[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: Small Collections



Joy Kingsolver said:

> I know it's easy to criticize, but it's really not a catalog-worthiness
issue,
> it's a time & staff issue.

I understand what you're saying, and sympathize, but my concern with this
approach is that it suggests if you had unlimited time and staff, you'd
create MARC records for everything. Perhaps my collection is unusual, but
I've got some crud in my holdings I'd never make MARC records for,
regardless of how much staff, time, or money I had. You always have to
choose what to catalog, and when you do, you're making an appraisal decision
whether you like it or not, whether you know it or not. Deciding what to
catalog is a value judgment about that item's importance to society.

My collection also has a large single item section that contains a lot of
dreck, but also some important items such as Lincoln letters, Robert E. Lee
letters, and even the thank you note William Penn wrote Charles II thanking
him for Pennsylvania. I have collections of several linear feet in size that
would better serve society as garden mulch. Which ones should I choose to
catalog first?

Lee

==--00--==

Leon C. Miller, Manuscripts Librarian
Special Collections, Jones Hall, Howard-Tilton Memorial Library
Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118
Ph: 504-865-5685, Fx: 504-865-5761
Leon.Miller@tulane.edu
http://www.tulane.edu/~lmiller/SpecCollHomepage.html

-----Original Message-----
From: Archives & Archivists [mailto:ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU]On Behalf
Of Joy Kingsolver
Sent: Tuesday, July 25, 2000 4:39 PM
To: ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
Subject: Re: Small Collections

I know it's easy to criticize, but it's really not a catalog-worthiness
issue,
it's a time & staff issue. I'm certainly not the only one
facing these issues, as responses so far have shown.

At 03:12 PM 7/25/00 -0500, you wrote:
>I think Bill Landis has an excellent approach. Another way to look at it is
>that "catalog-worthiness" is itself an appraisal value. That is, if it's

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
                    *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu

Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html

Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>