**ARC Guide for Educators and Students**

**http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/education/**

The guide introduces educators and students to the National Archives'
Archival Research Catalog (ARC). Searching in ARC to learn more about
National Archives' historical documents could enrich a classroom
activity, a homework assignment, or a research project.

-   Part 1: ARC in the
    Classroom![](media/image1.wmf){width="2.6631944444444446in"
    height="2.165277777777778in"}

    -   Handouts for Classroom Use

    -   ARC and NARA\'s Teaching With Documents Lesson Plans

        -   Continue Your Research in ARC

        -   Research a Specific Topic: Example: Civil Rights

    -   Anatomy of an ARC Series Description

-   Part 2: Search Tips for Educators and Students

    -   Anatomy of the ARC Basic Search Screen

    -   Keyword

    -   Digital Copies

    -   Dates

    -   Location (where the records are located)

-   Part 3: Printing, Downloading, and Ordering Records Found in ARC

    -   Printing from ARC

    -   Downloading Digital Images

    -   Citing Records

    -   Ordering Records Found in ARC

        -   Ordering Copies

        -   Contacting NARA

        -   Visiting NARA for Research

        -   Visiting NARA with Your Students

**Part 1: ARC in the
Classroom**![](media/image2.png){width="0.7638888888888888in"
height="0.7638888888888888in"}

Bring variety to your classroom by teaching with primary documents --
the raw materials of history. Your students can learn about history
firsthand using the primary sources held by the National Archives and
Records Administration (NARA). NARA has billions of pieces of paper and
millions of photographs that document the working of the Federal
Government and U.S. history.

ARC is NARA\'s online door to the Archives. Educators and students can
use ARC to locate records found in our various facilities nationwide and
view digital images of some of these records. ARC contains descriptions
of records created by Federal agencies, Congress, and Presidential
administrations as well as records created by people and sent to the
government.

**Handouts for Classroom Use**

+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| For Educators                     | For Students                      |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| -   ARC Brochure for Educators    | -   ARC Brochure for Educators    |
|     and Students (PDF)            |     and Students (PDF)            |
|                                   |                                   |
| -   ARC Web Tips (PDF or Word)    | -   Anatomy of the ARC Basic      |
|                                   |     Search Screen (PDF or Word)   |
| -   (Printable version of this    |                                   |
|     guide): ARC Guide for         | -   Anatomy of an ARC Series      |
|     Educators and Students (PDF   |     Description (PDF or Word)     |
|     or Word)                      |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

**ARC and NARA\'s Teaching With Documents Lesson Plans**

![](media/image3.png){width="1.7895833333333333in"
height="1.3958333333333333in"}

You can search in ARC for copies of documents used in NARA\'s [Teaching
With Documents lesson plans]{.underline}.[^1] Lesson plans are available
on various topics, arranged by period in U.S. history. Please note that
not all documents used in the lesson plans have been entered into ARC.
"Teaching With Documents" is just one part of [NARA's online resources
for Educators and Students]{.underline}.[^2]

-   **Continue Your Research in ARC:** The records you find in the
    Teaching With Documents lesson plans can be a starting point for
    both educators and students. Students can search in ARC to find
    historical records for a special research paper or a [National
    History Day]{.underline}[^3] project.

-   **Example: Civil Rights:** You plan to use the Teaching With
    Documents lesson plan[\
    Court Documents Related to Martin Luther King, Jr., and Memphis
    Sanitation Workers]{.underline}[^4] in your classroom. Introduce
    your students to ARC with the following tasks. (Review the [Search
    Tips in Part 2]{.underline} of this guide on ARC's search options.)

    1.  Show the class how to look up the lesson plan's first document
        in ARC by typing the ARC ID number **279325** into the keywords
        box.

    2.  Search broadly in ARC with the keywords **Civil Rights** and
        browse through the results. (Always set your search hit limit to
        2,000 to see the maximum number of hits.)

    3.  Search more narrowly in ARC with the keywords **Civil Rights
        Act** and browse.

    4.  Refine your search by again searching with the keywords **Civil
        Rights Act** and adding the **Digital Objects Filter** to
        retrieve only ARC descriptions that have digital images
        attached. Selected pages from the Civil Rights Act of 1964 are
        available as digital images attached to ARC ID 299891.

**Anatomy of an ARC Series Description**

![](media/image4.jpeg){width="7.36875in" height="5.903472222222222in"}

-   Read more about the [Record Group]{.underline}[^5] and
    [Series]{.underline}[^6] concepts.

