How do I find materials?

You can find Special Collections materials using our Finding Aids (collection guides) and Discover Advanced Search (libraries catalog).

Smith College Finding Aids	Finding aids to over 1,000 Smith College archival and manuscript collections. Provides in-depth information about a collection, and a box listing of the materials.
Discover Advanced Search	Search subject, keyword, author, title, or date range. Catalog records vary in detail. They are the best place to find information for rare book materials, while finding aids are the best place to find information on archival collections. Use search options to limit Library Location to "Smith College Special Collections."

Archival Collections

Smith College Finding Aids

If you are new to our archival collections, the best place for you to start is with our finding aids (collection guides), as that is the same resource staff have access to for collection information. 

• You can search the names of related individuals, events, or other organizations to see what may be in the collection. 

To search a specific collection, use the navigation bar to the right of the page (or at the bottom, depending on your screen size). 

• Click on the arrows to expand each section to see the names of folders or groups of folders under each series or topic.
• To see previously digitized material, search "digital_object" in the search bar at the top of the navigation bar on the main page of the individual collection. 

Make sure to read the Scope and Content notes as well as the Biographical/Historical note on the main page to get a sense of the materials and subjects covered in the collection.

Search Tips

• To search an exact phrase, use double quotes. (e.g. "Mountain Day" or “Smith College Class of 1922”)
• Searches are not case sensitive.
• To exclude a term from your search, put a minus sign in front of it. (For example, the search “social work” -school will find materials with the phrase “social work” but without the word school.)
• A search for w*m*n will give you results with "woman" "women" "womyn" "wimmin", etc.
• Create advanced searches by clicking the + button to add a new line to your search.
• Use the sections in the top bar to browse repositories, collections, digital objects, etc.

Rare Books and Manuscripts

For books and manuscripts:

• Select the "Discover Advanced" tab on the Libraries' home page and check the box for "Catalog Only"
• In the results list, under "Library Location" in the left panel, select "Smith College Special Collections"

Digitized Content

In the Finding Aids