Search tools like ArchiveGrid and repository websites will often lead you to a guide to the archival collection, known as a finding aid.

Finding aids are the archives’ equivalent of a library book's catalog record or table of contents, and they are an indispensable tool for discovering and evaluating the potential usefulness of archival collections.

Finding aids produced by different archival institutions might vary in functionality or "look and feel" but will include certain common elements or sections.

Here's some information you can often expect a finding aid to contain:

• Scope and Content Note: Section that describes the general contents of the collection and the topics covered.
• Extent: The size of the collection, often expressed in cubic feet or number of boxes or items.
• Access Restrictions: This could be any circumstance that impacts your ability to access the collection. For instance, sometimes archival collections may contain sensitive information that's not available to researchers.
• Series: Many archival collections are organized into series to help you navigate them. Series organization can be based on time period, subject, type of document (such as letters or photographs), or any number of other categories.
• Container or Content List: A detailed listing of the contents of the collection. It may tell you the general contents of each box, the label on each folder in the box, or even in some cases, the contents of each folder (though this is not as common).

Walk through reading a finding aid using an example from the Norwich Archives