secondary use

Detail from letter sent by George Williamson of Cambridge, Massachusetts, to his sister Marjorie Williamson on January 13, 1904. Its primary use was communication between brother and sister. Providing an entertaining Illustration for this definition is a secondary use of this letter. (Courtesy of Harvard University Archives, HUM_126_017) n. any purpose to which a record is put that is not the initial purpose for which it was created