Photo of Tolman index card catalog in Harvard University Archives reading room

The Tolman Index, informally named for its compiler Bertha Illsley Tolman, is an exhaustive name and subject index covering the records of Harvard University from its earliest days in 1636; the index coverage ends with the first year of President Eliot’s administration, in 1870. The index covers the major series of University records and some related historical materials, including the personal diary of Harvard Librarian John Langdon Sibley, as well as the correspondence of five Harvard presidents. Housed in the Harvard University Archives reading room, the index was digitized in 2012 and can be found online.