Introduction
In the past we have sometimes separated audiovisual material from manuscript collections for separate listing and description. Beginning in July 2013, all processing of audiovisual material will be done both 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 their team lead and Joanne when determining what to do with A/V materials.
When collections are accessioned, all A/V material is being 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 in an attempt to have it be as accurate as possible. That said, 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 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 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.
Description in inventory
In general, audiovisual materials should be listed in their own series. 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 parts:
Title. Description. Date. Time.
It's often not necessary to listen to 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.
[NEED HELP FROM JOANNE FOR THIS PART]
***would like to have info on how to list, e.g. Title, date. Format. Time or something like that. Processors want to know how to say how long something is
- Arrangement: There is often no meaningful original order to a/v materials. Hence, create arrangement, often using paper collection as guideline (in most cases this works, in some cases, materials are independent of each other). Generally, begin with personal materials, then professional; follow chronological order within each series (if no series, typically use chron order for entire collection).
- Assessment: l
- Appraisal: most important factor. Is this something worth adding to the collection and providing long-term access (both in terms of bibliographic records and preservation)?
- Discuss appraisal decisions and general arrangement of collections, with Joanne
Be sure to add following note to the Access Restrictions section of the finding aid: Appointment required for access to audiovisual material.
Finding aid examples
Lamaze International moving image collection http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:RAD.SCHL:sch01437
June Jordan audiotapes http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:RAD.SCHL:sch01211
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 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 and you can also download a copy from this link: AV_InventoryTemplate.xlsx.
Discuss with your team lead and/or Joanne the various cataloging options. Perhaps there is already cataloging data in AV/DC tracker you can export to the finding aid. Joanne may prefer that you create your inventory and description in Excel, and then export it to the finding aid (and to AV/DC tracker). Some of these mechanics will depend on the number of material to be cataloged.
When finished with A/V description, see A/V end processing, below.
Creating bib records
When describing a/v material in bib records:
In the bib record, use form/genre headings (and others as appropriate) for:
655 b0 Audiotapes.
655 b7 Videotapes.$$2local
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)
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]
Types of description
Unpublished audiovisual material can be described in many ways and at different levels of access:
- single item (comes in unrelated to mss. material): describe in a bib record
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- large numbers of items in a mss. collection, unlabeled, hard to appraise and describe: transfer to a/v team; 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. Going forward from July 2013 creation of separate A/V finding aids will happen less than int he past - most of the collections with larger and complex A/V components have been processed as part of the backlog.
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, a thin post-it label may be used for this purpose
- 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)
- Deliver the tapes to Joanne for labeling, housing, and shelving