A finding aid is an inventory or index that describes the contents and context of an archival collection. Finding aids are the primary method of accessing information about any given group of records.
Because some archival collections are very large, finding aids will not necessarily describe every item contained within. The description may state only in general terms what is in a box or folder (e.g., “letters, 1940”). In order to know the exact contents of a collection, it may be necessary to see the materials in person.
Finding aids are text documents and do not contain images or other digital content. Only a fraction of our collection has been digitized. Those files are accessible in our Images and Media database.
For a full list of Finding Aids see Finding Aids A-Z.
Some popular topics:
- Sullivan, Wright, Prairie School, and Organic Architecture
- Burnham, Beaux-Arts, Plan of Chicago, and Fairs
- Mies, IIT, and the Second Chicago School
- Chicago Commercial, Residential, and Landscape Architecture, Pre-WWII
- Chicago Commercial, Residential, and Landscape Architecture, Post-WWII
- Historic Architecture and Landscape Image Collection
- Individual Artist, Organization, or Subject Collections
- Decorative Arts, Graphic Design, and Industrial Design
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