The Digital Collections platform provides access to a selection of digitized items from the archive collections at Bryn Mawr College, Haverford College, and Swarthmore College. Most items have not been digitized, and there are many, many more historical materials available.
Archives & Manuscripts is a database of collection guides describing archival and manuscript collections. It is located at http://archives.tricolib.brynmawr.edu/. If you are familiar with searching Tripod in order to find books, Archives & Manuscripts is a similar concept to help you find collections of historical materials. It is specially designed with special features that make it easier to browse archival descriptions. A few tips are highlighted in this guide. Visit our help page for more information and search tips.
Archives & Manuscripts uses software called ArchivesSpace, which is utilized by many archives across the US and indeed the world. Our colleagues at other institutions have created wonderful resources that may help you understand how best to use the tool.
A finding aid serves as both the table of contents and index of a manuscript collection. It will help you determine whether the collecion has material of interest to you, and, if so, where that material is located.
Below are several videos which provide an overview of what you may be asked to do when you visit a special collections department. While all of these videos show schools from outside the TriCo, the procedures are farily universal and apply to almost any archives or special collections you might visit, at least in the United States.