{"id":4274,"date":"2026-08-06T13:37:38","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T13:37:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/?page_id=4274"},"modified":"2026-09-23T16:01:41","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T16:01:41","slug":"finding-aids","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/specialcollections\/finding-aids\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding Aids"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is a finding aid?<\/strong> From the Society of American Archivists<\/a>: “… 1. A tool that facilitates discovery of information within a collection of records. – 2. A description of records that gives the repository physical and intellectual control over the materials and that assists users to gain access to and understand the materials.” What does that mean? A finding aid is a descriptive guide for archival collections and usually includes information about the creator of the materials, formats included, dates covered, and how the materials are arranged. A finding aid helps researchers and archivists to learn more about the collections and to find the materials in a collection that will be most helpful for their research questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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