The Society of American Archivists provides online access to a free glossary of archival terms. Some of these terms are only used by archivists, but many terms are commonly used when conducting archival research.

We also strongly encourage first-time users of archives to review this guide published by the Society of American Archivists.

What exactly are archives?

• An archive is a collection of primary sources. It can also be the place (a building or a department or a virtual location) where the primary sources are stored. Archivists (people who work in archives) often refer to the place where the primary sources are stored as a repository. An archives, or archival repository, often has multiple collections that come from or have to do with a place, a kind of material or sphere of activity, or a particular institution.

What are primary sources?

• Here's a definition from the Society of American Archivists: "Material that contains firsthand accounts of events and that was created contemporaneous to those events or later recalled by an eyewitness."

• This could include a range of formats, including correspondence, photographs, drawings, video or film, and sound recordings. Sometimes a collection may contain all these different types of formats. Primary source materials are different from books and articles written after an event has occurred. Primary sources can be analog, physical objects or digital objects.

When would I use primary sources?

• You would usually use primary materials in a research project after consulting secondary sources (books, journal articles, documentaries, etc.) on a topic. The primary sources will enable you to build upon prior research and provide your own interpretation, or respond to a previous interpretation. Even if nothing has been written directly on your topic, background research will help you to understand the context in which events occurred or the time and place in which a person or a corporation's activities were set.

• Sometimes, however, you might first consult primary sources. This is especially true if you are seeking inspiration or are not sure how to proceed with your research. The primary sources may spark your creativity or lead you to ask questions that will guide your research in a new direction. You might not know which research questions to ask. Examining primary sources can sometimes help you focus on a topic.

Archives exist in many places. They are often part of academic institutions. The New School Archives and Special Collection is part of The New School. Other archives are units within public libraries, historical societies, museums, and government offices. Some companies have archives as well.

Even though archives are often part of library systems, you do not have to be a student at a particular university or college to use that institution's archives. The exception is business archives. Some corporations, however, do allow researchers to consult company records. It does not hurt to ask.

Here is a list prepared by New School Archives staff of archives with art and design-related holdings in New York City:

• AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) Archives

• Columbia University, Avery Architectural and Fine Art Library

• Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum

• Fashion Institute of Technology Library, Special Collections and Archives

• Herb Lubalin Study Center of Design and Typography at the Cooper Union houses over 5,000 pieces of original design ephemera by such designers as Paul Rand, Lou Dorfsman, Push Pin Studios, George Lois, Alvin Lustig, Will Burtin, Lester Beall, Lou Silverstein, Bradbury Thompson, Otl Aicher, Karl Gerstner, Anthon Beeke, Tibor Kalman, Massimo Vignelli, Chip Kidd, and countless others. Each and every piece in the collection can be accessed by the public.

• Interference Archive documents social movements through posters and fliers, audio-visual records, buttons and t-shirts, print publications, and a range of other formats. New School students are welcome to use the archives for research projects.

• LIM College Archives

• Metropolitan Museum of Art Archives documents the activities of the museum and its employees. Also maintains extensive artists' files.

• Museum of Modern Art Archives documents the activities of the museum and its employees. According to the website, the archives also includes "private archives and papers of artists, galleries, dealers, art historians, critics, and others. The holdings also include an extensive Photographic Archive and interviews conducted as part of the Archives Oral History Program."

• Museum of the City of New York

• New York Art Resources Consortium (ARCADE) provides bibliographic access to the Brooklyn Museum Libraries and Archives, the Frick Art Reference Library, and the Museum of Modern Art Library.

• New-York Historical Society Museum & Library

• New York Public Library Archives and Manuscripts contains collections in a variety of formats across many centuries and geographic locations. It does not solely document New York City. A special division of the New York Public Library, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, is one of the leading archives documenting the lives of people of African descent, including Black artists. Another special division, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, at Lincoln Center, has extensive material on theater, music, and dance.

• New York School of Interior Design Archives & Special Collections

• Pratt Institute Archives

• School of Visual Arts Archives

• Finally, although not exclusively in New York, the New School Archives highly recommends the Smithsonian Institution's Archives of American Art, which includes designers. Many of the Archives of American Art's collections are digitized to some degree and available through the website.

This list is by no means conclusive. Please let us know if you think there are any archives that should be included here.

One good database to use for finding archival collections is WorldCat. You may already use WorldCat to locate other types of library resources. 

It is important to remember that just because you do not see what you are looking for in WorldCat does not mean it does not exist. A large number of archival collections throughout the world have no online records.

You can also try searching a database called ArchiveGrid. If you would like a personal tutorial on how to use ArchiveGrid, contact the New School Archives for an appointment.

Additionally, many states within the United States support their own databases for archives and libraries that exist within their state. If your topic is state-specific, this may be a good option for beginning your research. State and regional archives databases will often include records created by smaller archives, libraries, and museums that are unable to participate in larger efforts, like WorldCat. The New School Archives contributes records for the Empire State Archival Discovery Cooperative. Please contact us to request a tutorial.

