Archives put researchers directly in touch with their subject in a way that doesn’t happen with secondary sources, but getting started can sometimes be a little daunting. Building a narrative around a single item from an archival collection, interpreting it as the product of a particular set of historical circumstances, assessing its evidential value and exploring its potential for further study can be a good place to begin. The stories presented here show how archives have the capacity to generate new ideas and demonstrate the diversity of research that the University’s unique and distinctive collections inspire and support.