Introduction to Archives

The Special Collections department at USF's Tampa campus contains books, maps, and artifacts, but much of its holdings are comprised of archival material. This brief informational session provides viewers with an introduction to archives and some helpful information about utilizing the materials.

Archives specialize in preserving records and information, typically primary sources and original documents for future study. From massive government and corporate records to small collections built around an individual or family, archives collect, secure, organize and make their collections available for research through finding aids and reading rooms where scholars can use the materials in a secure setting. Many archival materials are one-of-a-find originals that cannot be found elsewhere, meaning that there is no way to replace damaged or stolen items.

The uniqueness of archival collections tend to provide researchers with primary source material. Primary sources are considered essential for good historic research, and are usually first-hand accounts or other documents that capture historic events as they are happening. Most books written by scholars about events after the fact are secondary sources, with the notable exception of memoirs. For more information on primary sources in Special Collections, see our  Primary Source Document Hub .

Books and journal articles represent the well-beaten path. Scholars who depend upon well-worn sources are firmly "on the road," following the many who have come before and consequently not blazing a new trail in their fields. Archival research allows scholars to go "off road," where there are few signs or guidance, but where the rewards are potentially much greater. 

Archival materials include (but are not limited to): correspondence, maps and plans, photographs, film and audio, deeds and wills, registers, log books, research papers, and draft manuscripts. Successful archival research tends to be an unspoken collaboration between archivists and the researchers they work with.

It is helpful to know what any given archive specializes in collecting. Here at USF Tampa, Special Collections concentrates on several areas of emphasis for its collections, including Florida history, Florida Environment and Natural History (FLENH), the USF University Archive, LGBTQ+ materials, and Children's and Young Adult Literature.

Have you ever wondered how the main library differs from the archives in Special Collections? Check out this chart for some of the key distinctions between typical libraries and archives.

Provenance: Chain of custody/stewardship. Who has handled these materials before the archives that presently owns them? Has their stewardship of the materials compromised them in any way?  

Original order: When possible, archivists typically adhere to the “Original Order” of materials: The organization and sequence of records established by their creator. The organization of the records are a direct reflection of the group that created them. The original order of materials is a vital means to understanding a collection. 

Evidentiary Value: Information that provides insight into the organization or author that produced it. For example, the written history of a military unit would provide far more evidentiary value than the correspondence of a single soldier in that unit.

Changing Use of Material Over Time: The primary use of archival material is determined by the intent of the creators, while secondary value is the usefulness of records for purposes that differ from the original purpose of their creation. For example, the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps (below) were created by an insurance company to determine fire hazard research for new policies. Today, scholars use the same materials to map urban landscapes that have otherwise been lost to time.

The Functions of an Archive 

• Acquire collections 
• Secure and preserve collections 
• Process and describe collections 
• Promote collections to users  

The hierarchy of archival collections     

Archives, like organizations, are usually arranged around a hierarchy. In descending order archival units consist of collections, series, sub-series, box, folder and individual item. 

Example: 

Collection: Rocky the Bull Papers           

Series: Documents 

Sub-series: Photographs

Box: Box 70

Folder: Las Novedades, Part 1

Individual items, such as documents or photographs, populate folders. Most archives use folders as the smallest unit of organization. Cataloguing each item would be far too time consuming to be practical.

Q: How do I find out what an archive has to offer? 

To help users identify materials for use, archivists create finding aids that provide background information and an inventory for the collections in their care. Finding Aids provide contextual/biographical information, scope, container list / inventory , and more. For an example of a finding aid, click  here. 

Search the archives and explore our finding aids through the link below. Collections are searchable via keyword, title, and  by classification.  

Get acquainted with the anatomy and display of finding aids below.

The top navigation menu is static and allows for searches across all archival holdings in Special Collections.  "Collections"  shows a full listing of all 500+ holdings for exploration,  "Subjects"  provide hyperlinks to all collections with a given term,  "Names"  allows for links between creators and organizations, and  "Classifications"  provide aggregations of collections by broad groupings.

This static menu allows for generation of citations, the generation of a downloadable PDF of the finding aid, and direct request of materials for Reading Room use through our  Aeon checkout software. 

For digitized Special Collections materials:

To search the Oral History Program: 

Q: How do I cite materials used in my research?

ArchivesSpace has a built in feature that autogenerates a citation for our archival collections. Simply click the "Citation" button on the top right of the collection overview.

Clicking will open a separate dialogue box. You can copy and paste the text directly.

The "Cite Item" feature will generate a basic citation, while the "Cite Item Description" will include a web address and the date of access.

In addition to archives, Special Collections is home to more than 100,000 cataloged volumes, including books, periodicals, and other printed material. You can search all items via USF Libraries  main catalog .

See the tutorial below to learn how.

For security purposes, Special Collections materials do not circulate and must be used in the Reading Room. Once you have identified materials for use, request the materials and make an appointment to use them. The appointment form is available below, which will also prompt you to request materials.

Using the same form, patrons can also request a consultation with Special Collections staff to provide one-on-one guidance for their research needs.

For faculty interested in instruction sessions for classes, Special Collections has several specialists in archival practices that can help provide insight into the research process using archives. We are happy to tailor instruction sessions to the needs of students and faculty.

You can directly request materials found while searching finding aids by clicking the "Aeon Request button."

Directly request materials via your research account. First time users will need to establish an account before submitting an request.