How to Prepare
To help researchers make the best use of their time at the MHS, the Reader Services staff offers the following suggestions on how to prepare for a visit.
Create a Portal1791 Account
Portal1791 is an online system for requesting MHS research materials. All requests for materials are placed through the portal.
As part of the registration process, researchers must create a portal account. By setting up an account in advance, researchers may request a research appointment, schedule requests before they arrive at the library, and request reproductions of collections items. Walk-in researchers have the option to create an account once they arrive at the MHS. Please note that walk-in researchers are accommodated if there is space available in the library on the day of their visit.
First-time researchers will need to present a valid, government-issued photo ID and be photographed by MHS staff in order to complete their registration (for more information on the registration process, see “What to Expect”).
Search for Materials
Our online catalog, ABIGAIL, is the primary tool for exploring MHS holdings and is a great place to start your search. In addition, many manuscript, photograph, and other collections have online guides available that provide background information about the collection and help you to pinpoint which boxes, volumes, and/or microfilm reels will be most useful to you. If ABIGAIL indicates that a collection has an unpublished guide available in the library, the Reader Services staff will e-mail the guide as a PDF file upon request.
Please note that materials in offsite storage require advance notice so the material can be delivered onsite for your visit (see "What to Expect" for more information about requesting material from offsite storage).
Using Portal1791, you may associate up to 25 requests with planned appointments. An appointment is required to request items to be viewed in the library. Portal1791 also allows you to save records of items you may wish to view in the future. An appointment is not required to save a request a for later. See the Portal1791 section in the Library FAQ for more information about using Portal1791 to plan your visit.
In addition to the descriptive information available through ABIGAIL and the collection guides, descriptions of approximately 350,000 individual manuscript items stored at the MHS are available on microfiche at the library. Most of these item descriptions have been reproduced in the Catalog of Manuscripts of the Massachusetts Historical Society, published by G.K. Hall in 1969 and 1980, which is available at more than 100 libraries in the United States, as well as libraries in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia. If you cannot access the Catalog at a library near you, contact the Reader Services staff for assistance.
Gauge Your Time
Determining how much time you will need to complete your research can be challenging. The ABIGAIL record for each collection indicates the number of boxes, cartons, and/or volumes contained within that collection. The list below shows roughly how much material you can expect to find within a given container:
- A folder typically contains 15 items
- A narrow box typically contains 15 folders
- A box typically contains 30 folders
- A carton typically contains 90 folders
The amount of materials in oversize boxes and volumes varies greatly, making it difficult to estimate how many pages may be contained within each one.
In selecting a time frame for your appointment, please include extra time to allow for check-in, stowing belongings, and talking to our reference staff. First-time researchers should allow for up to 30 minutes for their initial library orientation.
Explore the MHS website
The MHS website offers resources containing digital reproductions and transcriptions of selected materials from our collections. Our Online Resources page allows you to browse these features by topic, time period, or format.
You can browse highlights of individual items in our collections in the Highlights from our Collections, the Object of the Month, and Civil War Monthly Document features.
Working with the digital images and transcriptions of selected material from two of our most important collections, the Adams Family Papers and the Coolidge Collection of Thomas Jefferson Manuscripts can answer a number of potential research questions.
Teachers and students will discover a wealth of curriculum-related material our Classroom Resources.
You can also keyword search the text of our digitized collections using the “Site Search” function.
Secondary Sources
Consulting secondary sources can save you time and effort by pointing you directly to collections, and often individual documents, pertinent to your research. These sources usually provide footnotes and bibliographies indicating where the authors found the source material to support their arguments.
The MHS holds a large collection of print material to support researchers using MHS manuscript collections, particularly secondary sources on American and Massachusetts history-related topics. Your local public and your college library may offer a more diverse selection of secondary source material related to your topic.
Consult Other Institutions
Although the Society's collections are expansive and varied, researchers often need to visit different institutions to find all materials relevant to their topic. And in some cases, research projects are better served by the resources available at other institutions. Our Other Institutions page includes recommendations and contact information for additional libraries, repositories, and historical societies, all of which have particular strengths for the study of Massachusetts history.
Contact the Library Staff
It is always beneficial to contact the Reader Services staff prior to your visit. In most cases appointments are not required for use of the library, but to ensure the material you wish to consult is on-site and available for your visit it is best to let the staff know when you plan to arrive.
