Archivists usually create a collection guide for each archival collection as part of the work they do to prepare materials for use by researchers. These guides hold a wealth of information.

It’s always a good idea to read through a collection guide first before requesting materials from it, because it will help you to learn if that collection holds promise for your particular project. By reading a collection guide, you can find answers to questions like these:

• Who was the person (or what was the background of the organization) who created these records?

• Why are the records arranged the way they are?

• How is it that this collection ended up being part of this repository?

• What related collections might exist - either at this repository or elsewhere?

• What secondary sources provide further context on the creator?

• What did the archivist change about the collection (archival interventions!) as they arranged the collection? For example, perhaps printed books were removed and catalogued separately.

• What is the proper way to cite this collection?

• Are there any restrictions in use or permissions needed before citing or publishing materials found in this collection?

• Which part of the archival collection should I look at first? What section of the collection seems most promising for the topic or time period that I’m studying?

Each collection guide will be its own unique work, because every archival collection is unique and because best practices for writing them have changed over time. But there are some consistent elements.

Collection guides usually begin with details on the collection: a brief overview, information on restrictions in place that limit researcher use, a preferred citation (ready to copy into your bibliography!), and acquisitions information (how, from whom, and when that archival collection came to the repository). Other information about the collection that you might find in a collection guide is about the archivists’ work on the collection: when it was processed and by whom, and what choices the archivist made that may have affected the order or contents of the records.

The bulk of a collection guide focuses on the archival records and their creator, and “scope and content” notes are a helpful place for researchers to start learning more about each. Scope and content notes usually provide a summary on the different segments of materials (called series and subseries) in the archival collection, go over the sorts of information you may expect to find within different series, and offer some broad guidance on subjects covered and any notable strengths within the collection.

Once you’ve read the scope and contents of the collection, you are ready for a detailed rundown on the contents, box by box. Collection contents lists are arranged by series and subseries. Each of these segments may have helpful explanatory information at its start. All of these details are there to help you, the researcher, make good use of your time.