Special Collections Research Strategies

Working with archival or manuscript collections at SCRC is a bit different than working with our rare books and printed materials. To search through all SCRC manuscript collections, you must go to our Finding Aids Database! Processed collections will each have their own detailed finding aid.

Finding aids are guides to the contents of archival collections. They contain notes about the people or organizations who created or collected the materials, how and when the SCRC acquired them, and an inventory of what is included. You can search finding aids for manuscripts, institutional records, media, photographs, correspondence, memorabilia, and printed works found within our collections. We encourage you to review the finding aids of SCRC collections you'd like to work with before scheduling your Reading Room visit so that you can ask questions in advance and request the specific materials you would like to view. 

When you first arrive to the website, you should see a Basic Search bar which has the option to type in your keyword to search. 

Note: In the bottom right-hand corner, there are search tips that can help with formatting your search correctly.

There is also the Advanced Search option which can be accessed by pressing Advanced Search below the search bar. This gives you a different search bar with options to specify what field you are searching within: keyword, name, place, subject, or title.

Once you start your search, you are sent to a results page which should look like this!

On the left-hand side, there are Filters to narrow your results: date range, names, subjects, types of material, subject strengths, and languages.

You can also find a Sort feature in the top right-hand corner.

To look further into a collection, click on its title and it will take you to its finding aid with all the information related to the collection. An example of one of SCRC's finding aids can be seen below.

Key Overview information that will be repeated in each finding aid is outlined in different colors:

• Orange: the finding aid's table of contents, which provides links to the finding aid's different sections. You can view these sections by clicking the links in the table of contents or simply by scrolling down the page.
• Red: the collection's title. Collections will be named for the person, family, or organization that created the documentation present in the finding aid. Collections from individuals or families will often be referred to as "papers," while collections from organizations, businesses, and other institutions will be referred to as "records."
• Yellow: clicking this button will take you to a printable version of the finding aid, if you would like to review and take notes on a paper copy.
• Green: the inclusive dates, or the dates covered by the documentation in the collection. This may help you rule out (or focus in on) particular collections if your research covers a specific time period.
• Blue: the quantity of the collection. This information provides the extent of the collection and can help you to plan how much to request or the length of time you might need for a Reading Room visit.
• Purple: the languages present in the collection's documentation.

As you continue to read the finding aid, you'll come across additional informative sections, such as 

The Biographical History, which gives background information on the person or people, place(s), organization(s), or event(s) that the collection relates to.

The Scope and Content, which give an overview of how collection is organized and what is included.

The Subject and Genre Headings lists subjects that the collection is processed under which is also a great place to look for the subject headings related to your chosen interests.

Related Materials is a great place to go for further exploration into other recommended collections based on the subject

And Administrative Information, which gives information related to the acquisition of the collection, the creator(s) of the Finding Aid itself, and the Preferred Citation when using any resource within that collection.

Next, we'll take a closer look at the Inventory section of a finding aid, often the most critical section for research!

The inventory section near the end of the finding aid is where you will find descriptive information on the contents of the collection. While rare books are organized by call number, most manuscript collections are organized by box number. Manuscript collections are often divided into sections such as Correspondence, Writings, Biographical Materials, and Memorabilia. Some of these sections can be further subdivided (for instance, Writings might be subdivided into Articles & Essays and Books). When requesting any materials from the SCRC collections, it is important to use the inventory to gain the exact box number(s) you are wanting to investigate further.

As you can see from the image on the right, box numbers are listed along the left side of the finding aid inventory and the contents are listed directly across from the box number.

Note that the inventory section doesn't usually describe individual documents or items within the collection--there are too many! An inventory usually describes a collection's contents by the topics covered in a single box or a single folder of material.

Once you've identified boxes that you'd like to see, you may:

• request them for a Reading Room visit as part of completing the Visit Request Form.
• ask the SCRC reference librarians about ordering reproductions if a Reading Room visit isn't possible.

Please do also ask SCRC's reference librarians if any information in SCRC's finding aids is unclear or inaccurate.

• If you select the Ask a Question link under the Table of Contents section of any of the SCRC finding aids, you will be directed to a screen which allows you write an email to the SCRC Reference Librarian specifically regarding the collection of that finding aid. 
• Some of our finding aids are very long, so make sure you scroll down all the way when looking at the finding aids to ensure you see the entire inventory of the collection.
• Additionally, some collections are still being processed, which means they have not been completely organized into searchable folders and boxes by the processing archivists. The finding aid will usually note these collections as "unprocessed." These collections require special permission to access, so please contact us in advance.