While writing about building a digital library a couple of weeks ago, I was reminded of the fact that more and more items in “Special Collections” are starting to appear in digital format.
Exactly what are “Special Collections”?
Any organization that maintains a library generally has its collection divided into several categories of which the three most common are probably Circulating (available to be checked out of the building by patrons), Reference (on open shelves to be used by patrons in the building) and Special Collections, which are in the closed stacks (meaning patrons must request permission to access particular items) because those items are fragile, rare, or restricted from public access for another reason.
Because Special Collections items are locked away from the public, they aren’t often found, or even requested, by beginning researchers. Even more experienced genealogists might overlook the contents of an entire collection because of access.
First, I have to stress that if a genealogist is fortunate to be doing on-site research, then contact should be made with the organization before arrival to determine if the Special Collections holding has items pertinent to present research. Sometimes, items in those collections must be retrieved a day or so before use.
However, let’s focus on what might be found online.
Finding Aids, Resource Guides or possibly LibGuides: These are short outlines, created by archivists or librarians, detailing the contents an individual collection. Sometimes, a surname or locality/topic search in the catalog brings up a link to a LibGuide. Read them carefully before deciding whether or not that collection is pertinent to your research.
Example: The Passaic County [NJ] Historical Society holdings include The Chiswell Family Papers. A 2-page finding aid summarizes the contents of the collection, how it was acquired, time period, biographical information, scope of the collection and notes about its contents.
The heading includes all the source citation data needed:
What might you find in Special Collections? Almost anything from photographs to images of rare items like porcelain bowls to family correspondence. Your family doesn’t need to have been prominent or wealthy for them to be found in a collection. The University of Massachusetts Library has the Ronald Wayne Schrum Papers, which include digitized letters written from Vietnam during the war in the 1960s.
The Texas Digital Archives includes some Texas Supreme Court case files, dating in the 1800s, that are searchable.
The 136 digital collections online at the Greenville, South Carolina Public Library includes African American Social Clubs with membership lists and fun items like the Stokes Grocery Ledger from 1908, with names of customers in it!
These are just three examples of the unique items to be found i Special Collections. Some organizations are even beginning to digitize manuscripts.
Take some time to search a town, county or state of interest in your research. Do an online search of the organization name + digital collections to see what pops up. You might be very surprised. At the very least, you will find resource providing snapshots of daily life in a given location. With a bit of luck, you might find your ancestors’ names mentioned.
Special Collections is a resource that needs to be searched more than once over a period of time, as organizations are adding more and more to their online access every day.