Know-It-All in 20 minutes: Using the Library Catalogue to Find Archival Records

Lists of records are uploaded to the library’s catalogue each week. Here’s how you can find them

From the Archival Research Guide In the Archival Research Guide, go to the “Starting Your Research” tab

Use the Quick Search Box On the “Starting Your Research” page, find a search box entitled “Quick Search for Archival primary sources”. This search box will limit the Library’s catalogue to search only the Archives.

Type in search term(s) Type your search terms in the search box and select “Go”. For my example, I have used the term diary.

Get the Details My search brought up 14 titles. You will notice that the title of a group of records is displayed along with the retrieval number. Select “Details” for the fourth title, Marshall B. Thompson.

What’s in the folders? Marshall B. Thompson has 5 folders and the details of the contents in each folder, including 3 diaries. The catalogue gives the call number, the format of the items, and the inclusive dates of the items. Call number Folder contents Title/format/dates

Visit the Kirkconnell Room Come to the Kirkconnell Room on Level B1 of the Library to access items located in the Archives. Bring the retrieval number and title of the group of records.

Let’s try another example from within the Library catalogue

From inside the catalogue While you are in the Library catalogue, select “New Search” to go to the basic search screen.

Type in search term In the “words anywhere” search box, type another search term. For this example, I have used the term maps. Do not search yet!

Limit the search Make sure to look under the Search Limits section of the page for the “library” search drop box and select “Esther Clark Wright Archives”; this will limit your search to the Archives only. Now, search the catalogue.

Get the details My search brought up 9 titles. Again, the title of a group of records is displayed along with the retrieval number. Select “Details” for the sixth title, Douglas Eagles.

What’s in the folders? Douglas Eagles has only one item – a map. The details of that map are provided with dates and call number. Title/format/dates Folder contents Call number

Visit the Kirkconnell Room Remember, you can look at items located in the Archives by visiting the Kirkconnell Room on Level B1 of the Library. Bring the retrieval number and title of the group of records.

Contact us for help Our staff can help you cite the archival material in Acadia’s Archives. Please contact us for assistance