International Standard for Describing Institutions with Archival Holdings

ISDIAH is an international standard developed by the International Council on Archives (ICA) for describing institutions that hold archival materials. The standard provides guidelines and frameworks that enable archival institutions worldwide to create consistent, comparable descriptions of their organizational structures, mandates, and holdings.

As part of the ICA's broader standardization effort in the archival field, ISDIAH complements other ICA descriptive standards by focusing specifically on institutional-level description rather than individual records or collections. The standard is available in multiple languages including English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Romanian, Welsh, Japanese, Arabic, Polish, Greek, and Croatian, reflecting its international scope and application across diverse archival communities globally.