There are four methods for locating items in the online Leonard Bernstein Collection:
1. Search by Keyword is used for finding words or phrases included anywhere in the bibliographic records. It is especially useful for finding words or phrases contained in the Excerpts from the correspondence. The bibliographic records for the correspondence do not include subject headings, but the excerpts from the correspondence usually make clear the topic(s) of the letter. For instance, to find any letters which discuss West Side Story, search by keyword for that phrase. This will result in seventeen exact matches of which nine are from the correspondence (one is a photograph and seven are from two different Young People's Concerts Scripts). In addition there are three letters which include one or more words from that phrase, only one of which actually refers to the musical.
2. Browse by Title Index provides a complete list, arranged alphabetically by title, of all items in the Bernstein online collection. Note that all correspondence items have titles beginning with the phrase "Letter from...," starting with "Letter from Aaron Copland to Leonard Bernstein," followed by the date. Thus, the alphabetical arrangement of the correspondence is based on the first name of the letter's author, and secondarily on the first name of the recipient. Therefore, all letters from Leonard Bernstein appear together on the Browse Index and are subarranged alphabetically by first name of recipient (to Burton...; to Felicia...; to Helen...; to Jennie..., and so forth). Letters with identical titles are furthur subarranged by date.
3. Browse by Name Index provides an alphabetical list of personal and corporate names that appear in both the correspondence and the scripts.
4. Browse by Subject Index lists topics and names pertaining to the Thursday Evening Preview Scripts and the Young People's Concerts Scripts. Note that, particularly with the Young People's Concerts Scripts, the subject headings are derived solely from the final typescript version of the script. As a result, many of the subjects listed may not appear in the other versions of the script (outlines, first drafts, or additional materials) for a given program. The listed subject terms will always appear in the final typescript.