Module 3: Archives and Historical Research (The Process)

Archives and Historical Research (The Process)^[1]

The purpose of archives

Historical sources are everywhere. Archives provide institutional support for the preservation, curation, and accessibility of archival materials. For instance, it is much easier for a researcher to visit an institutional archive than to read a historical agents’ personal papers in their relatives’ living room. Institutions also typically have more resources to care for and preserve old or otherwise damaged artifacts.

Archival Organization and Agendas

When historians visit an archive, they have already done a substantial amount of research. They have:

1. read the secondary scholarship by other historians in their field(s). There is no point in reinventing the wheel. Scholars who have written about your topic will have useful information in their footnotes about which archival sources exist and where they are located.
2. developed a research question based on their assessment of the historiography and potential archival sources.
3. consulted the finding aids available for the archival collections that are relevant for the field.
4. contacted the archivists at these institutions.
5. created a research plan and made a schedule for visiting the archive, including an estimate of how much time will be needed, if an invitation, permission, or reference is required, etc.
6. applied for any available funding to support the research trip. Some archives even have funds available for scholars to encourage them to work in the collections.