Use this field for notes concerning the physical description of the item in regards to form, material, geographic location, and date/duration. This field is also used for notes concerning derivation of title, date, or other source information supplied by the cataloger. This is not a description of the intellectual content (see 520). Displays as “Notes”.
indicators: no indicators, leave blank
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punctuation: This may begin with a phrase or a complete sentence, followed by a period. After this first period, further information should be in complete sentences. This field ends with a full point.
Make separate notes for the following information, in this order.
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500 __ Written by Sh. Mateyos bar Paulos in Mosul in Šbat 2199 (February 1888); copied from a manuscript dated 1520/1 from the monastery of Mar Hnania which was written by Q. Mbarak (f. 316r).
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Source of title.
If the 245 records a supplied title (except in cases when the item is a letter or collection of correspondence), then the note should read as follows:
500 __ Title supplied by cataloger.
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Correspondence collections do not need a note that the title was created by the cataloger.
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500 __ Title from published edition (London: 1885).
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If taken from a published version or reference work, cite when possible. When title is taken verbatim from the manuscript use “Title from…”; when title is an extraction or elision use “Title derived…”
Also include a note, if necessary, for any 246 “Other title”.
Additional statements of responsibility.
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500 __ Marginalia by Robert Graves.
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Additional physical details.
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500 __ Bound by F. Bedford in full red morocco, gilt.
(e) housing (this information is useful for purposes of retrieval)
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500 __ In a red morocco pull-off case, 18 cm.
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Houghton uses the following terms for cases:
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protective case : pre-fab case used in end-processing
"Bound with" note.
This note is needed if the manuscript consists of two or more originally separate manuscripts bound together, and if a separate record is made for each of them. Following Houghton’s printed-book convention, if three or fewer items are bound together, provide a “Bound with” note that lists the titles of the other item). If more than three items are bound together, construct a note containing the following: each item’s position in the volume; the total number of items bound together; some description of the volume’s content.
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500__ Number 6 in a bound volume of 27 parliamentary records.
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Note: Technical terms relating to binding and other physical aspects of manuscripts can be found in Etherington and Roberts Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology.
If the description of a single item has been inclusive and consciously edited, use the required standard 500 note as implemented in May 2021. See the Collection-level Cataloging Manual for more information and note content.