Using Different Types of Archives
Helpful documents from the Society of American Archivists.
Finding Aids and Digital Portals
Many historical materials are not available online, and housed only in archives or in harder to find publications. These discovery tools can help identify their holdings and locations.
- ArchiveGrid This link opens in a new windowSearches finding aids for historical documents, personal papers, and family histories held in libraries, museums, and archives around the world. Researchers searching ArchiveGrid can learn about the items in each of these collections, contact archives to arrange a visit to examine materials, and order copies.
- Calisphere This link opens in a new windowOver one million photographs, documents, letters, artwork, diaries, oral histories, films, advertisements, musical recordings, and more from the collections digitized and contributed by all ten campuses of the University of California and other important libraries, archives, and museums throughout the state.
- Digital Public Library of AmericaThe Digital Public Library of America is a portal to the digital collections of America’s libraries, archives, and museums.
- EuropeanaIncludes digitized books, paintings, photographs, recordings and films from over 2,200 contributing cultural heritage organisations across Europe.
- National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC)Gateway for searching OCLC WorldCat manuscripts.
- Online Archive of California (OAC) This link opens in a new windowFinding aids for primary source collections in all UC campuses and other contributing institutions, including libraries, special collections, archives, historical societies, and museums throughout California.
- UCLA Library Digital Collections This link opens in a new windowRare and unique digital materials developed by the UCLA Library to support education, research, service, and creative expression, including the AIDS Poster Collection, the Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive and more.
- UCLA Library International Digital Ephemera Project This link opens in a new windowAn initiative to digitize, preserve and provide broad public access to print, images, multimedia, and social networking resources produced worldwide. This UCLA Library project captures ephemeral content in collaboration with global partners.
- UCLA Library Modern Endangered Archives Program This link opens in a new window
The Modern Endangered Archives Program aims to digitize and make accessible endangered archival materials from the 20th and 21st centuries, including print, photographic, film, audio, ephemeral and born-digital objects.
- UCLA Library Special CollectionsUCLA Library Special Collections is comprised of Charles E. Young Research Library Department of Special Collections; the Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library History of Science and Medicine Special Collections; the Performing Arts Special Collections; the University Archives; and the Center for Oral History Research. Collections include a wide variety of literary rare books, as well as manuscripts and archival collections relating to specific individuals and organizations.
- UCLA Library Special Collections Research GuidesLists major collections by broad topic area in UCLA Library Special Collections.
- WorldCat (OCLC FirstSearch) This link opens in a new window
OCLC FirstSearch catalog includes citations for books, journals, manuscripts, maps, music scores, sound recordings, films, computer files, newspapers, slides, videotapes, archival material, etc., in libraries around the world.
Major Cross-Search Portals of Digitized Materials
- AM Search This link opens in a new window
UCLA subscribes to selected AM (formerly Adam Matthew) databases comprised of digitized archival material and primary sources. You can use AM Search to search across all of them. UCLA has access to licensed AM content published through 2024. Formerly known as Adam Matthew Archive Explorer.
- Alexander Street Press This link opens in a new windowUCLA subscribes to several dozen distinct databases hosted by Alexander Street Press. This interface allows you to search across most of them. Click on "My Collections" to see the list of subscribed databases.
- Archive of Americana This link opens in a new windowThousands of newspapers, books, ephemera, broadsides, pamphlets, government publications, and more, detailing life in 17th-, 18th-, and 19th-century America. Includes America's Historical Imprints; Early American Newspapers, 1690-1876; America's Historical Newspapers; Caribbean Newspapers, 1718-1876; American State Papers, 1789-1838; and U.S. Congressional Serial Set, 1817-1980.
- EBSCOhost This link opens in a new window
Search platform for over 50 databases, from Academic Search Complete to Women's Studies International.
- Gale Primary Sources This link opens in a new windowA cross-search platform of 21 databases available from the Gale Group, including historical newspapers (formerly NewsVault), The Making of Modern Law, U.S. Declassified Documents Online, among others. They can be searched as a group or as a selected subset.
- ProQuest This link opens in a new window
Search platform for over 120 databases, from the AFI Catalog to Worldwide Political Science Abstracts. Includes scholarly articles, primarily in the humanities and social sciences, as well as newspapers and dissertations.