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of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

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    Pennsylvania State Archives

    PA Digital Archives

    The Pennsylvania Digital Archives is an online portal to the digital collections of the Pennsylvania State Archives. It provides free, remote access to documents, photographs, and other archival materials held in the collections of the Pennsylvania State Archives. 

     

    Please note that the Pennsylvania State Archives collections reflect the context and culture in which they were created, collected, and described. Thse archival collections may include historical content and descriptions that do not align with contemporary standards and terminology. Some records may include offensive language. The information within these collections does not reflect the views of the Pennsylvania State Archives, but rather social attitudes and circumstances of the time when materials were collected and processed. 

     

    Explore the PA Digital Archives

    PA Digital Archives Basics

    Navigation Menu

    Home - directs users to the Digital Archives Home page. Use to return to the Home page or start a new search.

    About - directs users to the Pennsylvania State Archives home page (www.pastatearchives.com).

    Catalog - directs users to the Archives Catalog (ARCH). The catalog is the finding aid to the Pennsylvania State Archives collections. Most of the records in the catalog are not accessible online.

    Login - Administrative Use Only. 

     

    Browse

    All Collections  - lists all Record Group (Government records) and Manuscript Group (Non-government records) collections with records accessible in the PA Digital Archives.

    Government Collections - lists all Record Group collections with records accessible in the Digital Archives.

    Non-government Collections - lists all Manuscript Group Collections with records accessible in the Digital Archives.

     

    Basic Search

    The Basic search allows users to search the digital collections by keyword. The Search full text option (which is selected by default) will return matches in the object transcription (where this object exists) as well as in the object description. Use the following search operators to help narrow or broaden your search:

      *                                  Wildcard - use to truncate search terms.Example: counc* will find council, councilor, councilman, etc.
     "                       Exact phrase - use quotation marks to search for exact words or phrases.Example: "William Penn" will only find records where this name appears exactly as entered

     

    Advanced Search

    The Advanced Search is a more robust search tool that allows users to use multiple fields and conditions to better define their search criteria and produce more precise results. Use the '+' button to add additional search criteria. 

    Search Field definitions

    Condition definitions

    Type of Search definitions

     

    Downloading a Single Image

    • Click the above download icon in the lower left corner of the image viewer.
    • Select Current View or Whole View from the download options. A new tab will open with the image.
    • Right click on the image in the new tab and select "Save Image As" or "Edit Image," then save. 

     

    Printing an Image

    • Click the download icon in the lower left corner of the image viewer.
    • Select Current View or Whole View from the download options. A new tab will open with the image.
    • Select the ellipses in the upper right corner to view options.
    • Select Print.

     

    Spotlight and Feature

    The Spolight section is used to highlight specific collection(s) within the Digital Archives. The Featured section is used to highlight specific photographs, videos, and textual material.