What are...Finding Aids?
Finding aids are tools to help researchers locate records of probable interest to their research. They contain information such as title, creator, contents, and more to help researchers find records. They also have call numbers to help researchers and archives staff communicate about which records researchers would like to see. All of the City Archives and Special Collections finding aids are stored in a content management system called ArchivesSpace. Note: finding aids describe records; they are not the records themselves. They provide metadata for the records. Finding aids are similar to library catalogs, which describe books and other types of media, but their form is unique to archives.
These are the fields that are used for most collections at City Archives & Special Collections:
- Title – Name of the collection, series, or other level within the collection
- Identifier – Unique markers for all collections; many lower-level records have additional call numbers
- Date – A single date or range of dates usually denoting the creation of a record
- Extent – How many materials are in a collection, e.g. the number of boxes, reels of microfilm, etc
- Creator – The person, family, or organization that created the record
- Scope and Contents – a written description of the materials and what can be found in them
- Biographical/Historical note – Background information to provide additional context about the record creator or subject
- Conditions Governing Access – How to arrange to view the materials
- Conditions Governing Use – How to arrange to publish the materials
- Arrangement – How the records are organized within the finding aid
Check out the “How To” section of the Nutrias blog to learn more about using ArchivesSpace and other archival resources.
Finding aids are useful in archives because they can describe any type of record, regardless of the format or combination of formats. Additionally, they can describe records at almost any level required. For example, a finding aid may have series identified below it, and each series may be made up of sub-series, which in turn may be made of files, which can be made of items. A description of the contents may be available for any level within the finding aid.
For example, an agency might have a series of reports, with a sub-series for annual reports, a file for each decade of annual reports, and an item for each individual year. A Scope and Contents note could be written for any of these levels, or for more than one. The Date field would be different for the sub-series, file, and item, but could be included for all. It would be a range for the sub-series and file, and then just one date for the item. City Archives & Special Collections usually processes records to the series or file level.
Learn More:
Society of American Archivists: Dictionary of Archives Terminology
Library of Congress: Archival Description
Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS) – A guide for creating finding aids and defining the elements used in them.