
Early work assigned temporary identification or accession numbers to each batch of materials removed from an office, and an inventory of all folder titles (often verbatim) populated a searchable database. Seven project folders might have been strewn throughout five different boxes, but all five boxes could be retrieved. A folder title may simply have read “Bldg 50,” without further description, but at least you knew there was something available (hopefully…some folders were inventoried even when empty). It wasn’t perfect, but it was control until a more in-depth archival processing could take place.
Now, over 2

Today the GGNRA’s Park Archives and Records Center still uses that one, now more thorough, database to conduct searches across multiple Army collections. Although we are unable to place a version of the database on-line we have been able to create a PDF and RTF document listing every folder title available to the general public. While it may not be as easy as searching the database itself, researchers can at least gain a sense of the type of material that is held in the archives and copy and paste the relevant lines into a separate working document.
Some suggestions for searching the document:

Think diversely, could someone have named this differently, are there terms unique to the Army, did the project or site name change over time? The Public Health Service Hospital was previously known as the Marine Hospital.
Were acronyms frequently used? PSF = Presidio of San Francisco Staff tried to spell out as many as possible, but was not always successful.
Use parts of words to broaden results and include different endings.
Spaces are useful. Adding a space in front or at the end of a term limits the results. For example, instead of looking for Building “210” use “ 210” to prevent Building 1210 from coming up.
Were acronyms frequently used? PSF = Presidio of San Francisco Staff tried to spell out as many as possible, but was not always successful.
Use parts of words to broaden results and include different endings.
Spaces are useful. Adding a space in front or at the end of a term limits the results. For example, instead of looking for Building “210” use “ 210” to prevent Building 1210 from coming up.