Podcast Episode 12: Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collection Libraries
Philadelphia has more than 100 archives in and around the city. Many of these Philadelphia-area archives have resources for genealogical research on Pennsylvania families. Listen to hear how to research in the Philadelphia Area Archives Research Portal (PAARP).
Philadelphia has more than 100 archives in and around the city. Many of these Philadelphia-area archives have resources for genealogical research on Pennsylvania families.
Listen to the Audio Podcast
We are back in Philadelphia, PA to learn about the archival collections in the Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collection Libraries, PACSCL. Holly is representing PACSCL and will teach us how to use finding aids and the PACSCL online finding aid website, PAARP.
Topics Discussed
PACSCL is an umbrella organization representing an extraordinary collection held by forty member libraries and archives. (Scroll down to see the list of members.) If your ancestors lived in and around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or Delaware, there could be something related to their life in one of these archives.
Searching archival collections is nothing like searching online, and this episode will show you how to shift from “search box searcher” to “archival researcher”.
Holly covers:
- What PACSCL is and how archives process collections.
- What PAARP is and how to search the PAARP website of finding aids.
- How to use a finding aid and assess a collection’s usefulness to you.
- What you won’t find on PAARP and how to find it.
- Best practices on how to track down all of a person’s records in archives.
- Why a trip to any archive is fun and worthwhile!
Listen in and learn about what you can find in the archives in and around Philadelphia!
PACSCL Members:
- Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia
- American Philosophical Society
- Athenaeum of Philadelphia
- Bryn Mawr College Special Collections
- Catholic Historical Research Center of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia
- Chester County Archives
- Chester County Historical Society
- City of Philadelphia, Department of Records, City Archives
- Curtis Institute of Music Special Collections and Archives
- Drexel University, Archives & Special Collections
- Drexel University, College of Medicine, Legacy Center
- Franklin and Marshall College
- Free Library of Philadelphia
- German Society of Pennsylvania
- Hagley Museum and Library
- Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections
- Historical Medical Library of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia
- Historical Society of Pennsylvania
- Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives & Library
- Jefferson University, East Falls Campus: Paul J. Gutman Library, Special Collections
- LaSalle University Special Collections
- Lehigh University Special Collections
- Library Company of Philadelphia
- National Archives, Mid-Atlantic Region
- Pennsylvania Horticultural Society McLean Library
- Philadelphia Museum of Art Archives
- Presbyterian Historical Society
- Princeton University Special Collections Library
- Rosenbach Museum & Library
- Rowan University Archives and Special Collections
- Science History Institute
- State Library of Pennsylvania
- Swarthmore College
- Temple University Libraries Special Collections Research Center
- Union League of Philadelphia
- United Lutheran Seminary
- University of Delaware, Special Collections Department
- University of Pennsylvania
- Villanova University
- Wagner Free Institute of Science
- Widener University
- William Way LGBT Community Center: John J. Wilcox, Jr. Archives
- Winterthur Library
Links
- Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collection Libraries (PACSCL) main site: pacscl.org
- Philadelphia Area Archives Research Portal (PAARP)
- How to Navigate Finding Aids on PAARP
- PACSCL Members with links to their websites
- Hidden Collection Repositories in the Philadelphia Area
- ArchiveGrid
Your Pennsylvania Ancestors is distributed through the following channels:
© 2019–2022 PA Ancestors L.L.C. and Denys Allen. All Rights Reserved.