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Archival Collections

Use this research guide to learn how to search and use physical and digital archival collections.

Archives Searching

Take a look at these 10 quick tips to help you properly navigate and use archival collections.

  1. Do some preliminary research to see what's out there and what you can realistically access before deciding on a topic

  1. Archives are typically stored in collections by provenance, which means that items are typically stored together depending on who or where they come from in order to preserve that original historical meaning, rather than by subject matter. Use this to guide your search strategy.

  1. Because archivists try to retain the organizational structure from the creator of the collection (typically the donor), the order of materials may not always be intuitive, so be patient when sorting through archival materials.

  1. If you visit an archive in person, be aware that most archival materials are generally not something that you can check out and take home with you.  Due to their historic significance, most archival materials are kept in a carefully monitored or climate-controlled environment to help preserve them.  However, several archives have digitized or have the ability to digitize parts of their collections, which can make access easier.

  1. If there is one, use the finding aid that accompanies an archival collection.  The finding aid provides information about the arrangement of series, boxes, and folders within a collection, and it can help you locate materials easier.

  1. Even though certain items may be held in a collection, there may be time-based or privacy-based restrictions that prevent you from viewing certain documents in their entirety or at all.

  1. No single archival collection will contain everything that exists about a particular individual, organization, or subject, so you will likely have to piece together items across multiple collections to get a complete picture of what's out there.

  1. Use SOAPS (Subject, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, and Speaker) to help you interpret archival materials and put the information you find into context.

  1. Remember to cite any archival sources that you quote, paraphrase, or summarize in your work!  Referencing these sources without proper attribution is plagiarism.

  1. Don't be afraid to ask for help!  It can be daunting to dig through all the archival materials available, so talking to the archivist who manages the collection can help you get started on the right path.

 

 

Be Creative

Just like when you're doing research using "normal" sources (secondary sources such as articles and books,) it helps to get a sense of what's out there before you officially choose your topic. This is even more important in the case of digital archival collections; most institutions are only able to digitize a small fraction of their archival collections.

 

Consider SOAPS

SOAPS is an acronym that can help you interpret a primary source. (Primary sources are things usually found in archival collections, like photographs, diaries, letters, etc. that come from the original period in history.)

Subject - Who or what is this source about?

Occasion - When and where was this found or created?

Audience - Who is it intended for?

Purpose - Why was it created? What does that mean to me?

Speaker - Who created it?

 

Don't Give Up!

It's easy to get frustrated when you're doing research using digital archival collections; there might not be as much useful information out there as you were expecting. You may also have to navigate all kinds of different collections websites. On the homepage of this guide, I've given you a list of digital collections that might be useful, but there are tons more out there on the internet. Try searching (your topic) and digital collections or archives in Google to see what else is out there.

 

Ask For Help

When you're doing research, give yourself enough time to ask for help if you run into problems. Feel free to send me an email if you're running into problems! It also might be helpful to contact archivists and librarians at other institutions with collections useful to your research to see if they can give you other suggestions for digital collections.