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If you have any questions not covered on this page, please contact us at Museum.FDR@nara.gov. Please visit our website for general information about the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

Browsing the Online Collection

There are a few ways to browse the Online Collection:

Homepage/Curated Collections Page:

On the homepage, you can browse pre-curated selections from our collection.

Artifact Collections Page:

On the Artifact Collections page, you can browse artifacts by sub-collection or National Archives Catalog "series," and link to the series description entered in the National Archives and Records Administration online catalog.

Temporary Exhibits Page:

On the Temporary Exhibits page, you can browse artifacts from current, past, and upcoming temporary exhibitions.

People and Organizations Page:

On the people page, you can browse individuals and/or organizations related to artifacts in the collection, along with relevant biographies and artifacts.

Favorites:

On the Favorites page, you can manage artifacts you've grouped online – see below for more information.

Searching the Online Collection

Quick Search/Advanced Search:

Enter keywords or names in the search box (Quick Search) to find artifacts in our collection. To search on specific criteria, you can use the advanced search to search within certain data fields. You can search using multiple criteria, such as the term "portrait" in the title + a date range of "1800-1900". If you are not getting any results with advanced search, try broadening your search by removing criteria. Currently, only a selection of items are available to search online. The addition, review, and updating of the Museum's collection data is ongoing. Please check back periodically for new entries.

Search Tips:

- You can use an * (asterisk) as a wildcard in searches, to match partial terms (e.g. draw* will return results for draw, drawn, drawings, etc.)

- Use quotation marks to get more exact results - e.g. John Doe will return any results with John or Doe, but "John Doe" will return results with this exact phrase.

Viewing Search Results

Types of Results:

There are different types of search results, such as artifact and people records. When there is more than one type of result, you can click on these different tabs to view different types of records.

Grid/List Views:

You can view a set of results in an image grid or list view. Use the dropdown to switch between different types of views.

Filter Panel:

You can refine a result set by opening the filter panel and using filters to narrow down results. For example, you can filter to see only works that have images within any result set. You can also clear each filter to revert to a larger result set, or clear all filters to get to your original result set.

Images

How may I use images from the website?

All images presented on this website are the property of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

Some images may carry copyright or other restrictions. The field Use Restriction Status will tell you if the collection holding or images of the holding possesses or may possess associated restrictions by indicating that the item is either “Unrestricted,” “Possibly restricted,” “Partially restricted,” or “Restricted.” If the item or images of the item are “Unrestricted,” no further information will be provided. If the item or images of the item are “Possibly restricted,” “Partially restricted,” or “Restricted,” additional information will be provided as a Use Restriction Note.

Neither the National Archives & Records Administration nor the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum warrant that the use of restricted materials will not infringe on the rights of third parties holding the rights to these works, or make any representations or warranties with respect to the application or terms of any international agreement, treaty, or protections that may apply. It is the user’s responsibility to determine and satisfy any copyright or other use restrictions.

Why is an image shown as not available?

An image may be shown as “not available” if it is not yet available in our data repository, or if it cannot be displayed for copyright or other reasons.

For additional information about obtaining reproductions of holdings in the FDR Library, please visit our reproductions page.

Favorites

What Are Favorites?

Favorites allows users to create and save your own private sets from the collection objects available on this site for your own viewing.

You can optionally add a description for each Favorites set or add notes to individual artifacts. You can view your sets by going to the "Favorites" page and logging into your account.

How Do I Use Favorites?

To use Favorites, you must first register an account. Once you have completed registration, you can start creating private collection sets and adding artifacts to them. You can add artworks to your sets by clicking on the heart symbol while viewing artifacts, and selecting which set to add the artifact(s). After selection, you can choose to add all selected works on the page to a Favorite. You can also add the entire result set or all artifacts on a page.

FRANKLIN Digital Archives

What is FRANKLIN?

FRANKLIN is a virtual research room and digital repository that provides free and open access to the digitized archival collections of the Roosevelt Library including primary source documentation of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt’s experiences leading the nation through the Great Depression and World War II.

What Can I Find in FRANKLIN?

Digital copies of significant documents and photographs from the archives of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum. FRANKLIN hosts over 800,000 pages of archival documents and 2,500 historical photographs, along with many detailed descriptions of archival collections not yet digitized.

Why are the Digitized Artifact Collections and the Archival Collections in Two Different Places?

This site, our online museum collection, and FRANKLIN , our online archives collection, reflect the very different ways information about artifacts and archival materials are organized. Artifact collections are managed at the item level with a unique record for each object. Archival materials are generally organized and described at the collection level with finding aids. We appreciate your patience as the addition, review, and updating of these two sites continues.