Freund and Toms note that finding aids became the preferred means of user mediation with a collection, as a result of the print nature of most historical materials.
[6] Clayton McGehee argues that the finding aid became preferred by archivists and repositories as a means of organizing their collections because it allowed for them to intellectually and physically control the items they held.
They may also include subject headings drawn from LCSH, AAT, or other controlled vocabulary, and may cross-refer to related collections in other repositories.
[12] A Biographical/Historical Note describes a collection from the perspective of the time period it was created, providing background information on a person or organization.
The Scope and Content note briefly explains the collection's provenance, its arrangement and date range, and in general what kind of materials it contains—letters, reports, photographs, audio/video, etc.
Additional Information contains details of related materials, language, citation instructions, any sponsors, and the date of processing.
The standard was developed in response to the growing role of networks in accessing information describing archival holdings, and to enable the exchange of records between repositories.
[17] Freund and Toms asserted that collections become digitally accessible in greater frequency, archivists can no longer be expected to assist users at their every need.
He argued that in order to remain in touch with the rapid share and spread of information, finding aids must interact with digital libraries.
Laura Farley argued that both of these concerns about the speed of changing information and the need to adapt, could be supplemented by adding user annotations to online finding aids.