Start with a question

There is more
in the record.

Follow a place, look again at a document, and take care of the details that remain.

Reading room

Browse the files by subject.

Choose a clear question, a practical route and a few well-supported stops.

Choose a few connected items and let their captions explain the evidence without claiming to tell the whole story.

Turn a familiar place into a research question you can actually pursue.

Match landmarks carefully and keep the map’s purpose in view.

Study the printed view and the written message separately before deciding how they relate.

Capture the directory's own context before turning a name and address into a larger story.

Recover the context before letting a small piece of paper carry a large claim.

Prepare a small, traceable packet that lets relatives understand the evidence and add useful corrections.

Capture the wording, handwriting and remembered context without turning an uncertain recipe into a tested instruction.

Describe the collection where it is before changing the order that may explain it.

Use a short identifier for the file and a fuller source note for the information a future reader will need.

Choose sources that serve different purposes instead of collecting every title that mentions the place.