**Part 2: Search Tips for Educators and Students**

**Anatomy of the ARC Basic Search Screen**

![](media/image5.jpeg){width="6.114583333333333in"
height="4.017361111111111in"}

ARC allows you to search in various ways for federal records.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **Keyword**                                                           |
|                                                                       |
| The keyword search in ARC searches most fields in the archival        |
| descriptions. Search for multiple keywords at the same time by using  |
| the words:                                                            |
|                                                                       |
| -   AND                                                               |
|                                                                       |
| -   OR                                                                |
|                                                                       |
| -   NOT                                                               |
|                                                                       |
| For example, search for **baseball or softball** to find descriptions |
| with either keyword in them.                                          |
|                                                                       |
| **Digital Copies**                                                    |
|                                                                       |
| ARC has thousands of digital copies (or digital images) in the        |
| catalog. To search only for descriptions linked to digital images,    |
| check the box next to \"Descriptions of Archival Materials linked to  |
| digital copies."                                                      |
|                                                                       |
| See [ARC Galleries]{.underline}[^7] for highlights or [ARC Galleries  |
| A to Z]{.underline}[^8] for a list of all topics featured. For more   |
| details on how to view and print digital copies in ARC, see           |
| [Illustrated Search Steps and Hints: Viewing Digital Copies of        |
| Buffalo Bill Materials]{.underline}.[^9]                              |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| ![](media/image6.png){width="5.475in" height="2.19375in"}             |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

**Dates**

This filter allows you to narrow your search by means of the dates
associated with the archival materials.

The Date Range consists of two sets of date boxes. You may enter a date
to search for in either or both. ARC will find descriptions of materials
that fall within that range.

![](media/image7.jpeg){width="4.920138888888889in"
height="1.9645833333333333in"}

+----------------+---+-------------------------------------------------+---+
| **Location**   |   |                                                 |   |
|                |   |                                                 |   |
| You can filter |   |                                                 |   |
| a keywords     |   |                                                 |   |
| search to only |   |                                                 |   |
| return         |   |                                                 |   |
| descriptions   |   |                                                 |   |
| of records     |   |                                                 |   |
| *available* at |   |                                                 |   |
| a specific     |   |                                                 |   |
| National       |   |                                                 |   |
| Archives       |   |                                                 |   |
| location. Type |   |                                                 |   |
| your keywords  |   |                                                 |   |
| into the box   |   |                                                 |   |
| and select any |   |                                                 |   |
| location from  |   |                                                 |   |
| the filter     |   |                                                 |   |
| list. In the   |   |                                                 |   |
| example below, |   |                                                 |   |
| we searched    |   |                                                 |   |
| for records    |   |                                                 |   |
| related to the |   |                                                 |   |
| Apollo space   |   |                                                 |   |
| missions held  |   |                                                 |   |
| by NARA's      |   |                                                 |   |
| Southwest      |   |                                                 |   |
| Region in Fort |   |                                                 |   |
| Worth, Texas.  |   |                                                 |   |
| (If, instead,  |   |                                                 |   |
| you are        |   |                                                 |   |
| interested in  |   |                                                 |   |
| finding        |   |                                                 |   |
| records        |   |                                                 |   |
| *about* a      |   |                                                 |   |
| particular     |   |                                                 |   |
| state or       |   |                                                 |   |
| region, try    |   |                                                 |   |
| putting the    |   |                                                 |   |
| name into the  |   |                                                 |   |
| keywords box.) |   |                                                 |   |
+----------------+---+-------------------------------------------------+---+
| 1.  Press the  |   | > ![](                                          |   |
|     Yellow     |   | media/image8.jpeg){width="4.2034722222222225in" |   |
|     **Search** |   | > height="3.345833333333333in"}                 |   |
|     button in  |   |                                                 |   |
|     the upper  |   |                                                 |   |
|     left       |   |                                                 |   |
|     corner of  |   |                                                 |   |
|     this page  |   |                                                 |   |
|     to go to   |   |                                                 |   |
|     the Basic  |   |                                                 |   |
|     search     |   |                                                 |   |
|     screen.    |   |                                                 |   |
|                |   |                                                 |   |
| 2.  Type the   |   |                                                 |   |
|     words      |   |                                                 |   |
|     **Apollo** |   |                                                 |   |
|     in the     |   |                                                 |   |
|                |   |                                                 |   |
|   **Keywords** |   |                                                 |   |
|     box.       |   |                                                 |   |
|                |   |                                                 |   |
| 3.  Select the |   |                                                 |   |
|     limit      |   |                                                 |   |
|     results    |   |                                                 |   |
|     radio      |   |                                                 |   |
|     button for |   |                                                 |   |
|     2000.      |   |                                                 |   |
|                |   |                                                 |   |
| 4.  Select the |   |                                                 |   |
|     locations  |   |                                                 |   |
|     filter     |   |                                                 |   |
|     marked     |   |                                                 |   |
|     **NARA\'s  |   |                                                 |   |
|     Southwest  |   |                                                 |   |
|     Region     |   |                                                 |   |
|     (Fort      |   |                                                 |   |
|     Worth).**  |   |                                                 |   |
|                |   |                                                 |   |
| 5.  Press the  |   |                                                 |   |
|     **Go**     |   |                                                 |   |
|     button.    |   |                                                 |   |
|                |   |                                                 |   |
| 6.  When hits  |   |                                                 |   |
|     are        |   |                                                 |   |
|     returned   |   |                                                 |   |
|     for your   |   |                                                 |   |
|     search,    |   |                                                 |   |
|     view the   |   |                                                 |   |
|     full       |   |                                                 |   |
|     result of  |   |                                                 |   |
|     your hit   |   |                                                 |   |
|     by         |   |                                                 |   |
|     selecting  |   |                                                 |   |
|     the        |   |                                                 |   |
|     **Title    |   |                                                 |   |
|     link**.    |   |                                                 |   |
+----------------+---+-------------------------------------------------+---+
|                |   |                                                 |   |
+----------------+---+-------------------------------------------------+---+
|                |   |                                                 |   |
+----------------+---+-------------------------------------------------+---+
|                |   |                                                 |   |
+----------------+---+-------------------------------------------------+---+

