Types of old manuscript folders11/23/2023 ![]() Finding all available collections can be a complex business, thus the rather extended and detailed nature of the following instructions. The four main databases also have differing search options which yield different results even within material occurring in multiple databases. Even after the main collection of an individual’s papers is found, sets of outgoing letters and other material may be found in other peoples’ papers, and sometimes a single person’s papers are split up among multiple institutions. All of these resources are discussed below, and the national database system is diagrammed in the accompanying chart.Įach of the major databases must be searched to find all available collections. Alongside of this system there exist numerous online and digital subject guides to AM collections. This system has evolved since the inception of the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC) in 1959. Not all repositories report their records at all, and many finding aids exist only in paper in their home repositories. ![]() There are also numerous state and regional databases which typically offer full text searches of finding aids, many of which, but not all, are linked from or searchable in the national databases. Most AM catalog records are accessible via the four major databases. Current discovery methods for American archival and manuscript (AM) collections rely on four national databases, WorldCat, ArchiveGrid, Archive Finder and SNAC, to which repositories report their holdings in the form of 1) catalog records (similar to library catalog records for books) and 2) finding aids (typically collection summaries and detailed inventories listing the folders in a collection).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |