A finding aid is a guide to an archival collection. One could think of it like the table of contents for a book. It contains all of the content needed by a researcher to know what they will find in the collection.

The elements, or sections, of a finding aid at the Medical Heritage Center include Access, Citation, Processing Notes, Property Rights, Provenance, Series Listing, Related Collections (if applicable), Historical Sketch, Scope and Content Note, Series Descriptions, and Container Listing.

Access lists any restrictions, such as copyright, on the collection.

Citation is the preferred citation to use when citing materials from the collection.

Processing Notes is the information about who processed the collection and when they did so.

Property Rights lists who owns the collection.

Provenance explains from who and when the collection was acquired.

Series Listing is the listing of the series in the collection. This only applies to larger collections as small collections do not have series.

Related Collections lists what other collections within the MHC relate to this one. This is not always applicable and when it is not, it is not included in a finding aid.

Historical Sketch is biographical information about the person or organization the collection is about.

Scope and Content Note is an overview summary of the collection.

Series Descriptions are a listing and summary of what is found within each series.

Container Listing is the listing of the box, file or item, description and date of what is contained within the collection.

 

To see all of the Medical Heritage Center finding aids, click here.