Archival Description in the Age of AI

The Archive and Heritage Group Institution
February 20, 2026
Tutorial
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Artificial intelligence is transforming how we approach archival description. From automated metadata extraction to natural language processing for finding aids, AI tools are becoming indispensable in modern archives.

At our institution, we have been piloting Heratio's built-in AI features — specifically the NER (Named Entity Recognition) module and the automatic summarization tool. The results have been encouraging: we've seen a 40% reduction in cataloging time for large collections while maintaining the quality standards expected by ISAD(G).

Key Takeaways

  • AI-assisted description works best as a complement to human expertise, not a replacement
  • NER is particularly effective for identifying persons, organizations, and geographic locations in correspondence collections
  • Automatic summarization helps create scope and content notes for large series
  • Always review AI-generated metadata before publishing

We look forward to sharing our full case study at the upcoming ICA Congress.

ai ner description isad-g cataloging

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