What is a Finding Aid?

A finding aid is a guide to a particular archival collection. Archivists compose these guides to help researchers navigate the contents of unique primary sources like records, personal papers, or manuscripts. Depending on the size of the collection, a finding aid may be just a brief summary, or it may be a detailed description and inventory. In general, the Roosevelt Library's finding aids describe the collections down to the box and folder level.

Using the Finding Aids

Finding aids to many of the Roosevelt Library's archival collections are now available in the FRANKLIN research database. An older but more complete database also exists for keyword searching across collection descriptions. This is called our "Finding Aids Database." Additionally, links to PDF versions of some original finding aid collection guides are available within our Collections List. We appreciate your patience as we work to integrate these online resources. 

Most of the larger collections have more detailed finding aids. The most common is the shelf list, which indicates by folder or box the contents of the collections. For some collections, or substantial portions of them, there are card indexes for individual documents. Those indexes are available in our research room.The smaller collections usually have one-page descriptions that provide basic information about each collection, including information on the collecting individual (or organization), a brief description of the papers, any restrictions on access, and information on copyright.

You can access the materials described in these finding aids during an in-person research visit, or you can contact the Archives staff for further information about the collections.  

Search our Finding Aids Database