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What are collection guides?
- Collection guides describe and outline the contents of collections of papers or records held by the Rubenstein Library.
- Archival collections are (usually) organized by the person, organization, or business who created the materials, not by subject, time, or place. Rubenstein Library archivists create collection guides to provide in-depth information about a collection, making it easier for you to find relevant material. Including:
- Background information on the creator of the collection
- An inventory of the collection's contents
- Restrictions on accessing and using the collection. Most of our collections are open to anyway, but some require special permission.
Navigating a Collection Guide to Find What You Need
- The Summary and Background will give you an overview of who created this collection and what types of material you’ll find in there
- Collection guides don’t list every individual document in a collection. What you see listed is a description of what the documents in a folder are about
- Large collections are organized in to series, which are larger sections of related material.
- You won’t know exactly what or how much material is in a folder until you actually see it - it could be one document or it could be many
- If there’s a keyword you’re looking for, use the “Search this Collection” box in the top right to search the text of the finding aid quickly
- Take note of which boxes the files you want to see are in, you’ll need these when you request them
