Finding Aid award: Findings on Finding Aids
Finding Aids: a definition
Archival finding aids provide researchers with information about the contents and
nature of documentary materials in archival repositories. Finding aids may be published,
in typescript, on microform, or, increasingly, online. Repository guides, record group
inventories, registers to collections of personal papers, and subject and other multi-collection
guides are among traditional finding aids that archival institutions produce.
Despite their variety and evolving forms, effective archival finding aids
share certain characteristics both in the information they convey and the ways in which the
information is presented and retrieved. This publication is dedicated to assisting archivists
in this most demanding task.
General characteristics
Effective finding aids successfully assist researchers in locating needed
historical materials and promote extensive and creative use of records across
many scholarly disciplines and for multiple purposes. They are designed for quick
reference and rapid comprehension, regardless of the complexity of the materials
they describe. They are easy to use without an archivist's assistance and provide
sufficient information to suggest the scope of the materials without irrelevant
detail. They are written in clear understandable language devoid of jargon.
Essential data
To be useful, finding aids in all forms must have sufficient information to ensure
that a researcher can identify and locate the repository where the materials are maintained.
Mailing or street addresses are essential and telephone numbers can be helpful.
An effective finding aid also should help the user anticipate research conditions. It
therefore should include information about rules for consulting and copying records or
using special equipment, requirements for advance appointments or personal identification,
and other relevant repository regulations.
Effective finding aids must have an introductory section, beginning with a
title that accurately describes the subject and scope of the historical materials.
A title page almost always is appropriate for a printed or typescript guide. The
volume of the records or papers, their date span, arrangement, and any unusual physical
types of materials should be prominently indicated and specific access restrictions noted.
Information about copyright status and related records and publications in and outside
the repository may be useful.
Table of contents
Almost every finding aid requires a table of contents to introduce the
reader to its organization and major elements and to permit rapid access. This section
may be simple for small inventories and registers or more complex for institutional or
multicollection guides. A table of contents is particularly helpful if it presents a
schematic overview of the organization of the records.
Biographies, histories, glossaries
Biographical sketches and institutional histories often are helpful, and
especially in inventories and registers, sometimes essential for understanding the
materials. This historical information should be succinct, carefully written, and directly
related to the records and papers. It should not elaborate peripheral issues, such as the
details of a man's Civil War career, if his papers bear only on his postwar business interests.
Glossaries of specialized terminology, organizational charts, timelines and family
genealogies may provide valuable supplemental background needed for understanding complex
records and papers, particularly for repository or multicollection guides.
Description
The most important element of any finding aid is the description it provides of
information found in the records or papers. The description should be complete, concise
and not repetitive. A consistent format that sets apart basic information such as title,
origin, arrangement, and inclusive dates is often effective for longer narrative descriptions.
Folder-title lists also can be highly informative; however, nondescriptive,
repetitive lists of alphabetical or chronological sequences of folders add little to researchers'
understanding, yet make a finding aid larger and more costly to produce. If a
series can be described simply as "Correspondence, 1900-1941," little is gained by filling a
page with 42 lines listing one folder for each year.
Index
To provide convenient subject access, most repository or multicollection guides or
large inventories and registers require an index. A single index to guide's contents either
by page or entry number normally is preferable to more complex indexing systems.
Document reproductions
Reproduction of unusual documents can be used as informative supplements to prose
descriptions either in the body of a finding aid or as an appendix. For example, the
illustration of a complex form could quickly indicate data elements that would be
cumbersome to explain in writing. Although printed illustrations can be costly,
inexpensive photocopies of textual documents of line drawings may be highly effective in
typescripts. Document reproductions also enliven a finding aid and make it more interesting
and attractive to use.
Visual appearance
Clear and pleasing visual appearance, whether on page or computer screen, is critical
for an effective finding aid. Appropriate indentations, underlining, spacing, print size and
style, and margins all help make finding aids easier to use and comprehend. Features such as
prominent organizational divisions, clear numbering systems, and informative headers or
footers make a substantial contribution to the usefulness of finding aids. On the other
hand, poor layout and confusing design actually detract from a finding aid's effectiveness.
Baffling codes, acronyms, control numbers, and shelf lists are likely to make a
finding aid difficult to use and ordinarily should be omitted.
Conclusion
Finding aids are essential and effective tools to convey information about archival
materials to users. In producing finding aids, archivists adapt accepted techniques to
new situations. Both traditional approaches and new ideas are necessary for the success
of this process. The preparation of each finding aid thus is a creative challenge and
one with enormous professional rewards.
The Finding Aids Committee
also wants to encourage the submission of nontraditional finding aids. As the interests
and demands of researchers change and as database software evolves, archivists are
attempting to provide innovative ways of accessing collections. These new approaches to
the finding aid may simply be the traditional finding aid displayed in an electronic
version or a creatively indexed visual image database. While these new approaches to
providing access to collections are valuable and should be encouraged, it is also
necessary that they contain some of the information contained in a traditional
finding aid to provide some context for the records.
"Findings on Finding Aids" was created by the 1987 Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives
Conference (MARAC) Finding Aid Awards Committee and updated by the 1999 Committee.
Finding Aid Awards are given annually at MARAC's spring meeting. The top award
will receive the designation as the Frederic M. Miller Finding Aids Award. MARAC notes
with particular appreciation the Marjorie Cramer memorial fund, the income from which is
used to bring attention to the accomplishments of award winners. Any recent finding aid of a
repository located in the Mid-Atlantic region is eligible for consideration. The Committee
views each finding aid as an important archival achievement and is grateful for the
opportunity to review those submitted for awards.
Information last updated 2/21/2000.
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