-   **More Search Tips:** [How to Search in ARC]{.underline}[^10]

**Part 3: Printing, Downloading, and Ordering Records Found in ARC**

**Printing from ARC**

Descriptions and images found in ARC can be printed. You can also print
out your list of search results; this is very useful for viewing
hundreds of thumbnail image search results on one page. Click on the
Print Friendly Version Button at the top of the screen and then use the
print function on your computer.

![](media/image9.png){width="5.440972222222222in"
height="3.296527777777778in"}

![](media/image10.jpeg){width="3.61875in" height="3.9493055555555556in"}

**Downloading Images**

Both the thumbnail (small) and larger images in ARC can be saved to your
computer or onto a disc or CD-rom.

1\. Right Click on the image.

2\. Click on Save Picture As.

3.  A window with options for where you would like to save the image on
your computer will appear.  (You may assign a new filename to the
image.  We recommend changing the file name to the ARC ID number so you
can match it up with the description later.)

4\. Click OK.\
5. Open the file folder or drive where you saved the file and double
click on the file. 

6\. Or open a photo editor or an Internet browser and select Open from
the File menu.  Browse for the file and double click on it to open it in
the viewer.

![](media/image11.jpeg){width="4.138888888888889in"
height="2.5791666666666666in"}

Check under the **Use Restrictions** listed in the ARC description.
[Restrictions]{.underline}[^11] may apply to the materials, based on
copyright or other use restrictions. Read information about [Publication
of Photographs Furnished by Still Pictures]{.underline}[^12],
particularly the section on [Crediting the National
Archives]{.underline}[^13].

**Citing Records**

NARA's General Information Leaflet 17: [Citing Records in the National
Archives of the United States]{.underline}[^14] covers how to cite NARA
records of various levels of description and various media formats. Your
students should refer to the leaflet when citing NARA records in their
papers.

############################### Ordering Records Found in ARC

If you would like to receive copies of any records you find described in
ARC you can either request copies for a fee or visit NARA.

-   **Ordering Copies:** For more information on ordering photocopies
    please go to our [Obtaining Copies of
    Records](http://www.archives.gov/research/order/) page.

-   **Contacting NARA:** If you have further questions about records you
    find in ARC, the location and contact information is available in
    the ARC description in the location field. The unit's name, address,
    phone number, fax number, and preferred email address appear. You
    may send an email to <inquire@nara.gov> with general questions about
    NARA.

-   **Visiting NARA for Research:** You can visit the location listed in
    each description to see the records. Instead, you can contact that
    location to arrange for copies of the records. Allow at least 48
    hours for offices to retrieve records that are stored off site. For
    more information on visiting our facilities please go to our
    [Planning Your Research
    Visit](http://www.archives.gov/research/start/plan-visit.html) page.

-   **Visiting NARA with Your Students:** See more information about
    [visiting the National Archives Experience]{.underline}[^15] and
    [bringing your class to visit the National Archives in Washington,
    DC]{.underline}[^16]. No chance of making a trip to Washington, DC,
    anytime soon? NARA's [Regional Archives]{.underline}[^17] and
    [Presidential Libraries]{.underline}[^18], located around the
    country, welcome school groups.

(August 2007)

[^1]: **Endnotes (URLs)**

    ^?^ http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/

[^2]: http://www.archives.gov/education/

[^3]: http://www.nationalhistoryday.org/

[^4]: http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/memphis-v-mlk/

[^5]: http://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/index-numeric/concept.html

[^6]: http://www.archives.gov/research/start/how-records-grouped.html

[^7]: http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/topics/index.html

[^8]: http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/topics/gallery-a-to-z.html

[^9]: http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/topics/buffalo-bill/index.html

[^10]: http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/how-to-search.html

[^11]: http://www.archives.gov/research/order/restrictions.html

[^12]: http://www.archives.gov/research/formats/publication-of-photos.html

[^13]: http://www.archives.gov/research/formats/publication-of-photos.html#credit

[^14]: http://www.archives.gov/publications/general-info-leaflets/17.html

[^15]: http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/visit/visit.html

[^16]: http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/visit/visit_groups.html

[^17]: http://www.archives.gov/locations/regional-archives.html

[^18]: http://www.archives.gov/presidential-libraries/visit/