The Classic Catalog -- legacycatalog.nypl.org
The catalog provides collection-level description for archives and manuscripts across The New York Public Library. A basic search can be narrowed to Author, Title, or Subject. You can also select "Archives and Manuscripts" at the top of the collection dropbar. This will exclude printed collections of primary sources.
Narrowing search results
Searches in the catalog yield results across NYPL. If a search yields too many results, fields can be added or changed by using the
button at the top of the page.
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The "Modify" or "Limit" buttons open the catalog's advanced search, where additional terms can be added using Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT).
Specific reading rooms can be selected using the "Location" list - helpful if a researcher can only visit one Library center.
The "Material type" and "Language" fields are only somewhat useful - these have only been applied to the most recently cataloged collections, so will not return results that were cataloged earlier.
The "Within" limit allows researchers to provide a date range for search results. |
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Interpreting search results
Catalog records contain information essential to placing a request and accessing archives. The "Location" points a researcher to the department responsible for the care of a collection. Click on the location hyperlink to access hours specific to a department, to contact department staff for more information, or to arrange a visit.
A full catalog record also includes hyperlinks connecting material by the same Author or on the same Subject. Clicking on these links will perform a new search without any limits. Once you are on the new results page, "Modify" or "Limit" results back to collection, type, or time period.
The catalog records often provide a link if an item is available digitally, or if there is additional descriptive information (such as a finding aid) elsewhere, as below.
