Audiotapes and Videotapes (and similar media)

DRAFT October 2013

Introduction

In the past we have sometimes separated audiovisual material from manuscript collections for separate listing and description. Beginning in July 2013, processing of audiovisual material will be done by manuscript processors as part of the normal collection workflow. Processors should assess A/V material in their collection as part of their processing plan, and should consult with Joanne Donovan and their team lead when determining what to do with A/V materials.

When collections are accessioned, A/V material is noted and tracked in 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 AV/DC tracker, however there may still be situations in which you come across A/V material in your collection that is not represented in AV/DC tracker. 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:

Audiocassettes and reel-to-reels T- #

CDs and CD-ROMs CD- #

Phonograph albums Phon- #

Video material Vt- #

Motion pictures MP #

DVDs DVD- #

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 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 How to EAD (XMetal) section of this manual.

Appraisal

Appraisal of audiovisual material should take into account the high cost of preservation to make the media accessible for the future. Always ask yourself: Is this something worth adding to the collection and providing long-term access? Discuss appraisal decisions with Joanne. See workflow section for more specific suggestions about research to assist with appraisal.

Assessment and general description

Look at the physical condition of each tape. Determine if you think you can listen/view each one. If media can not be viewed or is damaged in some way, talk to Joanne about options.

Write a general scope and content note about the media as part of the processing plan. Determine the parameters of description. Record if most titles are those of the donor, or were created during processing. If all the media are audiocassettes, you do not need to list "audiocassette" after every description, but you do need to say in the scope note something like:

Materials are audiocassettes unless otherwise noted.

or

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 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 scope note):

Title. Description. Date. Format (if listing it)Time.

EXAMPLE from the Judy Chicago Audiotape Collection:

Crosstalk Radio Show. Three trustees from the University of the District of Columbia discuss the possible acquisition of The Dinner Party and the ensuing controversy. Aired on WUDC. ca.1990. 45 min.

Titles of radio and television programs should be italicized.

Please note: We will NO LONGER use the "REQUEST AS" notes in the finding aid.

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.

Do your best to determine the actual time of the tape. If you cannot, you may use "ca. 60 min." using the length of the entire tape capacity.

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 min."

Finding aid examples

xx video [ NEED EXAMPLE with "real" description ]

xx audiotapes [ NEED EXAMPLE with "real" description ]

Workflow

As part of beginning research on a collection, check to see if there is any A/V material.

Open AV-DCTracker.fp7 and search for the collection title - make sure you are in the "Collection View A/V" - and see what's listed. If locations are not listed for any materials, check in with Joanne.

Survey any A/V material along with your collection and include a discussion and appraisal of it in your processing plan. If there are any published A/V materials, check Hollis to see if we have them already. (even if in another manuscript or A/V collection)

***NEW***

Fully catalog each item in AV/DC tracker first; you can then transform that data into EAD. If you have a number of items you are unsure about keeping; have an appraisal meeting with Joanne Donovan before updating the database.

(Joanne do you have instructions about what data to put where in the database, or do you want to write some that are appropriate here?)

Does Joanne want to review the data before it gets transformed? How should this occur?

When you are finished, you can transform the Filemaker data into XML to be added to your finding aid.

See instructions here: G:\SCHLES\COLLECTION SERVICES\AUDIOVISUAL\AV cataloging\CreatingInventorywithEADtagsFromAVDC

***OLD***

If more than around 10 items, create a spreadsheet with the basic information on each tape. Initial transcription of the data can easily be done by a student. A sample spreadsheet can be found at G:\SCHLES\COLLECTION SERVICES\AUDIOVISUAL\AV cataloging\AV_InventoryTemplate.xlsx (JOANNE IS WORKING ON FINALIZING THIS - AND POSSIBLY FINAL VERSION WILL HAVE TAGS IN THERE ALREADY)

Once you have done an initial assessment of the A/V (including transcribed list of titles), meet with Joanne to go over the items and determine which to keep and what kind of further description is required of each one.

There are several fields in the spreadsheet that are for inclusion in AV/DC tracker, not the finding aid. You should fill these out if appropriate. Questions for Joanne, comments, numbers of copies, etc. can go in the "Notes" field. Put any restrictions for the collections in the "Access Restriction" field. (JOANNE WILL SAY WHAT THE PRESERVATION PRIORITY SCHEME IS.) Notes on reformatting or preservation priority can go in the "Preservation Note" field.

Continue to add description to the spreadsheet, send to Joanne for final review.

When you are finished, you should transform the spreadsheet data into XML to be added to your finding aid.

See instructions here: G:\SCHLES\COLLECTION SERVICES\AUDIOVISUAL\AV cataloging\Creating inventory with EAD tags from spreadsheets

(JOANNE IS WORKING ON FINALIZING THIS - AND PART OF THAT INVOLVES ?s ABOUT FORMAT EAD TAG)

Describing audiovisual material in bib records

(See Updating Aleph (post-processing) for more specific instructions)

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

655 b0 Audiotapes.

655 b7 Videotapes.$$2local

In the bib record, add multiple 300 fields for papers and a/v:

[NOTE: THIS IS A NEW PRACTICE!)

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

$a12 videocassettes :$bsd., col. ;$c1/2 in.

$a2 sound cassettes :$banalog.

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

In the holdings record, always add a 506 governing audiovisual material:

506 $aAppointment required for access to audiovisual material.

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]

A/V End processing

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.
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 (JOANNE WILL SEE IF END-PROCESSOR CAN DO THIS)