How We Read the Soldier's Words: Subjectivity in Finding Aids Using Civil War Diaries From Academic Special Collections in the Mid-Atlantic Region

This paper presents the results of a tiered study that investigated the presence of subjectivity in Civil War diary finding aids. This study focused on two things: usage statistics of the diaries and an analysis of the diary finding aids. The analysis of the finding aids consisted of both a content and observational analysis. Findings suggest that there were more similarities than differences between the different finding aids, and that, though minor, subjectivity is present in academic special collection finding aids.