Select a collection to view from the list of results provided using the search or filter box. One may also view the list of collections held by a specific repository. Visit Filtering and Searching within Results or Understanding and Using Facets for more information about how to use those features first.  

After finding a collection in the results, click on the title of the collection or the thumbnail images for the collection highlighted in the orange boxes below.

After selecting a collection to view, one will initially be taken to the collection landing page. This page provides a collection description to provide context about the content in this particular digital collection. Specific collections may have guidance on how to use the collection.

Searching the digital collection

In the upper right hand corner of the page, users can enter a search term in the "Search This Collection" box. Enter a search term, including subject, title, date, creator, or name to view results for that specific collection.  

Browsing the digital collection

Users may also use the "Items" or "Browse" button to browse the collection. Depending on the type of collection, this will either take you to a result page with all of the items listed for that collection or it will show the folder and file structure for that collection. See Different Types of Collections to learn more.

For collections showing a results page listing the items in the collection, you will have options to filter results, use facets to limit results, and visit individual items in the collection. See Filtering and Searching within Results and Understanding and Using Facets for more information.

For collections showing and folder and file structure instead, you will be able to navigate through the folders and files in the collection similar to a computer file system.

View full collection description

For some archival collections from University Archives and Illinois History and Lincoln Collections, the "Full Collection Description" button, highlighted in the orange box below, will link out to the descriptive record for the physical material held within that library or archives.  The "Full Collection Description" button opens up a separate browser tab outside the Digital Special Collections. To navigate back to the Digital Collections, users must either close the new tab or navigate back by finding the original browser tab.