The Finding Aid Database (FAD) provides access to the archival and manuscript collections held by Special Collections and Archives in the Oviatt Library at California State University, Northridge. Archival and manuscript holdings can consist of many different formats, including correspondence, diaries, maps, university records, organizational records, photographs, and audio recordings. These materials are made accessible to researchers through the creation and use of finding aids.
The finding aids in the FAD represent only a portion of the materials held by Special Collections and Archives, and additional finding aids are added on a continuing basis. For further information about our holdings, please contact the Special Collections and Archives Department at oviattsca@csun.edu or (818) 677-2832.
 More about Searching and Browsing the FAD
There are multiple ways to search the FAD for information regarding our collections.
- The search box facilitates keyword and Boolean searches. Searches will generate lists grouped by creators, collections, and/or subjects.
- Researchers may also use the browse tabs in the upper right corner to browse finding aids by collection title, subjects, creators, and repositories. Browsing lists are alphabetical.
More about Finding Aids
Finding aids are tools used by researchers to discover unique, rare, or unpublished materials not available elsewhere. They can take a variety of formats, and provide detailed information about the contents of archival and manuscript collections. Most finding aids in the FAD include the following core elements:
- Abstract: Abstracts consist of a brief description of a collection, including creator information, content, and types of materials.
- Biographical or Historical Note: Biographical and historical notes include an historical narrative for the individual(s) or organization(s) which created or compiled the collection.
- Scope and Contents: Scope and Contents notes include a descriptive overview of a collection's content, types of material found in a collection, and the physical and intellectual arrangement, or filing order, of those materials.
- Subjects: Library of Congress Subject Headings are applied to all archival and manuscript collections, just as they are for books in the library. They can include significant individuals, organizations, and topics that are represented or documented in a collection.
- Administrative Information: provides information regarding acquisitions, rights and restrictions, related collections, and preferred citation format.
- Box List: The box list is a folder- or item-level inventory of each box in the collection's contents.
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