20.The context of creation of records in relation to their functions

In addition to form and structure there is a third concept that constitutes part of the analytical instruments of archival science: the concept of context. This concept can also be applied from a logical as well as a physical perspective. In archival science, context of creation is often used in the logical sense: the environmental factors that directly decide how records are generated, structured and retrieved. These environmental factors can be defined in terms of function and organisation. The functional context is the mission of the organisation, the tasks that the organisation has taken upon itself in order accomplish that mission and the activities that it develops to perform those tasks. The organisational or procedural context is the structure of the organisation, the actors and their interactions and the arrangement of the work processes that determine the manner in which their activities are performed. The physical or material context consists of the locations where, and the objects in which, the documents have been stored. This material context primarily supports physical preservation and adequate consultation. It also indicates intentionally or unintentionally the value or the significance of the documents concerned. Title deeds, for example, are kept in a safe, bank statements in a file, a university degree in a nice case, a certificate of competence framed on the wall and recent love letters in the bedside table drawer. Records cannot be properly interpreted without taking their context of creation into account. Data regarding the context of creation should therefore also be included in the same information system of which the records form a part. Actually, the same should go for data related to the physical or material context of the records.