What is this site?

This site, originally known as the PACSCL Finding Aids site, was developed by the Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries (PACSCL) and the University of Pennsylvania Libraries during a consortial processing project. The initial group of finding aids provided on this site result from the two CLIR funded Hidden Collections projects beginning in July 2009. Recognizing that increasing the quantity and scope of finding aids would better serve the research community, PACSCL opened the site to a larger group of repositories.

As a result, this site now hosts a large number of finding aids for smaller institutions in the region prepared through the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's Hidden Collections Initiative for Pennsylvania Small Archival Repositories, as well as several other regional archives, libraries, and historical societies.

It is important to note that these are not always the only finding aids in existence for participating repositories. Other finding aids may be available via individual repositories.

Created and hosted by the University of Pennsylvania Libraries, this union catalog presents finding aids (or guides to the collections) and not facsimiles of manuscripts, images, and other archival material. Unless specifically noted, the holdings described within the guides are physically available in the respective reading rooms of the participating repositories, and not digitally available through the web. Discovery through faceted searching can be limited to a single repository or include all participating repositories. Printer friendly versions of the finding aids are available from this site.

Individual repositories are responsible for their content. If you have a question about a collection, use the contact link on the search results to ask a reference librarian.

How do I update my finding aids on this site?

When looking at a finding aid, click on the “Contact us” button. If the email address is small_repositories@hsp.org, that means PACSCL is currently hosting your finding aids. If you want to make changes to your PACSCL-hosted finding aids, contact the PACSCL director and your email will be directed appropriately. All finding aids on the PACSCL website are in EAD-XML format. If you are comfortable editing EAD-XML files yourself, you may request copies of the files, make your changes, and send them back. If not, you may send line edits or an annotated document with desired changes via email. If changes are to be made to an inventory list, a spreadsheet with columns for each data field (title, start year, end year, top container, etc.) is preferred. It is better to consult in advance about how to set up your spreadsheet.

Drexel University College of Medicine has been hosting a small number of other repositories, and these should contact Drexel Medicine Arcives about making changes to their content. (Repositories may include: Chester County Historical Society, Independence Seaport Museum, National Archives and Records Administration, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Philadelphia City Archives, Thomas Jefferson University (Guttman Library files), St. Joseph’s University, Union League of Philadelphia, and Wagner Institute of Science).

Other repositories are self-hosting, and you should consult with your colleagues.

For self-hosted finding aids: if you would like to change your contact email address, update your web folder for harvesting, or set up direct harvesting from ArchivesSpace via API, reach out to Holly Mengel.

How do I add my library/archives and our finding aids to this site?

You do not need to be a member of PACSCL to post content to this site. However, if your organization is not currently a member of PACSCL, please contact the PACSCL director to determine whether you are eligible. Generally, any organization in the Philadelphia area that has archival collections may post their finding aids to this site, provided that the organization is a non-profit and the collections are open to the public.

If you use ArchivesSpace, and want to directly connect your ASpace instances with the PACSCL Site Harvester (no need for a web folder), please contact Holly Mengel. She will put you in touch with UPenn developers, who will provide you with specific guidelines. In order for UPenn’s developers to complete this process, you will probably need to work with your ArchivesSpace host (usually Atlas, Lyrasis, or on-site developers). They will need to provision API access from UPenn’s IP range; you will also need to create a read-only user in ArchivesSpace and send the credentials to UPenn. Instructions for each of these steps exist and can be shared once you begin your conversation with the UPenn developers.

Another option is to post your finding aids in EAD-XML format to be displayed on the site. (Note there are some additional assumptions about the formatting of the EAD, so if your finding aids were generated outside ArchivesSpace or Archivists’ Toolkit, you may need to make some changes to the formatting.) To self-host your finding aids, they must be placed in a web accessible folder that includes nothing beyond the EAD files, and either an index.html file or has the "directory listing" functionality enabled for the folder. More details about setting up a web folder are available upon request. Please contact Holly Mengel to begin this process.

If your institution is not able to self-host, PACSCL is able to host the finding aids for you. (It is still necessary that these be in EAD-XML format.) Please contact the PACSCL director with any questions.