Students Guide to Special Collections and University Archives Research: Reading a Finding Aid

Finding aids are tools that facilitate the discovery of information within a collection of records. Think of it as a sort of menu describing options for further study.

This page breaks down the essential parts of a finding aid to help you interpret the information presented. The sections of a finding aid explained here are broken down into six parts: Summary Information; History; Scope and Content Notes; Restrictions; Subject Terms; Citation; and Collection Inventory.

This part of finding aid states the collection title, collection number, and dates of the material. The publisher tells you the name of the library or archive in which the collection can be found. The physical description will tell you the size or extent of the collection. The Abstract gives a brief description of what you can expect to find in the collection. The Repository will let you know whether the collection is at Daley Library or Library of the Health Sciences.

The biography or organizational history section of the finding aid generally contains a biography on either the person or family (if it a collection of personal papers) or history of the organization. This section will help you to understand the context in which these records were created and provide important background information.

The scope and content notes in a finding aid will describe what will be found in the collection. It will tell you the type of material (example- annual reports, correspondence, blueprints, etc.). It may also tell you what not to expect to find in a collection. 

Some collections have special instructions for how a collection may be used. Sometimes this is because material is stored at off-site facilities and boxes must be requested in advance, and other times the material may contain sensitive or confidential material. These kinds of notes appear in restrictions on access or restrictions on use notes. The Special Collections and University Archives staff are available for any questions.

Subject terms are words used to describe the collection. You may find it useful to use subject terms when searching for additional collections relevant to your topic.

Most finding aids will also have a preferred citation that is the basic information needed for a citation. You may need additional information to adjust it for a particular style format.

Archives collections are not usually described item by item, but rather at the series, box, and folder level. This information will help you identify folders within collections that you may wish to review. At most libraries and archives, you will request material by providing the collection name and box numbers.