This post is part of my Research Methods series, which explores essential approaches for historical inquiry and archival work. The series encompasses a broad range of topics, including library research practices, citations, and research strategies, as well as archives, primary sources, visual resources, oral history, and digital humanities. Together, these posts provide a foundation for navigating sources, interpreting evidence, and engaging critically with the past.
Primary sources are the lifeblood of historical research. Letters, diaries, photographs, government records, organizational files, and countless other documents provide firsthand evidence of the past. However, anyone who has walked into an archives knows that primary sources are not arranged like books on a library shelf. Instead, they are preserved in their original context, often in boxes and folders, accompanied by tools that help researchers navigate them.
Accessing primary sources requires an understanding of how records are arranged, how they are described, and how researchers can utilize finding aids, the essential guides to archival collections.
Arrangement and Description: The Foundations of Access
At the heart of archival practice are arrangement and description. These processes enable the identification of what a repository contains, the location of its materials, and their interpretation within the context.
Arrangement refers to how archivists organize materials. Unlike libraries, which group items by subject, archives typically organize their collections by creator. This is known as provenance. Materials generated by a person, family, or organization are kept together to preserve their context and maintain their original meaning.
Within provenance, archivists respect the original order, which is the way records were arranged by their creator. If an office kept correspondence chronologically, or a writer organized drafts in folders, archivists maintain that order. This protects the relationships between documents and provides insight into how the creator used them.
Description is the act of explaining what records contain, who created them, why they were created, and how they are organized. Description begins broadly and moves to specifics, much like zooming in on a map.
Together, arrangement and description ensure that archives preserve not just records but the story of their creation and use.
Finding Aids: Gateways to Collections
The primary tool researchers use to navigate archives is the finding aid. A finding aid is a guide to a collection that serves multiple purposes:
A collection management tool for archivists.
An information discovery tool for researchers.
A way of maintaining physical and intellectual control over collections.
Finding aids come in various forms, including Word documents, spreadsheets, databases, indexes, inventories, and even shelf lists. Increasingly, they are encoded in standardized digital formats such as Encoded Archival Description (EAD), which makes them searchable online.
Key Elements of Finding Aids
Though formats vary, most finding aids contain several common elements that help researchers quickly understand a collection:
Repository name: where the collection is held.
Collection title: the official title assigned by archivists.
Creator’s name: the individual, family, or organization responsible for the materials.
Dates: the chronological span of the collection.
Extent or size: often measured in linear feet or number of boxes.
Biographical or historical note: context about the creator.
Scope and content note: a summary of the materials and what topics they cover.
Restrictions on access: any limits due to privacy, condition, or donor agreement.
Administrative information: such as acquisition history or citation instructions.
Subjects: topical keywords or headings that help connect collections to themes.
These elements enable researchers to quickly assess whether a collection is relevant to their project and what they can expect to find.
Exploring a Finding Aid
Using a finding aid is like learning to read a roadmap. Researchers should ask:
What is the collection’s origin?
How is it organized?
What are the dates?
How large is it?
Who might find it useful?
At what level of detail is it described: collection, series, folder, or item?
How should it be cited?
A thoughtful reading of a finding aid can save hours in the archives by narrowing focus and shaping research questions before handling materials.
Why Arrangement Matters for Research
Provenance and original order may seem like abstract principles, but they have practical consequences. Imagine a historian studying women’s roles in a mid-century corporation. If the company’s personnel files, board minutes, and advertising campaigns are preserved together, they reveal how different parts of the organization intersect. If those records were rearranged by subject, those connections might vanish.
Respecting provenance and original order preserves the integrity of the evidence. For researchers, understanding these principles helps make sense of what might otherwise appear as an overwhelming stack of documents.
Description as Interpretation
Archivists do more than inventory records; they interpret them. Every description involves choices: what details to highlight, which context to provide, which subjects to list. These decisions influence how researchers encounter collections.
For example, a scope note describing correspondence might emphasize the creator’s political career but downplay personal letters. Researchers must read descriptions critically, recognizing both what is included and what might be missing.
The Limits of Finding Aids
Finding aids are invaluable, but they are not exhaustive. They rarely list every document. Instead, they describe collections hierarchically, moving from the whole to the parts. This means researchers still need to consult materials directly.
Moreover, finding aids reflect the knowledge and perspective of the archivists who created them. Some may be outdated, incomplete, or written with assumptions that are no longer applicable to today’s researchers. Understanding these limitations is key to using them effectively.
Using Finding Aids in the Digital Age
As more finding aids are digitized, researchers can access them remotely, planning visits. Online finding aids make archives more visible, but they also raise expectations for instant access. It is important to remember:
Not everything is digitized. Many collections still require on-site consultation.
Online finding aids may be more detailed for some collections than others.
Context matters; digital search tools cannot always replicate the serendipity of browsing boxes or asking an archivist.
Technology has expanded access, but the fundamentals of archival research (patience, preparation, and flexibility) remain unchanged.
Best Practices for Researchers
When working with finding aids and primary sources, researchers can maximize success by:
Starting broadly, then narrowing focus. Begin with collection-level descriptions before moving into series or folders.
Tracking citations carefully. Use the exact title and collection number provided.
Asking archivists for guidance. They are familiar with the strengths and quirks of their collections.
Allowing time for exploration. Materials may surprise you, leading to new questions.
Being critical readers. Recognize that finding aids shape, but do not dictate, the meaning of collections.
Accessing primary sources is not just about opening boxes of old records. It is about navigating the principles of arrangement and description that underpin archival practice. Finding aids, whether simple inventories or sophisticated databases, are the keys that unlock collections.
By learning how to read and interpret these guides, researchers can move beyond the surface, discovering not only what records exist but how they connect to the lives, institutions, and moments that created them. In doing so, they bring the past into sharper focus, ensuring that archives remain dynamic resources for knowledge and memory.
