Understanding Original Order
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Original order implies that records should be maintained in the order in which
they were originally kept when in active use.
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Original order is NOT the order imposed on the material by someone who was not involved
with the records while they were in active use, but rather it is the order in
which they were maintained by those who used the materials.
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When original order is maintained, you are in fact preserving
existing relationships and evidential significance [Example: Victorian
photo album; the arrangement of R.B. Bennett's prime ministerial papers in
Ottawa]
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The principle of original order requires that the original
order be preserved or reconstructed, unless it is absolutely clear that there
was no original order and that the records had been a) accumulated and
organized haphazardly by the creator or b) added to or rearranged by
successors/custodians [often the case - what archivists refer to as "a dog's
breakfast"]
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