Archives 101
Studies have demonstrated that patrons of archives have greater success when they have a basic knowledge and understanding of archival management – what are archives and what exactly do archivists do? Here you will learn about how archivists acquire, protect, and prepare historical records for research. You’ll also discover how to find historical records and what to expect when you visit archives. This site is not meant to be a comprehensive overview of archives or the archival profession; rather, we hope it will serve as a relatively quick and easy summary that will help make your research experience fun, exciting, and productive.
Using Archives: A Guide to Effective Research
Published by the Society of American Archivists (SAA), this guide provides a concise and easy to read overview of the main points to consider before launching an archival research project. SAA designed the guide for the novice and the expert scholar.
How to Properly Handle Archival Collections while doing Research (58 seconds)
What not to do when Conducting Research in an Archives (5:58)
The Archival Profession
So You Want to Be an Archivist: An Overview of the Archives Profession (The Society of American Archivists)
Core Values Statement and Code of Ethics (The Society of American Archivists)
A Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology (The Society of American Archivists)
The Basics of Archival Work
A Day in the Life of an Archivist (3:03)
A very quick overview of what archivists actually do.
Introduction to Processing (1:40)
This short video summarizes how archivists prepare historical manuscript collections for public research.
How do Archivists Preserve Historical Collections? (12:09)
This excellent overview focuses on the preservation to paper records, discussing the threats and solutions to long-term retention of paper.
How do Archivists and Researchers find Historical Collections? (8:45)
An excellent overview of how archivists “describe” collections by creating and using narrative finding aids.