Working with Manuscripts
As a researcher who may be using manuscript materials for the first time, you will find your work significantly different from previous library-based research. Perhaps the most obvious difference to which you will need to adapt is the fact that, unlike books in a library, manuscript items are not incorporated into an overall subject classification. Instead, they remain parts of groupings called "collections," which are formed around the individual, organization, or institution whose activities account for their existence. A particular collection--the records of an organization or the personal papers of an individual or family--may contain correspondence, memoranda, diaries, minutes of committee and board meetings, reports, speech and lecture notes, financial records, case records, scrapbooks, photographs, and newspaper clippings. Most of these materials are one-of-a-kind items and they provide documentation of past events from the perspective of participants and first-hand observers.
Very few of these materials were created with any thought given to the sort of "external" audience for whom books and articles are written. Individuals committed words to paper to communicate with a very specific and immediate audience, namely the friends or associates with whom they were dealing; institutional representatives did the same, possibly for the additional purpose of leaving a record for their co-workers or successors, still very much "insiders." Having been produced spontaneously and not having undergone the editorial process accorded to published materials, manuscripts represent a rougher, less self-conscious account of events.
Put another way, manuscripts tend to be part of a process rather than (or in addition to) its finished product. Individual items must be studied in the context of other materials related to the same activities if all possible information is to be derived from them. Simply, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This is why the integrity of collections is maintained, and it is why archivists retain the original filing order out of the conviction that the way individuals or organizations filed their records is, in itself, a form of evidence.
All of these differences mean that an important part of your research strategy will be to determine who or what would have a reason to create or retain records containing information pertaining to your topic. Finding aids that the archivists have prepared to summarize the contents of the collections will help to narrow your search; however, you will still need to be familiar with the basic concepts, events, and names involved in your topic in order to be able to distinguish between the extraneous and the sig-nificant. We would be happy to direct you to some basic reference sources that may help you prepare to use our manuscript collections intelligently and efficiently. Even after you have identified fairly precisely what is likely to be of use to you, you can still expect to have to sort through a substantial amount of extraneous material, but good preparation will speed the weeding process. We are not an open-stack operation. By studying our finding aids and consulting with the staff you will determine the folders or boxes you wish to consult, and they will be brought out for your use in the reading room.
Use of manuscript materials for research is a privilege that entails the agreement to respect certain conditions, all of which relate to avoiding possible damage to unique, often fragile materials. Because manuscript materials are irreplaceable, their physical preservation takes on added importance. Although natural deterioration of paper is unavoidable, we try to retard this process by eliminating all environmental conditions that have an adverse effect on paper storage life. This includes storage in an area free from fluctuating temperatures and humidity levels and limited exposure to ultraviolet rays. It also requires transferring the manuscripts into acid-free folders and boxes and removing rubber bands, scotch tape, metal fasteners and surface dirt.
Granted these considerations and investments, we--like virtually all manuscript repositories--do not lend our collections or open them to casual browsing. Please exercise care and common sense when handling manuscripts. Certain kinds of paper become brittle with age and tear easily, and all are weakened by the folding and crushing that results when items are carelessly jammed back into folders after use. Obviously, smoking, eating and drinking must be confined to the lunch room. Please take care to maintain the sequence, both of items within a folder and of folders within a box. If you encounter items that are obviously out of order or in need of physical care, we would appreciate your calling them to our attention.
If you have any questions about any aspect of your research or the conditions under which it is carried out, please feel free to ask. We will be happy to help whenever possible.