FAQ -- Reference & Research

Dear [researcher]

Thank you for contacting the Massachusetts Historical Society. My apologies that we did not respond sooner but I do not see any of your earlier e-mails. At any rate, we got your voicemail yesterday along with this e-mail.

If you have not done so already, I encourage you to try some searching in our online catalog, ABIGAIL, to see what we have related to Elizabeth Murray. The catalog employs a controlled vocabulary and so you need format searches in particular ways in order to get good results. For example, when searching for an individual you should use a last-name-first format (e. g. Murray, Elizabeth) and on the main search page highlight either Author/Creator or Subject to see what we have created by or about that person respectively.

When you search for Murray, Elizabeth as Author/Creator, on the next screen you will see her name at the top of an alphabetical list with an indication that we hold five titles in which she is credited with some level of authorship. Click on her name to see those titles and then click a title to learn more about it. Repeat the search for her name as Subject and you will find two titles, one of which also appears in the earlier search.

As you look through the individual catalog records, keep an eye on the lists at the bottom for Subject(s) and Other Author(s). These are the terms used to catalog that item/collection and each one is a link. If you see a particular subject that is of interest, click on it to see what else we have. For instance, among the subject headings ascribed to the Murray-Robbins family papers are

• American loyalists -- Massachusetts
• Women merchants -- Massachusetts -- Boston
• United States history -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Women

Again, click on any of those headings to see what else we have related to the phrase. Alternatively, you can start a new search on the main catalog page and enter any of these phrases, highlight Subject, and click Search. Keep in mind that proper capitalization and punctuation are not necessary, but spelling and word order may affect your results. Also, it is worth noting that the Murray-Robbins family papers also have an online collection guide where you can find more detailed information about what is held in the collection.
 

If you find materials that are of interest then you have a couple of options for accessing them. If you will be in the Boston area then you are welcome to visit the MHS to Use the Library. Our library is open to the public and all are welcome to come and use our resources, free of charge. If you cannot travel to Boston then you can consider taking advantage of our Reproduction Services to obtain digital facsimiles of materials from our collections. Reference Reproductions are the default service for obtaining personal use copies as PDF scans. Follow the links to find out more about how to request reproductions and the associated costs.

Does this information help? If you have any follow-up questions, please let me know.

Sincerely
Daniel Hinchen