DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGING OF RARE MATERIALS (MANUSCRIPTS) DRAFT 20150629 PREFACE Background Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (Manuscripts) (referred to hereafter as DCRM(MSS)) is one of a family of manuals that form Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (DCRM) (see introductory section I.1). It is based on Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (Books) (DCRM(B)) but also draws on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS), Descriptive Cataloging of Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, and Early Modern Manuscripts (AMREMM), Archives, Personal Papers and Manuscripts (APPM) (the predecessor of DACS), and other manuals to help ensure full coverage of the issues raised by individual manuscripts. DCRM(MSS) originated from a request in 2004 by the Society of American Archivists (SAA) to the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS) of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) to create a companion standard to DACS that would provide instructions for describing modern manuscripts at the item level. The RBMS Bibliographic Standards Committee (BSC) took on the task and appointed an editorial team made up of archivists and catalogers to develop the present standard. DCRM(MSS) bridges the gap between the conventions of bibliographic and archival description. DCRM(MSS) is based on DCRM(B), the flagship DCRM module, and conforms to it as far as possible, but it also draws on DACS; AMREMM; Archives, Personal Papers and Manuscripts (APPM), the predecessor of DACS; and other manuals to help ensure full coverage of the issues raised by individual manuscripts in their various forms. Differences from other DCRM modules and from DACS DCRM(MSS) draws on both DCRM and DACS. The most notable differences from each are noted below: Key differences from other DCRM modules include: Descriptions not always constructed according to International Standard Bibliographic Description (ISBD) Emphasis on describing what a manuscript is rather than on recording how it presents itself DCRM(MSS), 06/29/15 ‐ 3 Transcription de‐emphasized Brackets not used for supplied or devised information In‐depth instruction for devising titles and supplying place and date information Emphasis on providing contextual information Areas 2, 3, 6, 8 not used Area 4 used for production information rather than publication, distribution, and manufacture information Key differences from DACS include: Descriptions not always constructed according to General International Standard Archival Description (ISAD(G)) In‐depth instruction for devising titles and supplying place and date information Instruction for transcribing formal titles Instruction on physical description of individual items Manual does not cover creation of authority records Manual contains substantially fewer instructions on acquisitions, access, and use elements Acknowledgments Sincere thanks go to Bill Landis for setting this manual in motion by approaching the RBMS Bibliographic Standards Committee about it. Randal Brandt, then chair of BSC, appointed the DCRM(MSS) editorial team. Bill Landis served as an ex‐ officio member of our team, and we had two SAA DACS Working Group liaisons: Kathryn (Kate) Bowers, Collection Services Archivist, Harvard University Archives; and the late Roslyn (Lynn) Holdzkom, Assistant Curator, Manuscripts Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. We would also like to thank our LC PSD liaison, Kate James. In addition, we thank the many others who helped to test and refine DCRM(MSS) throughout its development: Members of the Bibliographic Standards Committee since work on DCRM(MSS) began in January 2008: 3 Marcia H. Barrett Eileen Heeran Audrey Pearson Erin C. Blake Ryan Hildebrand Nina Schneider Randal S. Brandt Linda Isaac Stephen Skuce Jane Carpenter Francis Lapka Aislinn Sotelo Ann W. Copeland Martha Lawler James Stephenson Lori Dekydtspotter M. Winslow Lundy Bruce Tabb Christine A. DeZelar- Michelle Mascaro Eduardo Tenenbaum Tiedman Kate Moriarty Alex Thurman Emily Epstein Ann Myers Seanna Tsung David M. Faulds Margaret Nichols Catherine Uecker Todd Fell Jennifer K. Nelson Members of the DCRM Steering Group: Deborah J. Leslie Randal S. Brandt Elizabeth OʹKeefe John Attig Francis Lapka Manon Théroux Erin C. Blake Nancy Lorimer Special thanks go to Deborah Leslie, Bill Landis, and John Attig for lending us their deep expertise on bibliographical and archival description, and for helping us navigate the process of having our manual vetted and approved. Special thanks also go to Erin Blake, both for commenting extensively on our draft and for lending us her computer projector at crucial moments when we would have been sunk without it. We are also grateful to the people in addition to the above who