The Matter of Front Matter

Last October, Special Collections embarked on a project to improve the "front matter" in the finding aids of some of our archival and manuscript collections. "Front matter" is a term that archivists use to describe the "front" parts of a finding aid, or all the components found before the Box and Folder List. Primarily, the term refers to the Historical or Biographical Note and the Scope and Content Note. These components help researchers understand the context and content of a collection, and are essential to understanding how a particular collection can be used for research.

Many of our collections processed and made available for research in the 1960s through 1990s had front matter that was incomplete, too brief, or even inaccurate. So, we began working to refresh and revise the finding aids of some of the smaller collections, and to date we've completed over thirteen revisions. Browse the list below to discover some new treasures in our collections! We'll continue on this project in the coming year and tackle some front matter in our larger collections.

Associated Students Records
Campus Laboratory School Records
Oscar Kaplan Papers
Lemon Grove Chamber of Commerce Records
Lemon Grove Fruit Growers Association Records
Anthony Sonka Papers
San Diego State Historical Collection
Exploring Family School Records
Agnes Osgood Papers
Allen Dairy Collection
National Conference of Christians and Jews Records
William Egle Papers