1. Archival Research: The Basics

3. Archives
The records created by people and organizations as they lived and worked (NYPL).
An archival collection is a unique body of information, created at a particular time by a particular organization or individual as the result of a particular activity (Getty, Intro to Archival Organization and Description).

4. Collections usually consist of:
Unpublished materials that accumulate organically over the course of time
Saved for the enduring value of the information they contain
And/or for their value as artifacts
And/or as evidence of the work or activities of the creator

5. Archival collections can contain just about anything that was created or saved by a person or organization

6. Primary Sources
Materials that provide direct evidence, first-hand testimony, or an eyewitness account of a topic or event under investigation.
They can be published or unpublished items in any format, including handwritten letters, images, sound, objects, or the built environment.
(Source:  The Craft of Research by Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, c2008)

7. analyze and interpret primary sources
Secondary Sources
analyze and interpret primary sources

8. Archival Arrangement Materials are grouped into collections,
according to provenance,
and kept in their original order when possible.

9. Unique & Idiosyncratic
No single repository or collection will contain everything there is on a specific individual, organization, or subject.
Collections contain only what was saved and what has lasted.

10. Analog vs. Digital
The vast majority of the unpublished archival material that exists in libraries, historical societies, and manuscript and institutional repositories is not available online.

11. Finding Archival Materials
Where to look?

12. Finding Collections is a Two-Step Process
Search union catalogs, databases, and secondary sources to discover collections and find out where they are held.
Search at the repository level to learn about specific collections and the library as a whole.

13. Institutional Archives
Types of Repositories
Research Libraries
Government Archives
Community Archives
Institutional Archives
Private Collections

14. 5 Steps for Repository-Level Searching
1) Review Repository Website
2) Browse the A-Z Collection List
3) Search Across Finding Aids
4) Search the Library Catalog
5) Contact the Library Staff

16. Washington Square, 1900

17. Cuomo’s $700 Million Plan to Replace Bronx’s Sheridan Expressway https://nyti.ms/2naTv0F[nyti.ms]

18. nypl.org

20. Keep in Mind… Some collections will not have finding aids
Others may only be described in paper tools at the library
Not all libraries have the resources to catalog and/or fully process collections, to write finding aids, or to post them online
Access can be uneven within a library
Archival research takes time (more time than you may think)
Speaking with the library staff will help streamline your efforts

21. How Do Archival Collections End Up in Particular Libraries?
Institutional affiliation
Social or cultural connection
Geography
Collection strengths
Institutional resources to make the collection available

22. Finding Collections Repository Level Searching
Catalogs, Databases, Secondary Sources

23. Union Catalogs & Databases for Searching Research Libraries
WorldCat
ArchiveGrid
NUCMC (“nuck-muck” – National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections)
Archives Finder NYPL)
Google

25. https://beta.worldcat.org/archivegrid/

26. Records for manuscript collections created since 1986 are in WorldCat.
1.5 million catalog records describing archival and manuscript collections and individual manuscripts in public, college and university, and special libraries.
Records created from 1959 to 1985 are available in the print volumes of NUCMC (at N-YHS & NYPL) and in the database Archives Finder, which is available at select NYPL research libraries.
Records for manuscript collections created since 1986 are in WorldCat.

28. Images
Samuel Finley Breese Morse papers,
Tip O'Neil Congressional Papers, Burns Library, Boston College (CC- BY-NC-ND 2.0) license.
Moses Sproule Diary, 1779.
New-York Historical Society
N-YHS Card Catalog
Fortified Northwestern Railway Bridge Over the Indus at Attock
Library of Congress
Langsdale Library Special Collections
Birthday Greetings
The New York Public Library 45
Map
Passport
No War on Iraq Flyer
Cassette Tape
Manuscript Cookbook
Buttons
Samuel Clemens Letter
NYC Photo
Clippings
Diary
Manuscript Draft
Ledger
Last Will
Burns Library – Before and After
Washington Square Park, 1900
Mary Henry Diary,
Duke University – Center for Death Penalty Litigation Records
Pigeon on New York Public Library Lion
Images (L-R): ArchiveGrid.org. WorldCat.org. Walt Whitman letter, NYPL, “SLClemens to Rollin M. Daggett, 1 May 1880,” “No War on Iraq” flyer, N-YHS Mss Card Catalog, Archival Boxes, Tip O'Neil Congressional Papers, Burns Library, Boston College. 2.0 (CC- BY-NC-ND 2.0) license. Photograph, Fortified Northwestern Railway Bridge Over the Indus at Attock. LC, Guide to the Shirley Hayes Papers, N-YHS,

29. Adjunct Reference Librarian
Thank you!
Donna Davey
Adjunct Reference Librarian
Archival Research LibGuide