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When collections are accessioned, A/V material is noted and tracked, as of June 2018, in Media Projects Tracker (MPT), a new version of AV/DC tracker. If there is a significant amount of A/V material in a collection, it will also be noted in the bib record. Information from older accessions has been entered into MPT, however there may still be situations in which you come across A/V material in your collection that is not represented in MPT. If this occurs, talk to Joanne Donovan and get a number if you need one.
The types of audiovisual material and their corresponding numbers are as follows:Anchor Formats Formats
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Within the finding aid each individual audiotape (or other media) receives a unique file unit number (e.g., T-249.1, T-249.2, etc.) Also, in most cases, all tapes in a collection will have the same "T-" or "CD-" number and then a separate reel/item number so that all tapes from the same collection can be shelved together. Instructions for how to list and tag A/V material in the finding aid are in the EAD finding aids and XMetal section of this manual.
Appraisal Anchor appraisal appraisal
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Materials are VHS unless otherwise noted.
Description in inventory
Unlike paper materials, A/V materials require item-level handling (for the most part). Careful descriptions assist the researcher with determining research interest and will guide future library-wide preservation decisions.
Be sure to add the following note to the Access Restrictions section of the finding aid: Appointment required Researchers must contact Research Services for access to audiovisual material.
In general, audiovisual materials should be listed in their own series, with necessary cross-references to related paper files, as appropriate. In cases where there are less than 10 items and they are strongly related to other documents in the collection, the materials can be listed where appropriate in other series. If you have questions about whether or not to do this, consult your team lead and Joanne.
In general, arrange audiovisual materials by format, and then by date. If there are a large number of tapes and the creation of subject-related subseries would be helpful for researchers, discuss options with your team lead and Joanne.
The description/listing of each tape should consist of four or five parts (no format necessary if you've articulated it in the collection, series, or subseries scope note):
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NOTE: as of Jun 2018 we will no longer indicate the length of the item in the finding aid, however we will still track this in MPT.
EXAMPLE from the National Abortion Rights Action League:
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Titles of radio and television programs should be italicized.
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Please note: We will NO LONGER use the "REQUEST AS" notes in the finding aid.
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It's often not necessary to listen to or view each tape in its entirety. Generally you only need to listen/view the beginning and end to make sure the tape is labeled correctly and to ascertain important production data (and length). If unlabeled, a tape may require more time, but use best judgment. When describing the content of the tape, you need to pull out the important themes, but do not need to provide a frame-by-frame, or topic-by-topic, analysis. A good example of adequate content description is in the Blu Greenberg Audiovisual Collection.
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It's often easier to determine the length of videotapes by fast forwarding. Audio is more complicated, but if you can at least determine that the recording continues on the second side of the tape, the tape length can be noted as "ca. 90 minutes" or the full length of the tape. An audiocassette will often have an identifying mark to indicate "60" or "90" stamped on the edge.
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Finding aid examples
Mixed collection with papers, Papers of Martha Stuart:
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http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:RAD.SCHL:sch00366
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WorkflowAnchor workflow workflow
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Let Joanne know when you are beginning research on a collection, so she can pass on any special instructions or information she has in her files.
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We generally do not keep analog copies or duplicates to use as listening/viewing copies, but there may be exceptions to this rule, check with Joanne. There may be times when your collection has already been digitized or a few items have already been reformatted, in this case we will want to add links to the finding aid for digitized materials.
Describing audiovisual material in bib recordsAnchor bib bib
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(See also OLD instructions for Updating Aleph (post-processing), especially for more 007 examples)
In the bib record, add multiple 300 fields for papers and each kind of a/v:
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$c dimensions
EXAMPLE $c1/2 in.
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EXAMPLE: from Anne Sexton Audiotapes and papers
| 300 | |a .83 linear ft. |a (2 file boxes) |
| 300 | |a 95 sound tape reels : |b analog ; |c 7 in. |
| 300 | |a 261 sound discs : |b digital ; |c 4 3/4 in. |
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EXAMPLE: from Judy Chicago Audiotapes
| 300 | |a 22 sound tape reels : |b analog, 7-1/2 ips ; |c 7 in. |
| 300 | |a 171 sound cassettes : |b analog. |
EXAMPLE: from Glenda Hydler papers (note: we now spell out "sound" and "color")
The below example describes: 1 reel to reel, 1 audiocassette, 3 VHS, 5 CDs and 9 motion pictures
| 300 | |a 1 sound reel tape : |b analog. |
| 300 | |a 1 sound cassette: |b analog. |
| 300 | |a 3 videocassettes : |b silent ; |c 1/2 in. |
| 300 | |a 5 sound discs : |b digital ; |c 4 3/4 in. |
| 300 | |a 9 film reels : |c 16 mm. |
EXAMPLE for DVDs:
300 $a4 videodiscs : $bsound, color ; $c4 ¾ in.
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See also the Library of Congress for more examples:
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If you're not sure what to put in the 300 field, ask Joanne, Anne, or your team lead.
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In the bib record, use form/genre headings (and others as appropriate) for:
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655 b7 Videotapes.$$2local
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In the holdings record, use separate 007s (it’s okay to encode only the first two characters) for audio and for video.
Add an 007 for each unique type of format: VHS, U-matic, audiocassette, etc.
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In the holdings record, always add a 506 governing audiovisual material:
506 1b $aAppointment required $a Researchers must contact Research Services for access to audiovisual material.
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On rare occasions, processors may need to create a bibliographic record for a single audiovisual item, or a collection comprised of only audiovisual materials. In this case, please consult the A/V Cataloging Manual for specific details. [Collection Services\Audiovisual\AV cataloging\Unpublished_AV_Cataloging_Manual.doc]
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A/V End processingAnchor end end
- Write the appropriate T-, Vt-, etc., number, in pencil, on the tape label itself. For example: T-345.1, T-345.2, etc. Joanne will also print out labels with the T-, Vt-, number for the audio or video cassette cases. For CDs and DVDs, write the CD-# and DVD-# directly on the inner white part of the discs with a permanent marker
- Once all of the materials are clearly marked, send Joanne an email letting her know they are ready
- Deliver the tapes to Joanne for labeling, housing, and shelving
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