Archival research can be exciting and lead to unexpected discoveries. But it is also time-consuming and requires careful planning. This research guide has been created, in part, to help people plan their archival research programs.
Usually, to conduct archival research one needs to travel to the physical archive itself. Even if some materials is available online, in almost all circumstances there are files which have not been digitized.
Researchers should examine archival guides and finding aids (which are descriptions of what is held in individual collections), in order to see what materials are relevant to their topic of interest, and also how large those folders or collections are. Most finding aids will indicate how large the collection is in linear meters (or feet), a measurement of how much space the files take up on a shelf. Sometimes a collection is extensive, and sometimes folders only have one or two items.
Archives may have an online search engine, but it’s by definition incomplete and is not “high resolution.” Instead, they offer general overviews. Very few archives have created indexes of every specific item that they hold, and even the finding aids themselves do not list every item but categories of materials based on how they are organized into folders, boxes, series, etc. Plus, some collections are unprocessed, i.e. the archive holds the materials but has not created a detailed listing of the collection’s contents. This makes archival research both difficult and time consuming, and also potentially exciting, because sometimes there are items there that even the archivists don’t know about.
One should definitely reach out to the archivists, both to let them know you are planning to do research at their archive, and also to ask questions. These professionals hold the keys to the archives, literally, and have deep knowledge of their collections. They may offer suggestions of relevant materials that are not catalogued or well-known.
At the archive, researchers order specific files, folders, or boxes to be brought to the reading room or other research area. You should be prepared in advance with some idea of which materials specifically that you want to look at. You should also be prepared to wait: most archives have specific rules about when and how archival materials can be ordered, for instance only at certain times of the day. Also, oftentimes materials are held offsite, and could take time to arrive in a reading room.
Today, most scholars do research in archives by taking digital photographs of relevant documents, so they can “bring home” the materials for further study. Many professional historians today spend most of their time photographing materials and even do most of the research itself at home by consulting their own digitized archives.
Each archive has different rules about whether you can use a camera, or if certain collections cannot be photographed, and many charge for photographs as a way to generate revenue. You definitely cannot use a flash, which can damage documents. Sometimes, archives require that they scan materials for you (and may charge a hefty fee per page). Usually, research photos and scans are only for personal use only. Most archives do not hold the copyright for their archival materials, or if they do it is complicated.
It is important when doing archival photography that you take careful notes of where materials came from. If you have a fantastic document that you want to write about or reference, but can’t find any reference to which collection or folder it came from, then it’s impossible to put it in a footnote.