Tips to improve your archives search.

Search Parameters

Search by Title, Record Group, Subject or Keywords if you know what terms you want to search for. If you are unsure of your term, start by typing in any letter of the alphabet. As you start typing, a list of applicable terms/records will show in the drop-down menu. As more letters are typed in, the list will be refined to include only terms with those specific letters in the word. Click on the desired record from the drop-down to select it, then click the Apply button (lower right) to view search results page.

Currently, the following Record Groups are available within the system. We will be adding more content on a regular basis.

  • Acting Principals and Presidents
  • Administrative Assistant And Secretaries To The College
  • Dean of Faculty
  • Development
  • Education
  • Faculty
  • Indian Education
  • Manuscripts
  • Official Publications
  • Principals and Presidents
  • The Trustees of Hampton Institute
  • Trustee Collection

Search by Location if you know the formatted section number of the record, i.e. XX.XX.XX. Type in any number to see a drop-down list of available options.

Search by Date if you know the specific year(s) associated with a record. Type in any number to see a drop-down list of available options.

The Description field is generally a longer text description of the record, and searching for more general terms within this search field may produce broader and more varied search results. For this field, type in the full word of what you are looking for, i.e. letters, correspondence, reports, pictures, etc. If the singular version of the word does not deliver any results, try the plural version of the word, and vice versa. If  you do not get any results, you may want to try inserting the term in a different field. Be sure to hit the "Reset" button between searches to clear the cache.

After making your selection from the drop-down menu(s), click Apply to view search results page.

After completing a Search, the Search Menu will remain at the top of the page but will be hidden. Click on Filter Results to toggle the menu and refine your search. Click on Reset to begin a new Search.

Search Results

If you are typing in the Keyword field and see an item you want to view but it returns a message of "No records contain the combination of search criteria entered. Please try your search again.", try using the Subject field instead. The Keyword field is used to cross reference the Record Groups, but do not incorporate individual names which are stored in the Subject field.

Search Results are shown either as a record summary or a record summary with a thumbnail image. In either layout, clicking on Read More always displays the Full Record. On Records with images, clicking on a thumbnail image displays a larger image. There may be additional clickable links for names and titles associated with the record.

Full Record

A Full Record consists of the important record data as well as thumbnails for all images.

Sometimes data fields in the Full Record are links. For example, you can click on a Keyword link to see all the information associated with that subject.

New Additions

The New Additions page will show the most recent additions to the collection. This is an excellent place to start if you have been to the portal for a previous visit and would like to see if anything new has been added. Items shown in the New Additions will only show a summary of the Description field. Click on the Read More link to view the Full Record.