1. Describing Microforms & Manuscripts
Joshua Parker &
Alison Thornton
1 May 2007
Simmons College, Graduate School of Library & Information Science
LIS 531M  Descriptive Cataloging & Metadata  Dr. Daniel Joudrey

2. Describing Microforms

3. Describing Microforms:
What is Being Described?
 Microform: A microphotographic manifestation of a
work. Specific forms include: microfiche,
microopaque, microfilm, and aperture cards
 AACR2 1.5A3 specifies that one ought to describe the
item in hand, but LCRIs differ
 Original microform publication
 LC practice is to describe the item according to the rules laid
out in AACR2 Chapter 11
 LCRI 11.0 Microform reproductions
 Describe the item using information relating to the original
(not the microform in hand) for ISBD areas 1 through 6
 Add the GMD [microform] to the title
 Provide details of the reproduction in a 533 note

4. Describing Microforms:
Original v. Reproduction Controversy
 Arguments for describing the format of the
reproduction
 Consistency: AACR2 1.5A3 says to do it this way
 The user needs to be fully aware that the item is a
microform (requires special equipment, may be
non-circulating, etc.)
 Arguments for describing the original work
 The goal of such reproductions is often to make
available older materials, not issue a revised edition
 The user is likely more interested in the original
content, as well as the original items its publication
information, dates, and physical characteristics

5. Describing Microforms:
007 – The Physical Description Field
 The 007 field records important physical
characteristics about the item
‡a Category of material
‡b Specific material designation
‡d Positive/negative aspect
‡e Dimensions
‡f Reduction ratio range/Reduction ratio
‡g Color
‡h Emulsion on film
‡i Generation
‡j Base of film

6. Describing Microforms:
AACR2 11.0 – 11.1, 11.4
 11.0B Chief and prescribed sources
 Chief source: title frame
 Other prescribed sources: rest of item, container,
any accompanying material
 11.1G1 Items without a collective title
 Describe as a unit or make separate entries (LCRI:
“whichever seems better in the particular situation”)
 11.4C–F Publication information
 For unpublished microforms, do not record place
of publication or a publisher name. Record the
creation date in place of publication date.

7. Describing Microforms:
AACR2 11.5
 The physical description of a microform should
record (as appropriate):
 the number of physical units
 number of frames
 note polarity, if negative
 illustrations
 B&W or color
 Dimensions
 Examples:
 3 microfiches (ca. 120 fr. each)
 1 microfilm reel ; 16 mm. : negative, ill.
 5 microopaques ; 8 × 13 cm.

8. Describing Microforms:
AACR2 11.7
 11.7B10 Physical description notes (500 General Note)
 Reduction ratio: note items with a reduction ratio outside of
the normal 16x-30x range
 Reader or special equipment required
 Film: provide details regarding the film
 11.7B13. Dissertations (502 Dissertation Note)
 11.7B16 Other formats owned (530 Note)
 11.7B21 “With” notes for other works included in the
item, if there is no collective title (501 With Note)
 11.7B22 Note relating to the original (534 Note)
 If the item is a reproduction and following AACR2
instructions, give the details of the original item. If following
LC practice, put the reproduction details in a 533 note

9. Describing Manuscripts with AACR2

10. Describing Manuscripts with AACR2:
Manuscripts
 Definition from AACR2
 Writings (including musical scores, maps, etc.) made
by hand, typescripts, and inscriptions on clay tablets,
stone, etc.
 Unique challenges for manuscripts
 Individual versus collection
 Nichols, M. F. (1996). Finding the forest among the
trees: The potential of collection-level cataloging.
 Ancient, Medieval & Renaissance material
 Pass, G. (2003). Descriptive Cataloging of Ancient, Medieval,
and Renaissance, and Early Modern Manuscripts.

