Arrangement is the process of organizing collection materials into an order that is useful for patrons, or that reflects their original order. 

In each collection there is an intellectual arrangement, and a physical arrangement. The physical arrangement can either follow the intellectual arrangement, or it can follow a different arrangement plan. The finding aid in ArchivesSpace joins the two arrangements. This permits users to view the materials in context, but also view the materials' container numbers to submit a request for them. 

Consider the two types of arrangement when creating a processing plan for your collection.

Processors can choose from the following levels of processing:

Minimal / Collection Level:

• Leave arrangement as is
• Rebox if unserviceable in current housing

Low / Series or Subseries Level:

• Arrange series and/or boxes into rough order
• Replace damaged boxes, house loose items, replace folders only if unserviceable

Moderate / File Level (expedited):

• Arrange folders in rough order (within series if appropriate), retain original order when possible, roughly sort loose items
• Replace boxes, retain existing folders and labels if in good shape

Intensive / Folder Level (traditional):

• Arrange folders in order (within series if appropriate), impose new organizational scheme, sort loose items into folders
• Replace boxes and folders, selectively perform preservation actions for fragile or valuable items

Highly Intensive / Item Level:

• Items are placed in order in boxes and folders (within series if appropriate)
• Replace boxes and folders, comprehensively address housing or preservation needs for fragile items, reformat audio-visual materials

Intellectual arrangement is the order of materials that helps users understand how they were created and kept by the creator. It helps users see the records in context and understand their relationship to the creator and to other records in the collection. It is often the original order that the creator kept them in, or it can be an order imposed by the processor.

Provenance is the origin or source of something. In terms of archives, it refers to the the individual, family, or organization that created or received the items in a collection. Provenance is a fundamental principle of archives. As a rule, records of the same provenance should not be mixed with those of a different provenance, and the archivist should maintain the original order in which the records were created and kept. (1)

Original order is the organization and sequence of records established by the creator of the records. Maintaining records in original order serves two purposes: 1) it preserves existing relationships and evidential significance that can be inferred from the context of the records, and 2) it exploits the record creator's mechanisms to access the records, saving the archives the work of creating new access tools.

Original order is not the same as the order in which the materials were received. Items may have had their original order disturbed, such as during the transfer process. These misfiled items may be refiled in their proper location to restore original order.

Series are the groups of like materials within a collection. Series are the means by which archivists create an intellectual arrangement in a collection. Processors either use the existing series present in a collection, or create series of similar materials by subject, date, or material type. 

The physical arrangement is how the materials are distributed in the boxes; that is, which box and folder they live in. As mentioned above, the physical arrangement can match or differ from the intellectual arrangement. ArchivesSpace joins the two and allows us to see the series list (intellectual arrangement) or the container list (physical arrangement).