Summer is a great time for aspirational genealogy learning, and one of my favorite ideas from my Summer Genealogy Inspiration post is digging into manuscript collections. Whether you're using NUCMC (the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections) or another archival or academic resource, this is an overlooked opportunity for genealogists. But it's also a slower research path. Part of that is the extra work required to identify and then actually use manuscripts. When you find that hidden gem, though, it's absolutely worth it.
One of the challenges with manuscript research specifically is that finds in manuscript collections generate multiple to-dos before you're even ready to record anything in a formal context. You might identify a promising collection, then realize you need to locate a finding aid, contact a repository, determine whether anything has been digitized, and figure out which ancestors might actually appear in it — all before you've seen a single record. That's a lot of open threads to keep track of.
The solution I created for this problem is the Digital Dashboard, specifically its to-do list and source ideas tabs. Both of these are simple lists — what makes them powerful is having everything organized in one place so you always know where your lists are.
Any time you're researching a source or collection rather than a specific ancestor, you're running a research project — and it needs its own organizing system.
Here's how to put the to-do and source lists to work for this kind of project, because that's really what manuscript research is: a source research project. Instead of researching ancestors, you're researching sources. It needs to stay organized just like any genealogy research project — it's just a different kind of organization, and with the Dashboard, it's simpler than it sounds.
Start with a plan — even a simple one. You don't need a formal research plan the way you would for a brick wall ancestor. A to-do in your Dashboard is enough: something like "try NUCMC for Pickens County, Georgia." Or you might need a pre-plan first: "learn what searches will work on NUCMC" or "figure out what keyword variations will surface manuscript results for Patterson and Ledford families in Pickens County." (Searching a surname often won't work for manuscript collections — locations, topics, or associated groups may be better starting points. Working out your search strategy is its own mini research project.)
RELATED: Genealogy Records: 4 Ways to Learn About New Sources
Be ready to take notes. Just like with genealogy research, you need a place to capture what you're doing and why. Notes don't go in your Dashboard — but a link to your notes does. If your to-do is your "plan," prep your notes document ahead of time, add the link to that to-do, and then it really is just a few clicks to start researching. As you add new to-dos or source ideas from your research session, link back to those same notes as many times as needed.
Take notes as you research and extract to-dos and source ideas into the Dashboard. This step is especially important with manuscript research; you don't have a family tree to attach a finding to. Saving a finding aid or a screen capture usually isn't enough—it won't remind you why you were interested in that collection, and it almost certainly won't include an ancestor's name to help you find it later. Capture your ideas as you work so nothing gets lost in a digital abyss.
Without an ancestor to attach your finds to, ideas and research threads disappear between sessions if you don't have a system specifically for capturing them.
Break down to-dos or add detail to source ideas as needed. You can create a separate to-do for every follow-up action if that's what will actually get it done. For manuscript research, those to-dos might include questions like: Did I identify every useful search variation? Which ancestors might appear in this collection? Is this collection accessible? Does it have a finding aid? Has any of it been digitized? Is there a repository I need to contact? Could this become a research trip? These tasks look different from your usual genealogy to-dos, and that's fine — because you're researching sources, not an ancestor.
Manuscripts are a specific example, and a challenging one, but this organizing approach works for any source research project in genealogy. It works when you need to investigate a new record type, learn about a repository you haven't used, or explore a whole category of records you've been meaning to get to. And of course it applies to ancestor research too — though if you're working on a brick wall, you need a formal research plan, not just a to-do list.
The Digital Dashboard gives you a flexible, centralized place to hold all of your research threads — to-dos, source ideas, notes links, and sub hubs for different projects — so that "I'll look into that someday" actually becomes something you can act on.
If you don't have the Digital Dashboard yet, it's designed specifically for genealogists who need one organized starting point for all their research projects — including the ones that aren't about a single ancestor. Learn more about the Digital Dashboard here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do I need to organize a genealogy research project that's not about my ancestor?
Any time you're investigating a source, collection, or record type rather than a specific ancestor, you're running a research project — it just looks different from your usual family history research. Without an ancestor to attach your finds to, there's no family tree entry to anchor your notes, no obvious place to record what you searched, and no built-in reminder of why a particular collection caught your attention. Ideas and finds can disappear between sessions if you don't have a system specifically for capturing them. Treating it as a project from the start — with its own to-do list and a place to record source ideas — keeps those threads from getting lost.
What kinds of genealogy research projects need their own organization system?
Most genealogists think of research projects as being about a specific ancestor, but there are at least three distinct types that each benefit from their own organized approach. Ancestor research is the most familiar — you're working toward resolving a specific question about a person or family. Source research is what this post covers — you're investigating a collection, record type, or repository to determine whether it holds relevant material, before you ever search for a specific ancestor. Education research is the third type — when you need to learn something substantial enough that a single article won't cover it, like understanding how a particular record type was created, how a county's boundaries changed over time, or how to use an unfamiliar research tool. All three types generate ideas, to-dos, and open threads that get lost without a system to capture them. For more on source research specifically, see how to find new genealogy sources to use.
Why is it so hard to use manuscript collections for genealogy?
Unlike standard genealogy records, manuscript collections are rarely indexed by individual name. Finding relevant material requires knowing which repositories hold collections connected to your research area, time period, or family's community — and then working through finding aids to identify what's actually inside. Catalogs like NUCMC — the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections, a free Library of Congress resource that indexes manuscript holdings across hundreds of U.S. repositories — make the discovery step much more manageable than searching repository by repository. General search engines can also surface finding aids and collection guides that don't appear in any single catalog. Even so, once you've identified a promising collection, you may still need to contact a repository directly, request access, or plan a research visit before you see a single record. That's a lot of open steps to track before you've found anything.
Do I need a formal genealogy research plan to organize a source research project?
No — and this is an important distinction. A formal research plan is the right tool when you're working on a specific ancestor and need to document your hypothesis, your sources, and your conclusions. When you're researching a source type or collection rather than an ancestor, a simple organized to-do list is enough. The goal is to capture ideas and next steps, not to create a document you'd include in a case study.
What's the difference between a to-do list and a source ideas list in genealogy?
A to-do list captures actions you need to take — searches to run, repositories to contact, questions to answer. A source ideas list captures collections, record types, or resources you want to investigate but aren't ready to act on yet. Keeping them separate means your action list stays actionable and your ideas don't get buried under tasks.
How do I keep track of genealogy research ideas between sessions?
The key is capturing ideas the moment they come up, not at the end of a session. When you're in the middle of research and a new question or collection catches your attention, record it immediately with enough context to remind you why it mattered — not just what it was. A link to your notes from that session, attached to the to-do, gives you a way back into your thinking without having to reconstruct it from scratch.
Can this system work for any type of genealogy research, not just manuscripts?
Yes. The same approach — a to-do list for actions, a source ideas list for collections to investigate, and notes linked to both — works any time you're researching something other than a specific ancestor. That includes learning about a new record type, exploring a repository you haven't used, or investigating what records exist for a particular location or time period.
Learn more about using manuscript records:
Using Archival Portals to Locate Manuscripts — Family Tree Magazine
University Libraries: Genealogy Goldmines — Legacy Tree Genealogists
