1.8.1 From Unit of Description to R

1.8.1 From Unit of Description to Record and Record SetA mainstay in ISAD(G) is “unit of description.” ISAD(G) (and a major portion of the professional literature on description) assumes that individual records and aggregations of records may be each described in the same way, and, implicitly, that they are the same kind of thing. Although in practice archivists have long recognized that this is not the case, there has been no clear guidance, which has led to confused and inconsistent description. RiC-CM treats each as a distinct kind of thing, and though there are many shared properties, the manner in which one should be described is not the same as the manner in which the other should be described. Treating each as a distinct kind of thing, created at different times and for different purposes, enables description that is unambiguous and clear.