Help
The Mary Ferrell Foundation website contains a huge array of materials and capabilities. This page is intended to help direct you for answers to some of the most common problems. For more information about the Foundation, see About MFF and About Mary Ferrell.
About the Archive
The MFF Archive is a vast resource of scanned documents, books, essays, multimedia, and more. See these help pages for specific aid:
- About the Archive - learn more about the MFF electronic archive and its contents
- National Archives Finding Aids - these online records provide detailed listings of some of the collections.
- Document Archive FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions about the Document Archive
- How to Read an FBI File - a great essay on the FBI's filing system and tips on reading FBI records
- Decoding False Names in CIA Documents - explains what cryptonyms, pseudonyms, aliases, and covers are and the projects here at MFF to help decode them
- JFK Database Explorer FAQ - learn how to use this amazing new tool to browse, search, and filter metadata records about documents in the JFK Collection
How to Search
The MFF's search engine is sophisticated with many options. For quick tips as well as detailed help, see the How to Search page. Or just play around with the options on the Advanced Search page.
See also the Document Viewer Guide to get the most out of the documents you find.
Membership
To learn about individual and institutional memberships and the extra services available through them, see our Membership page. Supporting memberships unlock the full use of search tools, and Pro memberships add the ability to download PDF copies of documents for reading offline.
MFF Policies
Our MFF Policies page explains what information we collect and how it is used.
Other Resources
The internet is full of other resources which may help you find the information you're looking for - see our Other Resources page for websites and forums which may be of interest.