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Finding Aids
The Dictionary of Archives Terminology published by the Society of American Archivists describes a Finding Aid as " a description that typically consists of contextual and structural information about an archival resource." SAA goes on to note that finding aids place archival resources in context by consolidating descriptive information about the collection. (1)
In other words, a Finding Aid is a document that helps to identify and locate materials held in a collection. Think of Finding Aids as 'road-maps' to discover and locate materials relevant to your research. Our Finding Aids are in PDF format.
Finding Aids usually include a collection number, a collection summary, and a listing of related subjects, as well as directions on how to access the items in the collection.
Record Group Guides
Record group guides provide context for archival material. A record group guide will normally list the name of the record group as it exists in the archival repository, and list out the finding aids that exist for the different collections within the record group. Often the record group guide will describe the connection between the various collections within the record group. 2
1. Society of American Archivists. "Finding Aid". Dictionary of Archives Terminology. https://dictionary.archivists.org/entry/finding-aid.html
2. "What is a Record Group?" Duke University Libraries. https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/uarchives/about/record-groups
