On the homepage of our website there is a search bar that will allow you to search through all our collections. The search is broken down into three different categories: Catalog, Finding Aids, and Digital Collections.
Anything in our Archive—this includes collections such as Student Publications, the Lloyd J. Reynolds collection, our Print Photos collection, and anything pertaining to the history of the college—can be found by searching our finding aids database. Rare Books, Reediana, Artists’ Books, and Senior Theses are searchable in the library catalog. All of our digitized documents can be found in the Reed Digital Collections (RDC). The RDC contains a variety of collections. The most popular collection is the Reed College Archives which contains over 3,800 digitized photos, publications, and documents from within the Archive. If you are a student, faculty, or staff member then you can use your Reed College credentials to access other collections such as the digital theses or Reed College Quest collection.
Why do I need to search?
If you would like to do research in the archive, searching for materials beforehand can be a helpful step in planning your visit. It will allow you know if we have what you're looking for and it will make it easier for the archives staff to pull the material for you. If you want to look at materials in person, you will most likely be searching in the catalog or in the finding aids database. Once you have located the materials that you are interested in viewing you can email us at archives@reed.edu to schedule an appointment. Setting up an appointment in advance will save you time during your visit, but is not required. If you stop by anytime during operating hours we can pull the materials for you. If you are unable to come in person a portion of our archival materials can be viewed online in the digital collection or scanned by Archives staff and sent to you via email.
For a more in-depth guide on how to search through all three of our databases look through the section "How to Search" down below.
The library catalog can be used to search through our special collections holdings. This includes our Rare Books, Artists Books, Reediana, and collections of books donated by notable members of the Reed College community such as the Binford and Doyle book collections.
If you input a search term, for instance “Shakespeare”, it will take you to the library catalog and filter the results by what we have in our collection.
The library catalog will show you:
If you search straight from the catalog you can still filter your search to items from Special Collections using either the search bar or the filters on the lefthand side.
The finding aids database can be used to search through our archive which contains collections pertaining to the history of Reed College, such as Student Publications, the Lloyd J. Reynolds collection, and our Print Photos collection.
You can input both general and specific terms to search through our archive. For example, I can use the term “theatre” (or “theater”) in order to access our Theatre Department Records.
If you know the exact collection that you would like to research then you can look it up by name.
Searching with a general term will generate more results, so you may have to scroll through several pages in order to find exactly what you are looking for.
Each result in our finding aid database will provide several pieces of information:
1. The title of the record
2. A brief overview of the collection
3. The range of dates for the materials within the collection
4. Where the collection can be found in the Archive
5. If you need to refine your search then you can use the filters on the side
If the brief details provided fit with what you are looking for, click on the finding aid to get more information about the contents of the collection. Finding aids can be a bit difficult to understand, so refer to the section “How to Read a Finding Aid” for more in-depth guidance.
The Reed Digital Collections are made up of 22 unique collections, some big and some small. When you search for something on the Special Collections website it will automatically search through the Reed College Archives. This collection contains over 3,800 items including photographs, periodicals, student publications, posters, and more. Other popular collections are the Reed College Quest Collection and the Electronic Theses. However, both of these collections require valid Reed College credentials in order to access them.
Searching the term “Renn Fayre” will show all the digitized material relating to this long-standing Reed tradition.
The digital collection will provide the same standard information for each result
1. A preview image of the item
2. A title
3. A brief description
4. The date in which the item was created
5. If you are looking for something more specific you can filter your search by decade, material type, subject, genre, or series.
Clicking on the item will provide more in-depth information, allow you to zoom in and out, and even download the item. Materials in the digital collection can be downloaded for personal use, but if they are going to be used for a more public purpose then they must be accompanied by a proper citation. For information on how to properly cite materials from the archive see the section “Viewing Materials”.
Understanding how to read a finding aid is an important part of conducting archival research. At Reed, our finding aids provide general information on a particular collection, what types of materials are found in the collection, and where the material is located in the archive. Knowing this information before your visit will make it easier for us to assist you in your research. While the finding aids in our database don't look exactly alike, this tutorial will provide general information that can apply to any finding aid. For this example, we’ll look at the Renn Fayre Collection.
Our finding aids are broken up into three sections: Collection Overview, Collection Organization, and Container Inventory
When you click on a particular finding aid, the first section you will see is the Collection Overview which provides all of the basic information about the collection.
This section includes:
Scope and Contents: This section provides an overview of what types of items are in the collection.
Dates: This section lists the range of dates encompassed in the collection. It will often have a start date and end date, but this does not mean that the collection contains materials from every year within that range.
Biographical/Historical: This section provides historical background information on the subjects within the collection. This includes information about prominent people, places, and events that are included in the collection.
Extent: This section lists the size of the collection. Everything in the archive is measured in linear feet, but the important part for patrons is the number of boxes within the collection. This helps give an idea of how much material the collection contains.
There is usually more information at the bottom of each finding aid, but these sections vary between collections. This bottom portion typically provides details about the arrangement of the collection, its physical location, or related subjects. There can also be information specific to the Reed College Archive such as who created the finding aid and general repository details.
The Collection Organization section provides details about what is contained in each box. Typically, this section will list the title of every file or item in the collection and box where it's located. Additionally, the Collection Organization can always be found on the righthand side of the page.
The Collection Organization section starts by restating information provided in the Collection Overview. Then it will systematically list the contents of the collection,specifying the type of material and its location. For instance, “Complaints, Reports, and Reflections, 1982-2013” is a file located in Box: 001.
Some collections may contain a series which denotes a larger topic within the collection that contains several files or items. For example, “Renn Fayre Ephemera, 1983-2019” is a series in Box: 002. “Softball Tournament Placard, 1983-1985” is an item found within the series so it is located in Box: 002 and labeled Object: 001.
Each series, file, and item will be listed under this Collection Organization section. Making note of which boxes contain the materials you’re most interested in looking at will speed up the research process.
The Container Inventory simply lists all of the boxes within the collection.
This work by the Reed College Library is licensed under a Creative Commons CC-BY Attribution 4.0 International License.
Reed College Library | Email: library@reed.edu | Phone: 503-777-7702 | 3203 Southeast Woodstock Boulevard, Portland, Oregon 97202-8199
