Illustrated plan of famed astronomer Tycho Brahe's castle, Uraniborg, created by Dutch cartographer Joan Blaeu in 1665. Blaeu depicts several scientific instruments used by Tycho Brahe in the castle. From: Arcis Vranibvrgi by Joan Blaeu, 1665, Image from the David Rumsey Map Collection (https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~277693~90050708#).

What Are Archives?

There is some nuance to the various definitions of "archives," but for your purposes as HCC students, the term "archives" will typically refer to an organization or department of an academic institution that is dedicated to collecting and preserving records that fall under a particular subject or specialty. You'll see archives with specialties that range from certain geographical locations, political entities, the lives of notable individuals, significant periods in time or social movements, the history of disenfranchised groups — the possibilities are truly endless! Archives will usually divide their materials into smaller collections that may also have a wide range of focuses. Both in-person archives and digital archives are fantastic routes to finding informative primary sources.

Source: Society of American Archivists

Navigating Archival Collections with Finding Aids

Researchers like yourself navigate archives using written inventory guides called finding aids. These guides describe archival collections and will help you find sources when you use them like roadmaps to the collections.

Some common parts of a Finding Aid:

• Collection Overview
• Abstract or Scope or Content (these are all names for the section that summarizes the collection)
• Biographical Note
• Historical Note
• Subject and Index Terms
• Collection Arrangement
• Box and Folder List
• Administrative Note Information

Using a Finding Aid

Approach searching archival collections like you're a detective. It is sometimes not as simple as a keyword search in a digital record to find what you need. Carefully scan the finding aid for the clues most likely to lead you to relevant primary sources for your particular topic.

1. Read through the finding aid of a collection and take note of what parts of that collection might be the most useful for you.
2. Identify which boxes, folders, or other type of containers have those useful items in them.
3. Check with the Archivist what the policies are for requesting these materials in the Reading Room. For example, is there a limit to how many containers you can look at at one time?

Source: New York Public Library

Connecticut Digital Archive

The CTDA is a fantastic place to find primary sources regarding Connecticut history that have been made available online. In addition to its unique collections like The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) Digital Archive, the Amateaur Films Collection, and the P.T. Barnum Digital Collection, this archive contains many collections focusing on various aspects of Connecticut history:

• Newspapers of Connecticut
• West Port Library's Local History Files Collection
• Connecticut State Museum of Natural History

Connecticut Archives Online (CAO)

Think of CAO as Google for CT's many archives and collections. It doesn't have its own repositories of archival materials, but it is a search and discovery system that can find the names and links to many of the archival collections in CT. Be aware that only archival repositories in CT that use the same archives coding language (EAD) for their materials are included in the search results.

Bridgeport Public Library's Bridgeport History Center

Located within the Bridgeport Public Library, the Bridgeport History Center has thousands of books, photographs, manuscript items, newspapers, and newspaper clippings centered around Bridgeport history as well as the greater Connecticut-Long Island region. They also have one of the largest genealogy collections in CT!

Source: University of Rhode Island Libraries

The Archives at HCC are dedicated to collecting and preserving HCC campus history. Check out our Archives page for a summary of how to use them, the mission of the Archives, and for contact information!