Navigate a finding aid
See this course’s project requirements
A six-part community-history packet with a bounded question, finding-aid path, record analysis, timeline, citation and rights notes, and a 150–250-word evidence-based account.
Keep your working files in your own notebook or software. Save a private description, checklist, and work link in My Proof.
What to include
- State a bounded question and a search plan that could challenge the starting caption.
- Trace R3 through the correct collection and item locator.
- Analyze record purpose and shared evidence before drawing conclusions.
- Create a timeline that separates approval, event, publication, and later annotation.
- Attach retraceable citations and a rights check to a 150–250-word account with a specific unresolved point.
Review and revise
Use these criteria to check your work and choose what to improve.
- The question and conclusion concern the same bounded event.
- Record locators, dates, and attendance numbers match the supplied evidence.
- The account distinguishes direct support, shared sources, and uncertainty.
- Citations support specific claims, and image access is kept separate from reuse permission.
Want more background?
The idea in everyday life
Fictional finding aid: Repository=Eastbank Practice Archive. Collection=Harbor Community Club Records, identifier HCC, 1962–1965. Creator=Harbor Community Club. Series A=Committee administration, Box 1 Folder 2, items R1 and R6. Series B=Public events, Box 2 Folder 4, items R2 and R3. Series C=Press and photographs, Box 3 Folder 1, items R4 and R5. R3 item title=Opening evening attendance ledger; item date=September 15, 1963. R5 item description=Undated photo with caption added around 1985. A separate City Building Department collection has identifier CBD; it is not supplied here.
A finding aid is a map of a collection; a search hit is only a starting point.
Navigate a finding aid: guided practice
A finding aid is a map of a collection; a search hit is only a starting point.
Use paper or a free local text editor. This is an original fictional practice case; do not submit its records to a real service. Start this lesson with these facts, even if an earlier variation changed them. Fictional finding aid: Repository=Eastbank Practice Archive. Collection=Harbor Community Club Records, identifier HCC, 1962–1965. Creator=Harbor Community Club. Series A=Committee administration, Box 1 Folder 2, items R1 and R6. Series B=Public events, Box 2 Folder 4, items R2 and R3. Series C=Press and photographs, Box 3 Folder 1, items R4 and R5. R3 item title=Opening evening attendance ledger; item date=September 15, 1963. R5 item description=Undated photo with caption added around 1985. A separate City Building Department collection has identifier CBD; it is not supplied here.
1. Identify the creator
Write who produced or accumulated HCC and distinguish that creator from the repository.
You should see: Harbor Community Club created the records; Eastbank Practice Archive holds them.
Keeping creator and holder separate preserves the records’ origin, called provenance.
2. Trace the location
Follow the finding aid to R3 and copy every locator component.
You should see: HCC → Series B, Public events → Box 2 → Folder 4 → R3.
The path helps another reader find the same item rather than a similar title.
3. Read item metadata
Record R3’s title and date without treating the collection range as its item date.
You should see: Opening evening attendance ledger; September 15, 1963.
Collection dates describe the whole group; an individual record has its own date.
4. Keep context together
Place the later caption beside its actual description and avoid merging HCC with CBD.
You should see: R5 has a caption added around 1985; HCC and CBD have different creators.
Collection context can explain why a record exists and how directly it addresses the question.
What to finish
Navigate a finding aid record with the worked decisions and changed-case check.
Watch for this
Copying a title while losing the creator and collection path.
How can I tell I understand it?
Use collection, series, box, folder, and item information to locate a record. Explain the evidence behind the result and correct any mismatch.
Quick knowledge check
Answer all 3 questions. Get at least 2 right and the lesson completes automatically.
You’ll get an explanation for each answer. Signed in? Your results save to your account.
Pass the check. We’ll save the progress.
Answer all 3 questions above and get at least 2 right. You can review the explanations and try again.
Go to the knowledge checkOptional course overview video · same video as Lesson 1
Getting Started with DocsTeach: Finding and Sharing Primary Source Documents
From US National Archives. Watch here or open it on YouTube .
Optional course overview. Follow the written steps below at your own pace.Tools, templates, and lesson sources
Tools and templates
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Sources and further reading
Explore the references behind this lesson.
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-12
Inspected research planning, finding resources, and the limits of what an archive holds. Applies the stable search method to an original community-archive case.
Access: Public page or PDF inspected without payment or institutional sign-in on September 12, 2026. Optional external accounts are unnecessary for this course.
Reuse: Link and original paraphrase only. Public access does not grant blanket reuse; no provider text, figures, or exercises are reproduced.
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-12
Inspected finding-aid, provenance, collection, and arrangement vocabulary. The linked glossary is historical; used only for stable vocabulary, not current access policy.
Access: Public page or PDF inspected without payment or institutional sign-in on September 12, 2026. Optional external accounts are unnecessary for this course.
Reuse: Link and original paraphrase only. Public access does not grant blanket reuse; no provider text, figures, or exercises are reproduced.
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