Archival Research - Types of Archives and How to Choose

Part 2 in an ongoing series

Figuring out which kind of archives best fits your research need is particularly important to not get frustrated. Since archives and special collections contain unique materials, each archives will be different; yet another differentiator between archives and libraries. Libraries may have some specific materials or books addressing the local community, city or state, but there will be lots of duplicates that you could find at any library, from best sellers to garden books to computer language manuals to children’s books.

Me with a somewhat fierce expression on my face in a research room.

Archives have collection policies, so they should only collect materials that fit within their policy. I was about to do a deep dive into collection policies and how they can be interconnected with other institutions, not to mention collecting materials that have no business being in certain archives or special collections (I am specifically thinking about culturally appropriated materials, but I digress). Clearly collecting policies can be complicated and fraught with nuance.

Why is any of this important for researchers? Understanding what an archives or special collection has in its collection can help research go more smoothly and be utterly more satisfying. I had encounters with many a researcher who was quite sure we should have the document or photograph they were looking for and would be disappointed, if not irritated, when I let them know we did not have that type of material in our collection.

The City Archives where I worked had a fairly straight forward “collection policy” (I use quotations marks because we were governed by public records rules so collecting was already predetermined in most cases). Our archives contained materials created by or for City government/employees. Correspondence, photographs, and ordinances created by City employees and reports created for the City such as an environmental study.

I realize as I write this, there is so much minutia and subtlety. I find I want to write sentences like, “It is always like this except when it’s not.” Which I understand is as clear as mud. My best advice generally ends up being - contact an archivist. They know their collections the best and want you to use the materials. The best archivists will do whatever they can to help get you find not only what you think you want, but what you actually need.

Here are a few links if you want to dig into the types of archives that exist and how to find archives that may have what you need.

Types of Archives

Finding and Evaluating Archives

And my favorite again (it really has almost all of the answers!)

Using Archives: A guide to effective research

If you have any questions I am always happy to help if I can. Just email me your question and I will see what I can do.