Ten years ago the authors published the results of their work to create a comprehensive descriptive framework for the historical documentation of the Holy See primarily housed in repositories within Vatican City. The Archivio Segreto Vaticano is the most important of these repositories, and descriptions of its holdings form the bulk of the publication. This article revisits this project ten years after publication to assess its contribution and the extent to which work at the various Vatican repositories has improved on the work done by the Michigan team. This retrospective explores issues relating to the limits of information technology, the complications of joint projects, the role of scholars in the descriptive process, and the need for conceptual frameworks in digital-based description.

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