Research Guides: Emory Law Archives and Manuscripts Research: Archival Research Skills

Archives and Manuscripts

Archives emerge every day when a person, organization, or government creates and keeps a record of their actions. The term archive can refer to records themselves, the organization that houses the records, or the area where the records are held. Archives hold recorded material that has long-term permanent value for the organization

Manuscripts are handwritten, unpublished materials, typically a collection of personal or family papers. Manuscripts can include typescripts, photographs, diaries, speeches, photographs, financial records, logbooks, maps, or news clippings.

How to Use A Finding Aid

What is a Finding Aid?

Archival Finding Aids, also known as an inventory or collection list, are tools that provide a description of the contents that make up a collection. Finding Aids allow researchers to understand the layout of the collection, like a Table of Contents of a book.

The physical arrangement of the archive is not like a library's arrangement by topic and subject matter. In an archive, materials about similar subjects matter may be held in different collections of the archive based on when or how the materials were created. Just like you would use a library's catalog to find a book, you will use an archival finding aid to find where items are located in the collection. Finding Aids explain how and when archival materials were created, how the archive acquired the materials, how the archivist arranged the collection, and where to find the materials.

How Do I Use a Finding Aid?

To learn how to successfully consult a Finding Aid, consider consulting the archive guides linked below:

How to Read a Finding Aid - Purdue
Primary Sources in Archives & Special Collections: How to Read a Finding Aid
SAA Sample Finding Aid with Annotations
Below is an example of a finding aid describing an archival collection. This annotated model is designed to help define the separate parts of a finding aid and the standard formatting of finding aids in archives.

Finding Archive Resources

Archive Grid - Worldcat
ArchiveGrid includes over 5 million records describing archival materials, bringing together information about historical documents, personal papers, family histories, and more.
Archive Finder
Archive Finder is a current directory which describes over 220,000 collections of primary source material housed in thousands of repositories across the United States, the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Library of Congress Digital Collection
Digital Collections from the Library of Congress Collection
The Internet Archive
The Internet Archive, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form.
Wikipedia Archive List
Incomplete list of archives from Wikipedia

ELA Finding Aids

ArchivesSpace

Over the Summer of 2023, Emory University migrated EmoryFindingAids, our previous finding aid database, to ArchivesSpace. ArchivesSpace is the new discovery interface for Emory Libraries’ finding aids. To try it out, visit https://archives.libraries.emory.edu.

ArchivesSpace provides access to finding aids for Emory University’s five special collections and archives repositories. Search this database to determine if collections contain material of interest to you and learn where collections are located. See all finding aids related to Emory Law’s materials here.

Archival Collection Finding Aids

Ben F. Johnson, Jr. Oral History Project
CDs of interviews conducted by William B. Turner when he was a Feminism and Legal Theory Project visiting scholar and a visiting professor at Emory Law School 2006-2007.
Center for the Study of Law and Religion Records
Contains research project materials, invitations, lectures, and printed material related to the Center for the Study of Law and Religion.
David J. Bederman Collection of Printed Materials
Consists of articles written by David Bederman in 27 law journals, as well as teaching materials, offprints, and a book review.
Emory Law School Records
Records of Emory University Law School
Emory Law World War II Era Oral History Project
Records of the World War II era oral history project created as a way to preserve the experiences of Emory School of Law alumni who served in the armed forces during World War II and earned their law degrees on the G.I. bill.
Feminism and Legal Theory Project Records
Records of the Feminism and Legal Theory (FLT) Project and the Vulnerability and the Human Condition Initiative (VHC) including workbooks containing papers presented at each of the FLT and VHC conferences, printed material, files related to visiting scholars, and other collected information.
Foreign Claims Settlement Commission Decisions
Orders and decisions of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission arising from claims by United States nationals against the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
National Network of Law School Officers (NNLSO) Records
Records of the National Network of Law School Officers including administrative records, executive committee and financial records, correspondence, and newsletters and surveys.

Manuscript Collection and Finding Aid

African American Civil Rights Collection
Contains correspondence, photographs, ephemera, and printed material related to the advancement of African American civil rights in the United States.
Catherine G. Roraback Papers
Papers of attorney and civil rights activist Catherine G. Roraback including correspondence, printed material, notes, photographs, and memorabilia.
Crackpot Collection of Antique Legal Documents
Collection of manuscript legal documents and correspondence related to the Garth family of Crackpot, England.
Harold J. Berman Papers
Professional and personal papers of professor of law and historian Harold J. Berman including correspondence, academic files, writings, subject files, conferences, and speaking engagements, and photographs.
Jane Larson Papers
Papers of Jane Larson include correspondence, book and article manuscripts, subject files, and collected writings by others.
Jonas Robitscher Papers
Contains Jonas Robitscher's professional papers from 1967-1981 as well as correspondence, photographs, and audiovisual material.
Manuscript Deeds Collection
Artificially created collection of manuscript legal documents, primarily from England.
Marjorie Thurman Papers
Consists of campaign files, correspondence, personal material, and papers related to the Georgia Democratic Party in the 1960s-1970s.
Martha Albertson Fineman Papers
Papers of Martha Albertson Fineman documenting her career as a law professor and a leading scholar of feminist legal theory.
Tina L. Stark & David J. Weisenfeld Collection of Antique Legal Documents
Artificial collection of manuscript legal documents, primarily from England, developed by Tina L. Stark.

Emory Libraries Archives

Emory Law Archives and Manuscripts
The Emory Law Archives acquires, preserves, and makes available to researchers materials of permanent historical and research value. The archives’ holdings span the 14th through the 21st centuries and support research in many areas of law and policy.
Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library
The Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, & Rare Book Library collects and connects stories of human experience, promotes access and learning, and offers opportunities for dialogue for all wise hearts who seek knowledge.
Emory Oxford Library Archives
Search detailed descriptions of the archive and manuscript collections of Oxford College and the other Emory Libraries.
Pitts Theology Library Archives & Manuscripts
Located within Special Collections, the holdings include a large selection of Reformation-era manuscripts, including a significant number of books of hours and other illuminated manuscripts.
Woodruff Health Sciences Center Library Historical Collections
The collection contains records, artifacts, and printed material related to the Emory medical schools and health sciences, the history of medicine & nursing, and the history of the health sciences in Georgia and the broader southeastern United States.

Archives in Georgia

Georgia Archives
The Georgia Archives identifies, collects, provides access and preserves Georgia’s historical documents.
The National Archives at Atlanta
We hold permanent records created by federal agencies and courts in the following states: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Tennessee
University of Georgia Archives
The University of Georgia Archives preserve over two centuries of the University's history in the form of official records, images, plans, publications and artifacts. Our mission is to acquire, organize, preserve and publicize such materials and to assist researchers in their use.

Questions for the MacMillan Law Library?

Have a question for the Law Library? Reach out to us via one of our question forms:

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MacMillan Library Hybrid Research Services:

Monday - Friday: 9am - 5pm
Saturday - Sunday: Closed

MacMillan Library Building Hours (April 1 - May 3, 2024):

Monday - Thursday: 7:30am - 2am
Friday: 7:30am - Midnight
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Thursday: 10:30am - 4pm
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IT Help Desk:
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Emory Law Archives:
Physical archives: By appointment only.
Digital archives: More information available here.
Limited remote services are available on a case-by-case basis.
Questions? Email Anna Sturgill, Law Librarian for Archives and Assessment Services