Overview
The top of every finding aid will look the same and remains constant in every subsection. Here you will find the collection's name, identifier, citation creator, link to print, and blue navigation "pill" at the center.
The finding aid is produced dynamically and broken up into multiple sections. You CANNOT use Control + F to search on the pages. If you want to use this kind of search, you should use the "Print" button to generate a PDF of the entire finding aid. It will save in your computer's "Downloads" folder. The name of the file will be the collection's identifier (e.g. mss0113.xml.pdf).
Finding Aid Subsections
If you want to search WITHIN the collection, use the "Search Collection" box on the right. You will only have the "Search Collection" box on the Collection Overview tab.
In this section you will find Notes that apply to the entire collection. While not every collection will provide information for every field, you will always have a Title, Inclusive Date(s), Creator, Language of Materials, Conditions Governing Access, Conditions Governing Use, and Extent. Commonly, collections will also include one or more Biographical or Historical Notes, Abstract, Immediate Source of Acquisition, Shelving Summary, and Processing Information.
If any part of a collection is available digitally, the will be a "Materials Available in Alternative Format" note in the "Additional Description" section. This will include a link to the digital materials and some contextual information.
Names and Subjects will appear after the Notes. If you click on any of them, you will go to the main page for that Name or Subject and see a list of all collections that include it.
Towards the bottom, you will see boxes that contain Finding Aid & Administrative Information and Repository Details. The Finding Aid & Administrative Information will tell you when the finding aid was created and if there have been any notable revisions to it since it was published.
You can use the "Collection organization" navigation panel on the right side of the page to jump directly to a specific section in the finding aid or click on the Collection Organization tab in the blue organization pill for additional navigation options.
The "Collection Organization" is where the full list of materials in the collection is located. This is generally the longest part of the finding aid and where you can determine what part(s) of the collection to request.
The top of the page will feature a brief overview, including the abstract and dates.
You can use the navigation panel at the right of the page to move directly to a specific Archival Object (series, subseries, file, item). Alternatively, you can begin scrolling down the page and the navigation panel will automatically move to where you are and highlight that component.
When you click on an Archival Object, you may get additional information about it, such as a Scope and Content Note.
You can use the navigation panel to jump directly to another Archival Object.
You can also use the yellow "breadcrumb" bar at the top of the page to move to a higher level or back to the original scrollable view of the entire collection.
If a digital version of the collection material is available, there will be a generic image icon next to the Archival Object's title in the navigation panel.
When you navigate to the Archival Object's page, click on the blue "Go to file" box underneath the "breadcrumbs" to pop open a new window with the digital content inside of it.
The Container Inventory tab gives you a listing of the physical containers in which the collection is housed.
The physical organization of a collection does not necessarily match the intellectual organization of a collection, so this view may be confusing.
If the View Digital Material tab appears on the blue navigation pill, it indicates that at least some portion of the collection is available online.
The vast majority of the Digital Material subrecords in this system are not sufficiently robust to search or browse effectively.
DO NOT click on this tab.
Navigate to digital materials from the Collection Overview or Collection Organization tabs.