HOLLIS for Archival Discovery - Beta

Thank you for trying out the beta version of the new HOLLIS for Archival Discovery! This is the first draft of a new help guide and we're looking for your feedback. Please complete a brief survey to let us know if you found the guide helpful or you have suggestions on information that should be added to make it a better tool for our users.

Explore primary sources — spanning digital content and physical material — at Harvard's special collections libraries and archives, including letters, diaries, business records, photographs, film and video, print items, objects, and more.

HOLLIS for Archival Discovery lets you search finding aids (also called collection guides) from Harvard's many special collections libraries and archives (also known as repositories).

Please note that not all collections at Harvard have finding aids and are therefore not searchable in HOLLIS for Archival Discovery. To find other materials in special collections, please use HOLLIS, Harvard Library's online catalog.

Pro tip: Curious and want to learn more about finding aids? Check out Finding Your Way Through Finding Aids: Archives 101 by Dorothy Berry

This glossary provides definitions for terms commonly used in finding aids and other archival description.

• Call number: A unique code used to identify a collection. May also be called a collection identifier
• Collection: A set of archival or manuscript materials
• Container: Where the content or material is stored. EXAMPLES: box, folder, tape
• Extent: A description of the quantity of the material described in the finding aid, which could include both physical and born-digital material
• Finding aid: A hierarchically structured tool describing the contents and context of a collection. May also be called a collection guide 
• Item: One discrete thing in a collection that is the lowest level in the hierarchical organization. EXAMPLES: a single photo, a folder, a volume
• Repository: An institution, such as a library, that holds material
• Scope and contents: A description of the materials within a collection and the context in which they were created
• Series: A group of similar materials that are arranged together. EXAMPLE: Writings
• Subseries: A series within a series. EXAMPLE: Articles and Book Proposals may be a subseries of Writings

Pro tip: If you are interested in learning more about terms used by special collections libraries and archives, check out the Society of American Archivists Dictionary of Archives Terminology