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Re: pamphlets, ephemera, etc.



We had a legacy of hundreds (we just don't know how many) of such groupings of material. They are scattered throughout our collections, usually they are the first "series" (using that word veeerrry loosely) in an agency's or organization's unrestricted records. In the past, they were known as "general folders" or listed as "Clippings, etc." So far, we have created Marc records for 179 of them.

Below is the procedure we have used to catalog them (a very low-level of recon, without actually looking at the material if possible) and a local record only -- these will not be distributed. The really important information for us to know is the physical location (call number) and the authorized name of the group from which the ephemera, clippings, or pamphlets came (or about which the material was written), so that the records, regardless of physical location, and the ephemera can be virtually integrated in the on-line catalog.

Some of the information below is very local, such as the "LOC" field, which analogous to MARC holdings field 852.
______________________________________________________

                 Cataloging General Folders in the Harvard University Archives

This procedure is written with an eye towards retrospective conversion, but it applies equally well to newly created general folders. These may actually have more than one physical folder associated with them. Some larger groups have a general folder for each decade or each year.

1. Title
A. The words "general folder," "Clippings, etc." might mean something to us, but to anyone who does talk with reference staff here, they may not be helpful.
          These folders get the title:
          General information by and about ?
          Example: General information by and about the Harvard University
                          Department of Physics
          Example: General information by and about the Hasty Pudding Club
                          in 1966

2. Main and Added Entries
     A. Use the group or person that the general folder is about as the
           main entry
     B. Use the group or person that the general folder is about as the
           first subject heading.
     C. Use other subject headings as they apply
           Example: "General information by and about Harvard Crew" also
                  gets subject heading "Harvard University -- Rowing"

3. Dates
     A. If you have a begin date for the folder, use it.  Do not use an
          end date unless you know for sure that the file is dead (as is
          certain in general folders with chronological coverage as part
of the title). If the file is not dead, in the fixed field, use date
           type "i" (inclusive) and use the begin date in date1 and "uuuu"
          (unknown) in date2.  For some folders, no date will be known,
          use date type "u".

4. Physical Description
     A. Do not provide a physical description at all.

5. Notes
     A. Provide a brief history/biography note (545) if it is easily
          available.
     B. Create a scope note (520) that describes what is typically
          in a general folder, using the following words: "May contain
          press accounts, pamphlets, and ephemera."  Unless you
          know the contents and that the contents will not change.
     C. There is no restriction on these folders, ever; do not write
          a restriction on access note (holdings field 506).

6. LOC fields
     A. Create a loc field for each call number.  Most general folders
          will be only one physical unit and have only one call number.
          However, if you are converting a "General folder" and a
          "Clippings, etc." folder for a single institution, the single
          bibliographic record may have one LOC for the "general folder"
          and one for the "clippings".
          Example:
               LOC:8c:|i hua |b HUD 1234.1 |n General information
               LOC:8c:|i hua |b HUD 1234.15 |n Newspapers clippings

7. Name Authority
     A. Create a name authority record for an organization if one does
          not yet exist.  See procedure entitled: Policy and Procedure
          for Use of Corporate Names in HOLLIS

______________________________________________
Kate Bowers
Processing Archivist
Harvard University Archives
Cambridge, MA 02138
voice:  (617) 495-2461
fax:    (617) 495-8011
email:  kate_bowers@harvard.edu

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