read drafts, attended our meetings, participated in the public hearing, gave advice, and test‐ drove the manual: Virginia Bartow Gordon Daines Karen Spicher Matthew Beacom Robert Maxwell Larry Creider Nadia S. Seiler We are especially indebted to the Folger Shakespeare Library for hosting the meetings of our editorial team twice a year throughout the development of this manual. We are most grateful to Daniel De Simone, Librarian of the Folger, and Stephen Enniss and Richard Kuhta, former Librarians of the Folger, and all of the Folger staff whose hospitality made our work infinitely easier and more DCRM(MSS), 06/29/15 ‐ 5 enjoyable. We would specifically like to recognize the contributions of the late Nadia Sophie Seiler, rare materials cataloger at the Folger, who participated with us in many cataloging discussions and tested our draft standards on Folger manuscripts. Her insightful comments, enthusiastic support, and passion for manuscripts will always be remembered. INSERT Thanks to indexer; credits for images; credit for design of cover and title page thanks to inputter into cataloger’s desktop (Bruce Johnson), Kate James for her careful reading and thoughtful suggestions. Production babies: Sylvana, Thea, and Bruce. Most of all, I am profoundly grateful to my colleagues on the DCRM(MSS) editorial team: Alison E. Bridger, Archivist of Bibliographic Information Systems, Wisconsin Historical Society Diane Ducharme (SAA Liaison), Archivist, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University Kate Moriarty, Rare Book Catalog Librarian, St. Louis University Jennifer K. Nelson, Librarian, The Robbins Collection, UC Berkeley School of Law Elizabeth O’Keefe, Director of Collection Information Systems, The Morgan Library Heather Wolfe, Curator of Manuscripts, Folger Shakespeare Library It has truly been a privilege to associate with the members of this extraordinary group, whose hard work, unflagging commitment, sparkling sense of humor, and ingenuity in the face of fire‐breathing intellectual conundrums are an ongoing inspiration to their colleagues and a gift to the profession. They are my heroes. Margaret F. Nichols, Chair DCRM(MSS) Editorial Team [date to be supplied] 5 DCRM(MSS), 06/29/15 ‐ 6 INTRODUCTION Contents: I. Scope and purpose II. Relationship to other standards III. Objectives and principles IV. Options V. Language preferences VI. Spelling and style VII. Acronyms VIII. Examples and notes IX. Precataloging decisions I. Scope and purpose I.1. Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials DCRM(MSS) is one of a family of manuals providing specialized cataloging rules for various formats of rare materials typically found in rare book, archival, manuscript, and special collection repositories. The term “rare materials” refers to any materials that repositories have chosen to distinguish from general materials by the ways in which they house, preserve, or collect them. Rarity in the narrow sense of “scarcity” may or may not be a feature of these materials. Together, these manuals form Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (DCRM), an overarching concept rather than a publication in its own right. I.2. Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (Manuscripts) DCRM(MSS) provides guidelines and instructions for the description of individual textual manuscripts. The term “manuscript” includes unpublished textual items in handwriting, typescript, or computer printout. For manuscript cartographic materials and manuscript music, it is recommended to use standards specific to those materials, applying relevant aspects of DCRM(MSS) as appropriate. DCRM(MSS) is intended to serve as a companion standard to DACS, which is primarily for collection‐level description, and as a modern counterpart to AMREMM, which is primarily for describing manuscripts of the pre‐modern, scriptorium era. Printed books, as well as serials, graphic materials, cartographic materials, and music, are out of scope. For these types of materials, use DCRM(B), DCRM(S), DCRM(G), DCRM(C), and DCRM(M) respectively. 6 DCRM(MSS), 06/29/15 ‐ 7 I.3. Need for special rules Individual manuscripts present unique challenges not ordinarily encountered in the description either of printed books or of archival and manuscript collections. Descriptive standards developed mainly for published materials assume the presence of publisher‐supplied information presented in conventional form. Descriptive standards for groups or collections of manuscripts do not support the detailed level of description sometimes appropriate for individual manuscripts. The additional guidance in DCRM(MSS) helps catalogers supply both artifactual information and the contextual information users need to determine the manuscript’s research value. I.4. Scope of application DCRM(MSS) is appropriate for the item‐level