The site is divided into six areas reflected in the main menu items:

• A brief introduction to the project.
• Manuscript Basics, including both a guide and a glossary for non-rare book specialists.
• Tour - Information about the Free Library's physical manuscript collection, and a digital look at some of our most significant items.
• Search - The search pages for the site are built on a relational database containing pointers to approximately 3198 digitized images. Specific images, manuscripts, and subjects can be accessed by searching the database using the forms on the Search page. The following searches or browse capabilities are provided:
• Quick Search - A keyword search of Subject, Notes, Artist, Scribe, Script, Caption, Title, Shelfmark, Call Number, City, and Region.
• Country Search - Choose from a list of countries represented in the collection. Searching by country allows you to narrow your search to manuscripts produced in a specific country or countries. In general, countries are identified according to modern political boundaries. Occasionally, certain medieval geographical boundaries are used if it is impossible to determine a more precise location. For example, "Flanders" refers to manuscripts produced in an area that now comprises parts of modern day Belgium and France.
• Multiple Subject Search - A Boolean keyword search of subjects associated with each image.
• Browse Subject by Letter - Lists all subjects beginning with a specified letter.
• Browse Titles by Date - Search for items within a selected date range. Searching by date range allows you to narrow your search to manuscripts produced within certain chronological ranges. For example, you may find all manuscripts produced in the thirteenth century by entering a begin date of "1200" and an end date of "1299."
• List Titles by Shelfmark - A complete list of all shelfmarks in the collection. A shelfmark is the same as a call number. The shelfmark list allows you to browse the collection by the unique number assigned to each manuscript object. For example, if you know that the shelfmark for the Lewis Psalter is Lewis E 185, you may go directly to the records for that manuscript by scrolling down the list and clicking on "Lewis E 185."
• Resource information about partners and other sites devoted to medieval manuscripts.
• About This Project section containing background and technical information.