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Curriculum & Research Services Fast Answers

Learn more about the resources and services of Baker Library via Curriculum & Learning Services Fast Answers.

Last Updated: Mar 09, 2023     Views: 62

Q.
Genealogical research

Can Baker Library Special Collections and Archives help me research my family history?


A.

The Baker Library Special Collections and Archives Reference Staff are not experts in genealogical research, and due to the number of inquiries we receive and limited staff resources, Reference Staff are unable to review collections on behalf of researchers to identify material of interest.

Our business records collections have individual guides or finding aids that provide more detail about the contents of each collection. Collections can vary in size from one volume to hundreds of boxes and finding aids help identify which portion of a set of records are relevant to your research.

A portion of these collections have online finding aids in HOLLIS for Archival Discovery. Researchers can search for specific finding aids or browse all of our available finding aids.

Collections not yet available in HOLLIS for Archival Discovery are cataloged in HOLLIS, the Harvard Library catalog, and may have inventories that can be sent electronically to researchers upon request. Once you start typing a word in the HOLLIS search box, you can limit to "Library Catalog" and Location "Baker Business." Search results can be further refined by material type (book, archives/manuscript), date, etc.

A list of specific resources in which you are interested is incredibly helpful when planning to use Special Collections material. Please Ask Us! or reach out to the Baker Special Collections and Archives Reference Staff directly at specialcollectionsref@hbs.edu if you have any additional questions about our collections or services.