A little definition is in order as we go from libraries (yesterday's post) to archives. What’s the difference between an archive and a library?
According to Oxford Languages, a library is “a building or room containing collections of books, periodicals, and sometimes films and recorded music for people to read, borrow, or refer to.”
This is a pretty good definition though not all libraries include items that circulate. Libraries tend to have items that have been published. However, this is not always strictly what they hold.
On the other hand, an archive is “a collection of historical documents or records providing information about a place, institution, or group of people.”
So an archive has items created by a community that may not have been formally published. These are the gems that we love as genealogists because they were made at the time of an “event” by the people involved. These records can include diaries, correspondence, membership records, etc.
While there are individual libraries and archives, a library and an archive might coexist in some cases. So when I discussed museum libraries yesterday, a few of those included archives as well such as the British Museum Library and Archive.
It’s probably no surprise that a museum might have an archive. An archive has historical records, and a museum has historical artifacts. So they are a nice compliment to your research. Just like the library examples yesterday, museum archives might include online catalogs and guides to help you navigate their collections. They also may have rules about who can conduct research, when they can conduct research, and what they can access. So just like any research repository, call or email first.
If you have never researched at an archive before, I highly suggest reading the articles available on the website for the Society of American Archivists.
On the museum archives webpage, make sure to read what collections they house, their rules and guidelines, finding aids or guides, and any contact forms. Your first stop in researching an archive is reaching out to the archivist and finding out how they can (or cannot) help with your research project.
Remember that there’s a museum for every topic, place, occupation, etc. Was your ancestor a member of the circus? Great! There’s a museum archive for that!
So archives are a great resource for genealogists. Museum archives are a part of that hunt for archives. Tomorrow let's take a look at another resource found on some museum websites. Digital collections. See you tomorrow!
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