For Those About to Search, We Salute You

June 21, 2010

Mid-Continent Public Libraries has access to an overwhelming amount of databases that most of our lovely patrons know very little about. Being that MCPL's specialty is genealogy (Thank you Midwest Genealogy Center), one very useful but slightly unknown resource is the Archive Finder database. Consisting of nearly 200,000 collections throughout the United States and the United Kingdom, it provides record information including description, dates, location, location details, finding aids, NIDS fiche number, NUCMC number, and LC Reference on historical topics going back hundreds of years. The only negative to the database is its inability to reproduce the actual documents. This hiccup can be expected with most primary document resources as photocopying and digitizing can cause damage. However, as of early 2010, Archive Finder provides over 6,000 finding aids to help you find specific document. Once a desired result is found, the database provides all of the repository information to better help you contact the collection manager. Archive Finder is great resource for the in-depth researcher seeking information related to the last 200 years of United States and British history.