If you’re familiar with archival research you’ve heard the term “finding aid.” An archival finding aid describes the content of a collection, providing you enough information about that collection so that you can decide if it is something you need to explore for your research.

There are other kinds of “finding aids” as well. On the Internet, there are several types... that help us locate what we need. For example, portal websites like Cyndi's List and Linkpendium provide website links categorized according to subject or topic which can help us find resources quickly. Numerous genealogical finding aids exist that can help us find a record or a resource which is helpful especially in cases where the record set is available in multiple places.

Knowing about what finding aids exist can help you more easily find what you need and know what is available for researching your genealogy. Here are three of my favorite finding aids...