The RISD Archives contains a wealth of primary sources related to the history of RISD and the people who have worked, taught, and studied here. If you are new to the archives, please read through the following information.

The mission of the Rhode Island School of Design Archives and Records Management Program is to collect, preserve, and provide access to records and artifacts which document the history and development of RISD programs, policies, and procedures as well as the contributions of individuals and organizations associated with the School and Museum. By fulfilling this mission, the Archives maintains a unique and valuable resource for understanding and appreciating the significant role that RISD has played in teaching and advancing the disciplines of art, design, and art education--regionally, nationally, and worldwide--since its founding in 1877.

Among the different types of materials considered official RISD records are: correspondence, memoranda, manuscripts, meeting minutes, reports, grant records, registrar records, personnel, student, and alumni records, course syllabi, records of student organizations, born-digital records, photographs, negatives, audio and video tapes, film, architectural drawings, blueprints, scrapbooks, artifacts, and all publications, newsletters, or booklets distributed in the name of RISD.

For our complete mission statement, please contact us at risdarchives@risd.edu.

Archives are organized differently than libraries, so if you aren't used to searching for archival material, here are some answers to common questions.

How are archives organized?

• Archives are typically organized by collection, record group, or series. Typically, each collection derives from one individual, department/division, or organization. The origins of a collection are called its provenance.

What is a finding aid?

• Archivists document information about a collection in a finding aid. Finding aids provide an overview of important details about a collection, like its size, when the material in the collection was created, what type(s) of material is included, how the collection is arranged, and the subjects and people associated with the collection. Sometimes inventories are included in finding aids, but these often go no deeper than listing the folders within a box. Individual items in a collection or record group are rarely listed unless the collection is very small.

What is the difference between a processed and unprocessed collection?

• For our purposes, processed collections are collections that an archivist has arranged, described, and made accessible through a finding aid. Arrangement may mean leaving a collection as it arrived to us (called original order) or reordering the contents if we feel it necessary. Unprocessed collections have been appraised and added to the archives, but have no finding aid yet. This is largely due to time and staffing constraints. It is normal for an archive to have unprocessed or backlogged material.

Why is there some material that I can't view?

• Some record groups or documents within a group may be restricted, which means researchers cannot view them. Restrictions occur at the request of a donor or because material contains personal or sensitive information. If you come across material that is restricted and you have questions, please contact an archivist at risdarchives@risd.edu.

Can I use archival material in my work?

• Permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from archival material must be obtained in writing from the archives. The researcher assumes full responsibility for use of material and for conformity to all applicable laws, including copyright. If you wish to use digitized material from the Digital Commons in your work, please refer to the recommended citation in the item record.

If you come across terms in the course of your archival research that you do not understand, you can always consult the Society of American Archivists' Dictionary.

Where to find RISD Archives holdings

In order to best preserve our collections, the RISD Archives is not open to browsing. You must make an appointment to view a collection or item. To identify the material you would like to view, you may search the archives' holdings in one of several locations:

• ArchivesSpace (recommended)
• RIAMCO
• Digital Commons
• Fleet Library Catalog

If you cannot find what you are looking for in any of these locations, please email us and we can check our unprocessed collections for relevant material.