Archives & Manuscripts

Several divisions in the Research Libraries hold archival collections – the papers of individuals and families, the records of organizations, and consciously assembled collections of unique and unpublished material. Archival collections contain a wide variety of primary source material, not only paper documents –such as correspondence, manuscripts, and diaries– but also photographs, sound recordings, films, videotapes, artifacts, and electronic records.

Archival collections can range in size from a single document to hundreds of boxes and are described by catalog records, which provide a summary description of an entire collection, and more detailed guides, called finding aids.

There is no single place to find archival and manuscript material in the Research Libraries. To insure that you discover all possible sources for your research, follow each of these three steps:

1. Search Archival Materials Access Tool (AMAT) [what is AMAT?]

Search full-text of catalog records and finding aids  

Search collection names  

2. Search CATNYP and limit your search to archival and manuscript material
to find collections not yet included in AMAT and to search specific fields (e.g., author or subject) in the available catalog records for archival material.

3. Visit the websites (listed below) and contact the divisions holding archival material.
A significant amount of archival material held by the New York Public Library are not yet represented anywhere online. Library staff can help identify material germane to your research.

Divisions Holding Archives and Manuscripts

• Manuscripts and Archives Division
• Billy Rose Theatre Collection
• Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture’s Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Books Division
• Rodgers & Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound
• Jerome Robbins Dance Division
• Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature
• Music Division
• Carl H. Pforzheimer Collection of Shelley and His Circle
• Dorot Jewish Division

What is AMAT [return to Search]
The Archival Materials Access Tool contains almost three thousand entries for archival collections considered significant because of content or size. Each entry includes at minimum the collection’s name and holding division, but often includes links to catalog records and online finding aids when available.

Catalog records provide a summary description and often include a link to an online finding aid if one is available. Finding aids (sometimes called guides, inventories, or registers) include information on the person or organization that created or collected the material, narrative descriptions of a collection’s contents, and some form of contents list.

Note that a significant amount of archival material held by the New York Public Library is not represented in AMAT in any way and that the finding aids available here represent only a fraction of the finding aids available in the Research Libraries on paper. Therefore, be sure to contact the appropriate divisions that hold archival material to locate sources for your research.

Browse collections listed in AMAT
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View collections with finding aids.