For Archivists ·
What you'll accomplish
Your raw processing notes go in; polished finding aid sections come out. This guide sets up Claude as your drafting assistant for scope and content notes, biographical notes, series descriptions, and administrative histories. With a Pro account, Claude handles long inputs (entire inventories, multiple documents) and maintains consistent voice across a full finding aid.
What you'll need
Go to {{tool:Claude.url}} and click Sign Up. You can sign in with Google or create an email account.
What you should see: The Claude chat interface with an empty conversation.
At the start of each finding aid session, tell Claude your institutional context so it can maintain consistency throughout the conversation.
Type this setup message:
I'm an archivist writing finding aids for [type of institution — e.g., a university special collections library]. I follow DACS standards for archival description. Our finding aids use [formal/accessible] tone. I'll be giving you my processing notes and asking you to draft various sections. Please ask clarifying questions if you need more information rather than guessing.
What you should see: Claude acknowledges your context and confirms it's ready to help with archival description.
Paste your processing notes and ask for the scope and content note:
Here are my processing notes for the [Collection Name]. Please draft a DACS-compliant scope and content note of about 200 words.
Creator: [name, dates, role]
Date range: [years]
Extent: [X linear feet]
Contents:
- [Series 1: types of records, topics covered]
- [Series 2: types of records, topics covered]
- [Key subjects, people, events documented]
What you should see: A structured scope and content note covering what the collection contains, the creator's significance, and what researchers will find.
Follow up in the same conversation:
Now draft a biographical note (or administrative history if an organization) of about 150 words for the finding aid. Include: [list key dates, positions, and biographical facts you know].
What you should see: A biographical narrative integrating your facts into coherent prose.
For each series, paste your inventory and ask for the description:
Draft a series-level description (2–3 sentences) for this series:
Series name: [name]
Dates: [range]
Extent: [size]
Contents: [list what's in the folders]
Repeat for each series.
Troubleshooting: If Claude's output sounds too generic, add more specific details from your notes. Even small specifics (a notable correspondent, an unusual document type, an unusual date) make descriptions more accurate and useful.
Copy Claude's output into your word processor or directly into ArchivesSpace. Review against your processing notes for:
Edit as needed and enter into ArchivesSpace.
Draft a 200-word DACS scope and content note for: Creator [name/dates], Collection [name], Dates [range], Contents: [list]Write a 150-word biographical note for [name], [profession], [dates]. Key facts: [list dates and roles]Write a 2-sentence series description for Series [name], containing [record types], [dates]Suggest 6 LCSH subject headings for a collection based on this scope note: [paste]Rewrite this scope note to be more accessible for non-specialist researchers: [paste existing note]