11. Describing Manuscripts with AACR2:
Other Information
 ISDB Areas
 Area 3 Material, Area 6 Series, and Area 8 Standard
Number are not used
 GMDs are not used
 Uniform titles 25.13 and the LCRI
 Physical item versus the work
 Choice of heading
 Name of the physical manuscript
130 _0 ‡a Codex Madrid I
 Repository designation:
110 2_ ‡a British Library. ‡k Manuscript.
 Authority Headings

12. Describing Manuscripts with AACR2:
Information Sources & Titles
 4.0B1 Chief Source of Information
1. Title page 3. Caption, heading, etc
2. Colophon 4. Content of the manuscript
 Single volumes, letters, postcards, & telegrams
[Letter, ca. 1898 Jan. 1] Worcester Park, Surrey [to]
George Gissing, Rome
 Legal Documents: include as much information as
possible
[Lease, 1937 Oct. 17, of shop in Bridge St., Harrow,
Middlesex]
 For collections of manuscripts, describe as letters,
correspondence, papers, or records as appropriate.

13. Describing Manuscripts with AACR2:
Dates & Physical Description
 4.4B1 Dates
Sonnet, To Genevra [GMD] / [Lord Byron]. – 1813 Dec. 17
 4.4B2 Sermons or Speeches
[Speech] Glasgow Labour Club [GMD] / James Maxton. –
1928 Jan. 13. Note: Delivered Feb. 8, 1928
 4.5B Extent of item for ancient, medieval, or renaissance
[26] leaves (2 columns, 45-47 lines)
 4.5B2 Collections
123 items, 3 v (183 items)
 4.5C1 Non-paper material
 4.5D Dimensions
[1] leaf : parchment ; 35 x 66 cm., folded to 10 x 19 cm.

14. Describing Manuscripts with AACR2:
Notes – 4.7
 4.7B1 Nature, Scope or form. Use one of the following:
Holograph, Ms, Mss, Printout, Typescript
 4.7B7 Donor, source, previous owner
Previously owned by C. Wright, 1970-1991
 4.7B10 Physical Description
Ms. torn in half and rejoined
 4.7B11 Accompanying material
In envelope, with enclosure (4 p. on 2 leaves, holograph, signed)
 4.7B14 Access and Literary Rights
 4.7B18 Contents
 4.7B23 Ancient, Medieval & Renaissance

15. Describing Manuscripts with AACR2:
MARC
 Field 245 subfield k
 Field 260 subfield c
 Field 351 Organization & Arrangement
 Notes in 5XXs
 506 Restrictions on access
 520 Summary
 524 Preferred citation form
 540 Terms governing use and reproduction
 541 Immediate source of acquisition
 544 Location of other archival material
 545 Bibliographical/historical data
 555 Finding aids
 561 Ownership

16. Describing Archival Materials with DACS

17. Describing Archival Materials with DACS:
DACS: An Introduction
 Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)
 Offers specialized descriptive rules designed for
archival collections
 Replaces the previous archival content standard
Archives, Personal Papers, and Manuscripts (APPM)
 Some catalogers prefer using AACR2 Chapter 4 for
individual manuscripts, DACS being better suited
for collection-level description
 As a content standard, DACS (like AACR2) is
independent of the encoding protocol used. Finding
aids based on DACS are typically encoded using
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) or MARC.

18. Describing Archival Materials with DACS:
Part I – Describing Archival Materials (1)
 Statement of Principles
 The Nature of Archival Holdings (1 & 2)
 The Relationship between Arrangement &
Description (3 &4)
 The Nature of Archival Description (5–7)
 Creators of Archival Material (8)
 Designed for single- or multi-level description
 DACS identifies and elaborates upon 25
elements that can be used to describe archival
collections and materials

19. Describing Archival Materials with DACS:
Part I – Describing Archival Materials (2)
 Identity Elements (Chapter 2)
 2.5 Extent
 2.7 Administrative/Biographical History
 Content and Structure Elements (Chapter 3)
 3.1 Scope and Content
 3.2 System of Arrangement
 Conditions of Access and Use Elements (Chapter 4)
 4.1 Conditions Governing Access
 4.2 Physical Access
 4.3 Technical Access
 4.4 Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
 4.5 Languages and Scripts of the Material
 4.5 Finding Aids