Here's a tip: Look on the acknowledgements, bibliography, credits, and reference pages of books and articles you read as background on your topic. These may lead you to archival resources that aren't online. Just because someone else has already examined these materials, doesn't mean you shouldn't.

In the catalog record, you may encounter a reference to something called a finding aid. A finding aid is a detailed document prepared by archivists or librarians that informs researchers about a collection. It provides more information than a library or database catalog record. The finding aid tells you what you can expect if you choose to conduct research in a collection.

The finding aid gives researchers an understanding of

• who created the records,

• why they were created,

• how they were created, and

• how they are organized.

• The finding aid discusses the group of records as a whole. 

• A finding aid is a useful tool to help you figure out if a collection has materials in it that might be relevant to your research question, and where in the collection those materials might be.

It is important to review the finding aid before you go to an archive in person to consult a collection. It is not necessary to read it from beginning to end, like an article.

Some finding aids are available online. Many are not. However, you can contact an archive and ask the archivist or librarian to send you the finding aid by email. After reviewing the finding aid, you will have a better sense of whether or not you want to visit the archive to conduct research. 

You found a catalog record for an archival collection in The New School library catalog, WorldCat, or some other catalog or database. What information do you need from that record to move to the next step in your research?

Collection Title

• Archival collections are groups of records created or collected by a person or an organization, and therefore are often titled according to the name of the person or organization rather than subject matter. The title may not reveal the subject matter of the collection, but it will appear elsewhere in the catalog record.

• You may also see the word papers following a name. This is an archival term. While papers may contain paper records, it is used to refer to all the materials – regardless of format – created or received by an individual.

Dates

• The dates following the title are a span of years in which the materials in the collection were created. They are NOT the birth and death dates of the person or organization in the collection title. The dates can tell you whether or not the collection will be useful for your research if you are investigating a particular era or timespan.

Extent

• This is a measurement telling you the size of the collection. Sometimes it is expressed as linear feet, or the number of individual items. It may tell you how many boxes or tubes of material are holding the collection.

• Why do you need to know this? It will help you budget your time. If you discover a collection that is 32 linear feet, you know it will take more than a day to examine it thoroughly. On the other hand, if it is only one scrapbook, you may be able to complete your research in one afternoon. Nevertheless, it is always vital to leave extra time when conducting archival research.

Summary/Abstract/Description

• This is a brief overview of the collection. It often contains a biography or history of one or two sentences about the people or organizations connected to the collection, the activities documented by the materials, and a statement about the types of formats a researcher will encounter when using the collection. This is where you will read about the subject matter of a collection.

Some archives will make you wear white cotton gloves. Some don't. It depends on local practices and on the types of materials you are handling.

At the New School Archives, we won't generally ask you to wear gloves, but there are always exceptions. We try to protect our materials in ways that allow you to handle them without directly touching sensitive surfaces. The collections are here for your use. We're here for you to do research.

• Plan ahead. Archives often store collections offsite and require some time to have them delivered for you. That's why it is always best to call or e-mail with advance notice. For tips on contacting an archive, Purdue University's OWL guide to archives offers sample e-mails that you can modify for your own use. Also, you may need to make several return visits to examine materials. Consider the amount of material you plan to examine and leave extra time just in case. Finally, some archives have limits on the number of people conducting research at a given time.

• Bring your laptop. Many archives can accommodate your laptop and it will make taking notes (SEE BELOW) much easier. Archives will not allow you to use pens in reading rooms (the area where researchers examine archival materials). You will also be asked to store your belongings in a locker or an area away from the reading room.

• If you request copies or scans, be prepared to wait. Because archival materials are unique, you will not be able to make copies or scans yourself like you can in a library. A trained archives staff member will make all reproductions and, as in a library, you will be required to pay for these copies and scans. It may take several days or more to receive your copies/scans, especially if the materials are large. This is why it is important to learn and practice good note-taking skills.

• Bring your digital camera -- but ask permission first. Many archives (including the New School Archives) will allow you to bring a camera with you into the reading room. This is a great way to save time because instead of waiting for the archives staff to make copies or scans for you, you can do it yourself. However, you will have to follow the rules about camera usage and what can be done with the images after you take them. Some archives will ask you to sign an agreement if you use your camera.

• Learn to take notes well. You cannot "check out" or borrow materials from archives; they are unique materials that may exist nowhere else in the world. If you ask for a lot of copies, research becomes costly and time is wasted. If you are a New School student and you want to brush up on your note taking skills, the University Learning Center is here to help.

• Bring a sweater. Archives are kept at cool temperatures to help ensure the longevity of materials and to protect fragile documents from mold and insects.

• The most important tip of all: Don't be afraid to ask!