Digital Collections and Finding Aids - Introduction
Introduction | Explore a Box - Activity | Read a Finding Aid - Prep | Read a Finding Aid - Activity
Topic
Take a deep dive into archival collections and finding aids, and understand the relationship between the two. This module is in two parts. We recommend that you work through Explore a Box first and Read a Finding Aid second.
What you will learn:
- What archival collections are like
- How materials within a collection are organized
- How to access and use a finding aid
This module will prepare you for:
- Your first encounter with archival research
- Allowing primary sources and archival materials to drive your research
Table of contents
Explore a Box
Explore materials in a digitized collection to get a sense of what you might find when you visit archives.
- Activity - Explore a digitized archival collection (20 minutes)
Read a Finding Aid
Finding aids: why archivists write finding aids in a particular way, and how your knowledge of those principles will help you get the information you need.
- Prep - Learn about finding aids, what they are, what they do, and what you can get out of them (15 minutes)
- Activity - Explore the components of a finding aid in detail (25 minutes)
Credits: The content for this session was developed over multiple iterations, with contributions from James Capobianco, Betts Coup, Jenny Gotwals, Kristine Greive, and Emilie Hardman.
For Facilitators: Visit the Facilitator's notes page Links to an external site. for information and file downloads.
Introduction | Explore a Box - Activity | Read a Finding Aid - Prep | Read a Finding Aid - Activity