Descriptive Transcript
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ArchiveGrid. Finding Archives and Primary Sources in your community and beyond. |
ArchiveGrid Title Slide |
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Knowing which archives and cultural institutions have, the kinds of materials you need for your research might seem challenging. You may know that records of Northeastern University and underrepresented communities in Greater Boston are in our archives here at Northeastern. You may have visited an exhibit at the Massachusetts Historical Society with manuscripts from early New England. Or you may have heard that the Princeton University Library has the papers of F. Scott Fitzgerald. But how do you find out who has original documents and other primary source materials on your topic? |
Slide with three black and white photos. |
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ArchiveGrid can answer these questions. |
ArchiveGrid to the rescue! |
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ArchiveGrid is similar to a national library catalog or search engine for archival and manuscript collections in North America, and it includes some international collections, too. You may be familiar with similar resources like the Internet Archive or the Digital Public Library of America. But ArchiveGrid isn't itself a library of primary sources. Instead, it describes and links to where you can find them. |
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But aren't historical archives all on the web? Can't I rely on a Google search for primary sources? Not exactly. While Google is a great starting place for the millions of documents, objects, and photos that archives have put on the web, what is scanned or digitized may only be a fraction of our archival collections. |
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Why? Because scanning, especially high-quality scanning that researchers need, and maintaining scans and reliable systems for long-term use requires human and financial resources that not all cultural institutions have. Scanning can require special handling because of document fragility, and donors or copyright owners may have placed restrictions on putting materials online. |
Images of a document possibly being scanned, and handwritten notes in the Marjorie Bouve scrapbook in the Northeastern Digital Repository. |
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Plus, we are adding to our archives every day, and it can be hard to keep up. For example, on the left are signs from the Women's March in January . On the right, you can see the resources, people, technology, and space-- in this case, a parking garage-- that Northeastern needed to photograph these posters for online preservation and use. |
Image of digitization set up includes several people and many cameras and other equipment set up in a parking garage. |
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ArchiveGrid exposes archive catalogs to researchers. Most archives want researchers to know about what they have. They're welcoming to researchers, and they have experts on the topics they collect. They also prefer advance notice if you want to visit them in person. ArchiveGrid exposes what archives have, and help you in the archive plan ahead for a successful visit. |
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But can I visit archival collections during the pandemic? Due to COVID-, many archives are temporarily closed to the public. However, ArchiveGrid includes links to some scanned collections, too. Also, many art libraries are scanning materials on demand. Once you find a collection, you can contact the archive to ask about this service. |
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So ArchiveGrid connects you, not only to information about archives, but to archival experts who can help you understand what's available, or refer you to others, based on their networks of connections. This is Molly Brown, an archivist at Northeastern University. |
Image of Molly Brown and a map of the globe with archives highlighted with pins. |
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So let's get started. |
Start here: http://researchworks.oclc.org/archivegrid/ |
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On the home page of ArchiveGrid, you can search in your region to find out what cultural institutions are nearby, either by using a map, or by entering a state or zip code below the map. In this case, we're exploring central New Jersey, and especially, Princeton University's Firestone Library Manuscripts Division. Once you select that, it will show you a list of all of the collections available to you in the Manuscripts Division at Firestone. You can also search a topic. In this example, we are searching the Hurricane of 1938. It will show you what collections are available on that topic. Note, in this list, you'll find collections in Connecticut, Rhode island, New York, and more. If you click on Summary View at the top of the list, it will take you to a screen with a series of filters. If you look under Archive Locations, you can drill into which ones are in your local area. There are other filters like Topic and People. So in this case, you can narrow by location. If you're in Rhode island, select Rhode island, Providence. And it will show you collections related to the Hurricane of 1938 that are in that location. You can search a name, as well as a topic. In this example, we are searching for Carmen Pola, a Boston-based Latina community activist whose papers are at Northeastern University. Depending on the archive, this description may be brief or more detailed. In this example, there is background information on the collection, including the size of the collection, the types of documents or objects found, people mentioned in the collection, and any restrictions on its use. You can use this to determine if it's worth visiting the archive in person. In this example, we search for Ida B. Wells, the early the century Black American journalist. Note the button saying Finding Aid. A finding aid is a more detailed description of a collection, more than what we viewed on Carmen Pola. |
ArchiveGrid demo. |
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As you can see, this collection is at the Library at the University of Chicago. As you go through the list of folders and series, you'll see some like this pocket diary that are scanned already and can be viewed online. The other folders would require a visit to the archive, or you could contact them to ask if they have a scanning service. |
Ida B. Wells Finding aid at the University of Chicago Library |
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So the finding aid will help you understand what there is in a collection:
The finding aid will help you understand how the collection is organized, in:
and whether based on:
And they'll help you understand how to use those archival items based on their provenance, which means where the collection came from, and any possible restrictions on their use. The finding aid is designed to give you enough information to decide whether to explore the collection further and what stories the collection might be able to reveal. |
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Returning to the Ida B. Wells, finding aid, at the top left, note this University of Chicago page has a Request button. Look for a request or contact link for information about visiting, requesting, scanning, or other questions you have. Many archives ask you to make an appointment before you visit so they can pull boxes and folders out of storage and make sure they're ready for you when you arrive. In this case, the request page also has a telephone number, if you prefer to call. |
Ida B. Wells Finding aid at the University of Chicago Library and Appointment Request page. |
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In conclusion, ArchiveGrid links you to primary source:
Don't hesitate to get in touch directly with the staff of an archive. They usually have a lot of knowledge about their collection and want to assist researchers like you. |
This presentation created by:
Tamara Uhaze History Librarian
Molly Brown Reference and Outreach Archivist |