Research Room, FDR Library, National Archives Identifier 102252986
Since it’s a new year, we thought we’d look back on some of the tips we’ve featured in our newsletter in 2024.
Tips for searching the catalog
Advanced Search
We added some new features to advanced search this year. You can now limit your search to user added content like tags, transcriptions, comments. There are also new options for searching authority records.
OCR Highlighting
Many catalog users have requested highlighting of search terms in the results. Now if the search terms are found through the catalog’s optical character recognition, the results will highlight the pages with the term.
Please visit Veterans’ Service Records (a link can be found at top of archives.gov) to learn how to order records online and find answers to frequently asked questions.
Remember to log out
Our catalog developers often add new code to the catalog. In order for that new code to take effect, you need to log out of the catalog. Staying logged in all the time will lead to errors in the display and behavior of the catalog. Once you log out and log back in, the problems should clear up.
How to get answers
When you have questions about a specific set of records in the catalog, the reference staff can help you. You can find their contact information in the Archived Copy section of each Catalog description.
Searching Within a Record Group, Series, or File Unit
You may perform a “search within” to search only for records contained within a particular Record Group, Collection, Series, or File Unit. To do so, navigate to the main description page and click on the blue hyperlink “Search within this Record Group/Collection/Series/File Unit” found in the black header.
This will take you to a page where you can search within using keywords in the search bar. Remove any existing words from the search bar and enter a name, subject, or other keyword.
Finding records that are online
On the left hand side of your search results, there’s a button labeled Available to access online. Click that button, and you’ll only see results with digital files attached to the description of the records.
Name searches
A common frustration for users of the Catalogis searching for names of ordinary people. While Catalog descriptions may mention public figures or people who figure prominently in the records, they cannot list every person's name. Names may be found through the Optical Character Recognition (OCR) layer applied to digitized records, but results can vary. As a result you may need to try several different searches using different strategies when searching for a name.
Try searching on the person's full name in first name-last name as well as last name-first name order.
Place your name within quotes so that the Catalog searches the name in that exact order. A search for Abraham Lincoln would search for Abraham OR Lincoln while a search for “Abraham Lincoln” would search for Abraham AND Lincoln.
Search on the surname only. The records might only include a first initial or a variant spelling of the first name.
Search on variant spellings of the surname using OR, for example: Luchetti OR Lucetti.
Search on variant spellings of the first name, including "Americanized" versions, for example: Joseph Maggio OR Guiseppe Maggio.
If you are searching for a public figure, try a search of the name using the search tips provided above or do an Advanced Search, selecting Person or Organization from the Keyword dropdown menu.
Keep in mind that most descriptions in the National Archives Catalog do not include the names of individuals in that record. However, the National Archives still might have records about your ancestors. If you know an individual participated in an event, search for that search term and look within the records for the particular name.
Most naturalization records are not available in the Catalog. If a naturalization took place in a Federal court the records will usually be in the National Archives facility serving the state in which theFederal courtis located.
Remember, you can always get Help
These tips can be found on the Using the National Archives Catalog page, linked from the Help button on the top of every page in the Catalog. We’re sharing hints and tips in response to questions we've received through our survey. We’ll share more in future newsletters, so please consider filling out our survey about your experience with the National Archives Catalog.
Tips for Citizen Archivists
Extracted Text
The new feature we’re most excited about is the addition of text extracted through artificial intelligence. While this special AI feature is only available with our Revolutionary War Pensions, text extracted using optical character recognition is available for many records in the catalog. Many other records in the catalog feature extracted text created by Optical Character Recognition (OCR). For more information about how you can use extracted text to help you transcribe, please see our new video.
Transcription tips
We’ve had many new Citizen Archivists join us this year, and we shared some tips and best practices for transcribing. Remember to type what you see, but remove hyphens from divided words and don’t worry about formatting, including line breaks and indentations. There’s no need to indicate that a page is handwritten and please don’t use formatting indicators that surround the text such as [underlined] [/underlined], but a brief note when something is irregular is fine, for example [written at bottom in red ink].
Typing Class, National Archives Identifier 138926679
How to Videos
We created several how-to videos to help Citizen Archivists navigate the catalog. Topics include “How to Change Your Username,” “How to Find Pages to Transcribe,” and “How to Add Tags to Revolutionary War Pensions.” Look for a step by step guide to transcribing coming soon.
Tagging
We reviewed what makes a good tag for textual records and how tags differ from comments. There’s no need to repeat words or names that appear in the transcript, but tags are great when the text isn’t clear. For example, a document might refer to “President Bush.” A tag can clarify which President Bush is meant. Comments are meant to provide information from outside sources, such as related records in the catalog or even a Wikipedia page.
FAQs
In response to the many users who took the time to fill out our survey, we created a new Frequently Asked Questions page. There you’ll find answers to questions like: “Where can I learn about new features in the Catalog?” “What is the benefit of transcribing and tagging National Archives Records?” and “How many pages am I obliged to transcribe?” Take a look and let us know if you have any questions you’d like to see answered.
Would you like to become a Citizen Archivist and contribute to the National Archives Catalog?
First, you’ll need to register for an account through Login.gov (if you don’t already have one).
Once you’ve logged into your catalog account, you can look at our Citizen Archivist homepage. We recommend reading through our Resources and FAQs to get an idea of what contributions look like. Then navigate to the Citizen Archivist mission page where we’ve gathered records we think are good for candidates for transcriptions. Any record in the catalog can be transcribed, but the missions and the featured records are a great place to start.
When you’ve found a record you’d like to transcribe, you’ll need to find a page that hasn’t been transcribed yet. You can tell that by looking above the digital image where it will say "Transcription: Not Started” if there is no transcription yet (“Transcription: Available” means a transcription has at least been started). Click on that button to open the transcription window. Click on the “Start Transcribing” button to get started. When you’re done, click on “Publish and Close.” Your transcript will soon be available for all catalog users to see.
Are you starting research of your own? Make History Hub your first stop! You can ask—or answer—questions on History Hub, or see if your question has already been answered! Check out our featured edition for more details, information, and instructions aboutusing History Hub for your research.
