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AUDIOVISUAL MATERIAL FROM MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS

October 2008

           Now that we have a full-time audiovisual cataloger in place, we are going to try to draw up some further guidelines for treatment of a/v material found in manuscript collections.

           To give you some background, we are keeping track of all incoming a/v material (audiotapes, videotapes, motion pictures, CDs, DVDs--as well as computer disks and reels of microfilm) as part of accessioning. When there are significant numbers of a/v material in a new collection, that information (i.e., the fact that it exists) will be included in the bibliographic record. Joanne and I and others have been systematically going through the shelflist (now in a Filemaker database called av-dctracker), trying to gather as much information as we can about our audiovisual holdings. This included culling information from preliminary inventories, container lists, and accession logs. We now have a pretty good idea of the shape of the backlog, and will be prioritizing collections for cataloging.

           Unpublished audiovisual material can be described in many ways and at different levels of access:

1. single item (comes in unrelated to mss. material): describe in a bib record (Joanne or Melissa)
2. single item accompanied by a folder or two: describe in a bib record (Small A call number and T-# and/or Vt-# on same record) (Anne)
3. a few items in a mss. collection: describe in a bib record and finding aid for mss. collection (MC # and T-# and/or Vt-# on same record and in same finding aid) (processor)
4. quite a few items in a mss. collection, all labeled and/or similar in nature (all interviews, for example) and easy to appraise and describe: describe in a bib record and finding aid for mss. collection (MC # and T-# and/or Vt-# on same record and in same finding aid) (processor)
5. large numbers of items in a mss. collection, unlabeled, hard to appraise and describe:  transfer to a/v cataloger; describe in separate finding aid and in separate bib record that is linked (via 773) to record for mss. collection (T-# and/or Vt-# in record(s). Processor of manuscript collection should include T-# and/or Vt-#s on bib record and in body of finding aid for mss. collection (even if they are not described in the finding aid). The bib record (at the end of the 520) should also say: “Also includes audiotapes and videotapes shelved and described separately.” The finding aid will say (at the end of the Scope and Content): “Also audiotapes [T-#] and videotapes [Vt-#] which are or will be described separately.”  They should also be included in the Separated Material section at the end. They should not be enumerated in the quantity at the top of the finding aid. The sentence in the Scope and Content is just seen as a reminder to Public Services and researchers that audiotapes and videotapes were part of the collection and to look elsewhere. Include 655s for audiovisual material in the bib record; you don’t have to include a 007. Include a 506 for the audiovisual material (see below). Ideally once the audiovisual material is cataloged, we should add in the mss. collection record:

544    $dThere is related material:  Andrea Dworkin Videotape collection$aat the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.

You will find many examples in the catalog of when these guidelines were not followed, but I think in the interests of speed and clarity what we’ve laid out above is a reasonable approach. When in doubt, please discuss with Joanne whether or not a/v material should be separated.

A few changes in practice for mss. processors who are describing a/v material in their finding aids and bib records (examples 3 and 4, above):

1. In the bib record, use form/genre headings (and others as appropriate) for:

655 b0  Audiotapes.

655 b7  Videotapes.$$2local

In the holdings record, use separate 007s (it’s okay to encode only the first two characters) for audio and for video.

1. In the bib record, in the 300, in the first $a indicate linear ft.; in the second $a, in parentheses, indicate the full extent as described in the finding aid:

$a1.2 linear ft.$a(1 carton, ½ file box, 1 folio+ folder, 2 audiotapes)

1. Always add a 506 governing audiovisual material:

506    $aAppointment required for access to audiovisual material.

AUDIOVISUAL END PROCESSING

Handling audiovisual material in manuscript collections

Reminders

1. When beginning a collection, check with Joanne to make sure there is not additional audiovisual material that has been pulled from the collection
2. After a thorough appraisal of the collection is complete, discuss (with Joanne, Kathy, etc.) whether to keep the a/v material in the collection or give it to Joanne to be added to the a/v backlog (general rule of thumb, more than 10-20 items of any one type, the materials should go to the a/v backlog, but decisions are case by case basis)
3. If we decide to keep the a/v material, Joanne will give you the appropriate a/v collection numbers (T, Vt, etc.), or assign new ones
4. Follow the procedures in the processing manual regarding listing the a/v material in the finding aid
5. Be sure to add following note to the Access Restrictions section of the finding aid: Appointment required for access to audiovisual material.

End processing

1. Write the appropriate T-, Vt-, etc. number, in pencil, on the tape label itself. For example:  T-345.1, T-345.2, etc. For videos, it is helpful to also have the number on the case, a thin post-it label may be used for this purpose
2. Once all of the materials are clearly marked, send Joanne an email letting her know they are ready, and if possible, include a brief description of the material (Joanne will add this to AV-DCtracker)
3. Deliver the tapes to Joanne for labeling, housing, and shelving