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This LibGuide is a brief introduction on how to write a Finding Aid for the Student Workers and Volunteers in the Special Collections and Archives Department. According to the National Archives website, Finding aids are tools that help a user find information in a specific record group, collection, or series of archival materials. Examples of finding aids include published and unpublished inventories which are guiding tools to know what is inside each collection.
For additional information on the Basics of Archival Processing, please refer to these resources:
Margot Note Consulting LLC (archival management source)
Archival Processing-- Principles and Practical Strategies (webinar with sources and worksheets)
Processing Levels (ebook)
The follow sections can be found in a finding aid:
Content of Inventory
Summary
Biographical Sketch
Scope and Content Note
Lists of Sub-groups, series and sub-series
Series Descriptions
Index Terms (or Approved Subject Headings)
Container List
The manual for Archival Process for Student Workers and Volunteers is being under review for publication of the Prairie View website.
If anyone's interested in a presentation on How to Create a Finding Aid created by Evelyn Davis, Librarian I, please click on the hyperlink.
This is a list of resources containing tutorials on How to Write a Finding Aid and tips on Preservation Storage and Housing of Archival Collections:
Society of American Archivists. (2023). Appendix: Sample Annotated Finding Aid
Archives of American Art. (2023). Processing Guidelines
Video Tutorials:
Finding Aid Basics: An Introduction to DACS
Preservation Storage & Housing of Archival Collections: Guidelines & Solutions
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