ArchiveGrid offers over four million records describing archival materials, including information about historical documents, personal papers, and family histories. Over 1,000 different archival institutions are represented. ArchiveGrid helps researchers find primary source materials in archives, libraries, museums, and historical societies.
Electronic Databases on Art & Architecture are available within the Library of Congress.
This is a resource tool and source for papers and primary resources, including those of architects. It includes the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC) and the Library of Congress database. This current directory covers over 5,750 repositories and over 220,000 collections of primary source material across the United States and the United Kingdom.
The NUIAR, a project of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division with the group COPAR, is an index to architectural drawings held by institutions nationwide. It was compiled by the Cooperative Preservation of Architectural Records (COPAR) between 1974-1986. This attempt to index the architectural drawings held nationwide is comparable to that of the National Union Index of Manuscript Collections for manuscript holdings. The bulk of the entries in the Index were drawn from the many publications on architectural holdings published in the 1980s, such as "Architectural Research Materials in the District of Columbia" (AIA Foundation, 1983.) Compiling such information into one index significantly improved access to architectural records. Although work on the Index ceased in 1986, its value as a research tool is still recognized by current researchers.
NUCMC's goal is to describe archival and manuscript collections held by repositories in the U.S. It provides free searching of archival and manuscript cataloging in OCLC WorldCat via NUCMC gateways. Architectural papers and visual materials such as sketchbooks can be part of the collections described.
The SAH promotes the study, interpretation, and conservation of architecture, design, landscapes, and urbanism worldwide. Digital Resources listings link to 110 sites in categories including Archives/Repositories, Image Collections, Architects, and Regional Resources. The more general online information is publicly accessible, while publications and other SAH-produced resources are limited to SAH members.
