Searching for Items in Our Collections

On-line Catalog for NDSU Libraries
Via Web interface

The NDSU Libraries on-line catalog contains records for almost all the holdings of the Institute for Regional Studies, including manuscripts, books, periodicals and some photograph collections. Searches can be limited to only the holdings of the Institute for Regional Studies & NDSU Archives. For manuscript and photograph collections there is a direct link from the bibliographic record to the Web finding aid.

The NDSU Libraries on-line catalog is part of ODIN the North Dakota on-line library catalog. Thus it is easy to search most libraries and archives in North Dakota including the State Historical Society and UND.

Keyword Searching on this Web Site
Search Page

To search all the text on the Institute's Web pages, use the link above to the keyword search page. There enter your search terms. The search results provide links to the matching Institute Web pages. (To locate the desired term within a specific page use the 'Control F' command.) Note, this tool searches only the Institute's Web pages. It does not search on-line catalog records, data within a database, or any of the NDSU Libraries Web pages.

Finding Aids for Selected Manuscript Collections
Browsing finding aids by collection title.
Browsing finding aids by broad topic

Finding Aids are descriptive tools that serve as the primary point of access to archival collections in archive and manuscript repositories. Archival collections consist of materials formed around a person, family, organization or subject. They may contain a wide variety of items such as manuscripts, diaries, correspondence, legal papers, photographs, films, tapes, maps, drawings, pamphlets and other forms of material.

The Institute for Regional Studies has mounted all finding aids to its processed manuscript collections. Currently there are over 200 finding aids listed. Each one is presented in four sections: Biographical Sketch, Scope and Content, Container Listing, and Overview.

For additional access to archival collections in the Institute, consult the Institute's Guide to Manuscripts and Archives (Ref. CD3439.F376N67 1985), or the NDSU Libraries on-line catalog.

Databases
North Dakota Biography Index
Fargo Forum Obituary Index
Dakota Territory 1885 Census
Cass County, N.D. Marriage Licenses (1870s-1944)
Cass County Probate Index (1876-1944)
Cass County Divorce Index (1878-1942)
North Dakota Naturalization Records (Database courtesy State Historical Society of North Dakota)
Forum Newspaper Indexes
The Record Index

Index to the Fargo City Council Meeting Minutes

The Institute has developed a number of databases, particularly related to biography and family history research. The NDSU Libraries and Institute have indexed some years of the Fargo newspaper The Forum that is available as searchable databases. A partial index to the historical periodical, The Record, is also available. It was published in Fargo between 1895 and 1905 and contains many articles dealing with the history of the state. The links above will bring you to information on each database that include a link to the actual search page.