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Using Special Collection's SCOUT

This guide introduces users to SCOUT, the system for searching manuscript collections and University Archives at the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives at the University of Tennessee.

Browsing bar

You can browse the manuscript collections in Special Collection's SCOUT starting with the browsing bar at the top of the page.

Screen shot of the homepage of scout and the different search categories, "repositories, collections, digital materials," and "subjects"

The Browsing Bar features five tabs, but only three will be useful to you when searching.

  • Collections - This tab is where you will find each of our collections.
  • Subjects - This tab allows you to browse through a list of subjects that the records in our collections and records have been tagged with.
  • Search - The magnifying glass takes you to a new page, where you can enter specific search terms.

Browsing in SCOUT ArchivesSpace

By clicking on Collections, you will be taken to a new page listing all collections in alphabetical order. 

You will see a drop-down box, listing options for sorting collection results.

  • Relevance
  • Title (ascending) - default
  • Title (descending)
  • Year (ascending)
  • Year (descending)

On the right side of the screen, you will see options to further filter the results. This can be done by searching for something within the results or by clicking on an additional filter, such as by repository, subjects, or names.

Screenshot showing where to click to sort and filter search results in SCOUT.

Viewing a Collection Record

A collection page has different parts of the finding aid displayed. This can include:

  • series
  • boxes
  • folders
  • items

A screenshot showing where the collection title, collection number, series, and folder are on the collection title page.

Viewing a Folder or Item Record

Similarly, at the folder or item level, information from the finding aid is displayed. When using SCOUT, your search results may direct you to a specific folder or item. To understand that folder or item better, look at the directory information that tells you what collection, series (if applicable), and box your search result came from.

screenshot of the item/folder level of SCOUT identifying the folder title, collection name, and repository

The structure and content of this library guide were adapted from MIT Libraries' Using MIT Archivespace library guide.