Archives Holdings

Holdings Overview

The ARLIS/NA Archives are indexed as part of the American Library Association Archives, which are also hosted by the University of Illinois. This page explains the records’ organization, which guides patrons to conduct the most effective searches. Records from the ARLIS/NA Archives typically consist of annual and midyear reports, correspondence, meeting minutes, and press releases. The Archives also contains conference programs and proceedings, newsletters, and occasional papers.

Record Groups

Our holdings are divided into the following record groups, reflecting from which office the records have originated:

ARLIS/NA: Executive Board, Officers, and Executive Director

ARLIS/NA: Committees

ARLIS/NA: Discussion Groups

ARLIS/NA: Divisions

ARLIS/NA: Sections

ARLIS/NA: Roundtables

ARLIS/NA: Special Interest Groups (SIG) and Type of Library (TOL)

ARLIS/NA: Chapters

ARLIS/NA: Personal Members

Unique Identifiers

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Every record series at the University of Illinois has two unique identifiers – its title and its record series number. The title is a short description of the series – for example, the “President’s Conference Arrangements File, 1973-1998” contains material describing the ARLIS/NA President’s involvement with annual conferences. And the “Joan M. Benedetti Papers, 1963-64, 1966-68, ca. 1976-2020” contain longtime ARLIS/NA member Joan Benedetti’s personal papers.

Record series numbers are seven digits in length, and take the form of three numbers separated by slashes: xx/xx/xxx. The RS number for the Benedetti Papers is 85/59/4, which means that they belong to:

Record Group 85, the ALA Affiliated and Associated Organizations.
Record Subgroup 59, ARLIS/Personal Members

The last digit – in this case, 4 – identifies the Benedetti Papers from the other series contained in the ARLIS/Personal Members subgroup. Please note that when running database searchers by record series number, they should be written without any zeroes padding the digits. For example, Record Series 1/1/1 should be entered as “1/1/1”, not “01/01/001”.

No two record series in the ALA Archives (including ARLIS/NA’s collections) will have the same record series number or title.

Control Cards

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Each record series has its own control card, or database entry. These provides more information about the collection.

The control cards show series titles, record series numbers, acquisition dates (if known), volume of material, and descriptions of the content.

Also important are the “PDF Box/Folder List” links under the “Description” section. Not every series has one, but these link to finding aids, which give more specific information about content and which information can be found in certain boxes and folders.

Click the image at right to see an example of a control card.

*The control card for the Joan Benedetti Papers, Record Series 85/59/4.*

Digital Control Cards

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Many ARLIS/NA record series have digital content included, and, indeed, some consist of only digital material. If digital content is present, you can access it from the main control card by clicking the “Online Images/Records” link under the “Description” section.

Sometimes, the digital content is publicly accessible. If so, there will be a blue “Access Files” button at the top of the control card. Clicking this will take you to the University of Illinois Digital Library, where you can view the files. If the material is not publicly accessible, contact the ARLIS/NA Archives to request access. Please note that some series have both content that is publicly accessible and that which is not.

Click the image at right to see an example of a digital control card.

*The digital control card for the Joan Benedetti Papers, Record Series 85/59/4.*

The ARLIS/NA Archives is always pleased to receive new material. Please see the “Deposit Records” page or contact us if you have items you’d like to deposit.