, titles — kept apart from the routine paper that moves in and out of an archive more often.
DDeacidification
A conservation treatment intended to neutralize acid already present in a sheet of paper, usually applied to a single valuable document rather than an entire box.
DDisposal ledger
A running record of what has left an archive, when it left, and why — the counterpart to an accession log.
FFastener rust
Corrosion staining left on paper by a metal paperclip, staple, or pin that has been pressed against the same sheet for years.
FFoxing
Small brown or reddish spots that develop on older paper, generally linked to mold activity or trace metal impurities already present in the paper stock.
HHanging file
A suspended folder system that keeps individual folders upright on rails, so they stay accessible without slumping to the bottom of a drawer.
IIndex slip
A short paper record listing what a box or folder contains, kept at the front so the contents can be checked without unpacking everything.
LLedger
A bound or loose-leaf record used to log entries in the order they happen, rather than sorted after the fact.
MManila stock
The tan, semi-rigid paper traditionally used for file folders, valued for its fiber strength and its resistance to tearing at the fold.
OOrder of arrival
Filing by the date a document entered the archive, rather than by its subject — the organizing principle this journal keeps coming back to.
PProvenance
The record of where a document came from and how it entered the archive — who handed it over, and on what date.
RRetention period
The length of time a household intends to keep a category of document before it comes up for review.
SSeries
A group of documents that share a function or origin, filed and numbered together as a unit regardless of the subjects inside.
SShelf list
A master list showing which call number lives on which physical shelf — the map that makes a numbering scheme actually usable.
TTab bleed
The practice of letting a folder's label tab extend past the edge of a drawer or box so it stays visible once folders are stacked close together.
VVertical file
A filing method that stores folders upright on their edge, rather than stacked flat, so each one can be read from its tab.
WWeeding
The periodic review and removal of documents that have passed their retention period — the practical opposite of accession.