Follow Friday: ArchiveGrid includes over 5 million records describing archival materials, bringing together information about historical documents, personal papers, family histories, and more. With over 1,000 different archival institutions represented, ArchiveGrid helps researchers looking for primary source materials held in archives, libraries, museums and historical societies.

Follow Friday: ArchiveGridArchiveGrid provides access to detailed archival collection descriptions such as documents, personal papers, family histories, and other archival materials held by thousands of libraries, museums, historical societies, and archives. It also provides contact information for the institutions where these collections are kept.

The majority of archival material descriptions in ArchiveGrid are from WorldCat and primarily represent archival collections held by institutions in the United States. This reflects the contribution patterns for descriptions of materials under archival control in WorldCat. We may extend ArchiveGrid beyond its current scope if it is necessary to support OCLC Research experimental objectives.

Thousands of libraries, museums, and archives have contributed collection descriptions to ArchiveGrid, offering genealogists and other users access to archival records and finding aids. Researchers searching ArchiveGrid can learn about the many items in each of these collections, contact archives to arrange a visit to examine materials, and order copies. It is now managed by leading bibliographic utility, OCLC.

Just a few of the nearly one-thousand institutions represented:

  • Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
  • Art Institute of Chicago
  • Bostonian Society
  • Chicago Symphony Orchestra
  • Cornell University Library
  • Harvard University
  • International Institute of Social History (IISH)
  • Minnesota Historical Society
  • Museum of Northern Arizona
  • National Library of Australia
  • New York Public Library
  • Orthodox Church in America
  • Putnam County Historical Society
  • Radio City Music Hall
  • Smithsonian Institution – Archives of American Art
  • State Library of Massachusetts
  • University of Minnesota
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • University of Warwick