20. Describing Archival Materials with DACS:
Part I – Describing Archival Materials (3)
 Acquisition and Appraisal Elements (Chapter 5)
 5.1 Custodial History
 5.2 Immediate Source of Acquisition
 5.3 Appraisal, Destruction, and Scheduling Info.
 5.4 Accruals
 Related Materials Elements (Chapter 6)
 6.1 Existence and Location of Originals
 6.2 Existence and Location of Copies
 6.3 Related Archival materials
 6.4 Publication Note
 Note Elements (Chapter 7)
 Description Control Elements (Chapter 8)

21. Describing Manuscripts with DACS:
Part II – Describing Creators
 Identifying Creators (Chapter 9)
 Creators of a whole collection
 Creators of elements within a collection
 Administrative/Biographical History (Chap. 10)
 May be maintained as part of an authority file or
be recorded in the description itself
 Vary greatly in level of detail
 Authority Records (Chapter 11)

22. Describing Archival Materials with DACS:
Part III – Forms of Names
 Form of Name for Persons And Families (Chap. 12)
 Generally follows AACR2 for personal names
 Provides rules for authorized form of family names
 Examples:
Giroux family
Molina y Vedia de Bastianini family
 Form of Geographic Names (Chapter 13)
 No significant differences from AACR2
 Form of Corporate Names (Chapter 14)
 Generally follows AACR2 for corporate names,
with a few minor areas of expanded treatment

23. Describing Microforms & Manuscripts:
Bibliography (1)
Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules. (2005). 2nd ed., 2002 revision with 2005
update. Chicago: American Library Association.
Bourke, T. A. (1994). The putative dilemma of too many analytical
bibliographic records for microform sets in the online catalog; or, Does
serendipity ever lead to scholarship? Microform Review, 23, 56-60.
Copeland, A., Hamburger, S., Hamilton, J., Robinson, K. J. (2006).
Cataloging and Digitizing Ephemera: One Team's Experience with
Pennsylvania German Broadsides and Fraktur. Library Resources &
Technical Services, 50(3), 186-98.
Davis, S. E. (2003). Descriptive standards and the archival profession.
Cataloging & Classification Quarterly. 35(3/4), 291-308.
Duffy, P. and Weisbrod, E. J. (1993). Keeping your online catalog from
degenerating into a finding aid: considerations for loading microformat
records into the online catalog. Technical Services Quarterly, 11(1), 29-42.

24. Describing Microforms & Manuscripts:
Bibliography (2)
Duffy, P. and Weisbrod, E. J. (1995). More thoughts on bibliographic access
and microformat records. Microform Review. 24, 55-7.
Hill, J. S. (1982). Descriptions of reproductions of previously existing works.
Microform Review. 11(1), 14-21.
John, N. R. (1982). Microforms. Journal of Library Administration. 3(10), 3-8.
Legaz, M., Plaza, M. A., y Uranga, M. (2004). Organizacion de las
microformas en la biblioteca. Informacion Cultura y Sociedad, (10), 83-99.
Maguire, M. and Schiff, A. L. (2006). What's in a (family) name? DACS,
LCSH, and mixed-standard catalogs. Retrieved April 11, 2007, from
http://hdl.handle.net/1773/2518.
Myers, F. S. (1998). Microforms cataloging: a brief overview. Mississippi
Libraries, 62(3) 61-3.

25. Describing Microforms & Manuscripts:
Bibliography
Nichols, M. F. (1996). Finding the forest among the trees: The potential of collection-
level cataloging. Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, 23(1), 53-71.
(2003). Cataloging serials reproductions: Annoying
Okuhara, K.
applications—reprint serials. The Serials Librarian, 44(3/4), 215-22.
Pass, G. (2003). Descriptive Cataloging of Ancient, Medieval, and Renaissance, and
Early Modern Manuscripts. Chicago: Association of College and Research
Libraries.
Shepherd, K. (2005). [Review of the book Describing archives: a content standard].
American Archivist 68(2), Retrieved April 11, 2007, from
http://www.archivists.org/periodicals/aa_v68/review-shephard-aa68_2.asp.
Society of American Archivists. (2004). Describing archives: a content standard. Chicago:
Society of American Archivists.
Taylor, A. G. (2006). Introduction to Cataloging and Classification. 10th Ed. Westport, CT:
Libraries Unlimited.