The HBCU Archivist
This LibGuide is a brief introduction on how to read a Finding Aid for any new researchers or students seeking to use the Special Collections Department. According to the National Archives website, Finding Aids are tools that help a user find information in a specific person, company, or an ephemera of archival materials. Examples of finding aids include inventories and container lists of the collections contents, biographical information on the collection and explanation of the arrangement of the materials. For archival collections, a finding aid is like a catalog record to describe everything about the materials in the collections for research purposes.
Key Elements of a Finding Aid
The follow sections can be found in a finding aid:
Content of Inventory
Summary
Biographical Sketch
Scope and Content Note
Lists of Sub-groups, series and sub-series
Series Descriptions
Index Terms (or Approved Subject Headings)
Container List
Additionally, if anyone's interested in a presentation on How to Create a Finding Aid created by Evelyn Davis, Librarian I, please click on the hyperlink.
When you are reading a Finding Aid, it is important to know what type of collection you are viewing in the Reading Room of the Special Collection & Archives department. Whether you are visiting an academic institution, museum, historical society, or private collection, you will come across different types of collections: University Archives, Manuscript Collections, and Digital Libraries. In an academic library, the main topic will be about the University Records which contain information about the institution overall.
This section in the Finding Aid describes the creator of the materials, call numbers, a brief abstract of the collection's contents, the size and extent of the collection (in boxes and cubic feet), inclusive years and language(s) represented in the collection.
Additionally, when citing a collection, use the following format:
Name of Collection, [Manuscript Number], [Finding Aid Section Name], John B. Coleman Library Archives and Special Collections, Prairie View, TX. [Page range], [Year].
Access Use and Restrictions are about protecting the historical documents using the donor's deed of gift agreement. Even though patrons can use the Archive and Special Collections department for free, each collection has access use restrictions by the donor's request or copyright issue if there is no identifiable donor.
The Biographical Sketch of a Finding Aid is a chronological narrative highlighting key points of the collection's creator.
The Scope of the collection is the overall description of the collection's contents and arrangement of the items. An example of intellectual arrangement for a collection can be grouped together by subject matter of the collection's content or chronological order by highlighting an individual's lifespan (or company's achievements).
Every collection is arranged by a series and series description explaining what content is in each section or subsection.
Subject Headings generally consist of four different types:
1. Topical headings are those that use a word or phrase to describe the content.
Example: American Students
2. Form headings are used to describe the genre or style of the item.
Example: Children's Literature; Poetry
3. Geographic headings have two different types: (by name) such as CANADA or (by subdivision) to indicate the focus of the item such as CANADA--ECONOMIC CONDITIONS.
4. Period headings relate to a time period. It may be the name of an historical event such as CHACO WAR, 1932-1935 or identify proper names like SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM, 1564-1616.
The last section of the finding aid lists all the items within the collection and the location of each item's box or oversized box. The list includes a brief description of the location of each box and corresponding folders, number of the box, number of the folder, and the description of the content in each folder if the collection is arranged by folder level. The inventory list will have the dates listed if the materials have dates on them or mark as "undated" so the researcher will know about the inconsistencies with inclusive dates about the collection.
Tutorials on How to Read a Finding Aid
This is a list of resources containing tutorials on How to Read a Finding Aid:
Purdue University. (2021). How to Read a Finding Aid
University of Pittsburgh Library System. (2020). A Guide to Primary Sources at the Archives Service Center: Reading a Finding Aid
University of Illinois at Chicago. (2022). Students Guide to Special Collections and University Archives Research: Reading a Finding Aid
Video Tutorials:
Finding Aid Basics: An Introduction to DACS
Finding Aids: Tools and Tips for Basic Description
Congratulations, now you know how to read a Finding Aid before your visit to the Reading Room of the Special Collections Department.
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