Browsing Archival Collections
COLLECTIONS is where you will be able to browse all publicly available finding aids for archival collections. Not all finding aids or collection descriptions are online, so please contact Special Collections if you need help with your search.
Use the blue header at the top of the Finding Aids for Archival Collections website to select COLLECTIONS.
The default sorting will be alphabetical by Title, but you can also sort by Year.
Filter your results using the boxes to the right of the list. You can type a keyword, beginning year, or ending year and hit the blue Search button.
You can also filter collections by Subject; Language of the materials found in the collection; or Names of people, organizations, businesses, or families. Click on "v more" to see additional terms in each section.
In addition to the Title, Dates, and Collection Identifier, this view displays each collection's Abstract, a very brief summary of what the collection is about, what kinds of materials you can find in it, and who created it. In most collections, you will find a longer Scope and Content Note and Biographical or Historical Note inside that expands upon this information.
SUBJECTS includes five different types of subjects: Genre/Form, Geographic, Occupation, Topical, and Uniform Title. All of these terms come from standardized vocabularies, including the Library of Congress Subject Headings and the Getty Art & Architecture Thesaurus. There are many keywords that appear in the text of a finding aid, but are NOT formally added as subjects. Browsing via SUBJECTS can help you find highly relevant materials, but it will not necessarily bring up identical results as a keyword search typed into the text box.
Use the blue header at the top of the Finding Aids for Archival Collections website to select SUBJECTS.
Subjects will display in alphabetical order. They can also be filtered by keyword.
When you click on a subject, you will see a list of collections to which it was assigned. This list is presented alphabetically by title and cannot be reordered.
You can further refine these results by using the "Names" filter on the right side of the page.
On this page, you will also see information about the subject itself. Near the top of the page, you can see the "Subject Source." This is the vocabulary where the subject was found. On the right, you can look in the "Subject Term Type" box to see if the subject is classified as Genre/Form, Geographic, Occupation, Topical, or Uniform Title.
NAMES includes three different types of names: Person, Organization, and Family. There are many names that appear in the text of a finding aid, but are NOT browsable in this way. Browsing via NAMES can help you find highly relevant materials, but it will not necessarily bring up identical results as a keyword search typed into the text box.
Use the blue header at the top of the Finding Aids for Archival Collections website to select NAMES.
Names will display in alphabetical order. They can also be filtered by keyword.
You can further refine these results by using the "Type" filter on the right side of the page.
When you click on a name, you will see a list of collections to which it was assigned. This list is presented alphabetically by title and cannot be reordered.
You can further refine these results by using the "Subject" filter on the right side of the page.
On this page, you will also see information about the subject itself. Near the top of the page, under the Name, you will see its type: Person, Organization, or Family.
COLLECTION CATEGORIES comprise the fundamental organizational scheme for non-bibliographic materials in Special Collections. Every archival collection has been assigned a specific collection call number, which identifies the Collection Category and the kind of materials found within. This linked document explains how Collection Categories may help shape research strategies.
IMPORTANT: This link and all of the individual Collection Category links will LOAD VERY SLOWLY
Use the blue header at the top of the Finding Aids for Archival Collections website to select COLLECTION CATEGORIES.
The Collection Category page displays the full list of twelve categories, with their numerical identifiers and names.
When you click on a Collection Category link, all of the collections assigned to it will display alphabetically by title and cannot be reordered.
On this page, you will also see information about the Collection Category itself. Near the top of the page, you can see a paragraph that describes the scope and numbering scheme.
