[DCRM-L] [External] Cataloging and Discoverability for Brief Manuscripts?

[Katy Rawdon]

Hi Rebecca,

We have a lot of these sorts of items, and have a system that works pretty well for us. Generally, we create an individual resource record in ArchivesSpace for each item, then export MARCXML and import that into Alma - so, they do get both an individual MARC record and an individual ASpace record. We house them all together in document boxes, and assign them the "Classification" in ASpace of "Individual Manuscripts and Small Collection," and give them a box and folder number in those boxes (unless it's a bound manuscript volume, then it sits on the shelf outside of a box). There are also a few of these items that live in our rare book vault instead of in our regular stacks, and those just get a different location in ASpace.

You can see all of those ASpace records here: https://scrcarchivesspace.temple.edu/repositories/4/classifications/29

And you can see the MARC records here: https://librarysearch.temple.edu/catalog?f[collection_ms][]=Individual+Manuscripts+and+Small+Collections

Patrons seems to find this an easy way to discover these items (at least, no one's complained), and staff like it because they're all in one place, organized by call number, and they're fairly easy to page.

Best,
Katy

_______________
Katy Rawdon | she/they
Coordinator of Technical Services
Special Collections Research Center
Temple University Libraries
krawdon at temple.edu<mailto:krawdon at temple.edu> | (215) 204-5250

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The Special Collections Research Center<http://library.temple.edu/scrc> (SCRC) is the principal repository for and steward of the Libraries’ rare books, manuscripts, archives, and University records.  You can follow us for news and updates on Twitter<http://twitter.com/scrc_temple>, Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/SCRCTemple/>, or Instagram<https://www.instagram.com/temple_scrc>.


________________________________
From: DCRM-L <dcrm-l-bounces at lib.byu.edu> on behalf of Rebecca Flore via DCRM-L <dcrm-l at lib.byu.edu>
Sent: Thursday, March 26, 2026 9:59 AM
To: DCRM Users' Group <dcrm-l at lib.byu.edu>
Cc: Rebecca Flore <rflore at uchicago.edu>
Subject: [External] [DCRM-L] Cataloging and Discoverability for Brief Manuscripts?


Hi all,



I’m looking for some collective wisdom. My library is rethinking how we how we make our describe and make discoverable our brief (1- or 2-sheet) manuscripts like letters, legal documents, printed forms completed in manuscript, etc. after many decades of inconsistent practice, and I’d love to hear how other libraries treat these. Does your institution have individual MARC records for each brief manuscript? Do you have a made-up collection with an EAD finding aid that lists all your brief manuscripts? Both? Some other solution? Is there anything you like or dislike about your current system, and do patrons generally seem to be able to find what they’re looking for? Feel free to reply off- or on-list.



Over the years my library has alternated between treating brief manuscripts in two ways. (1) Cataloging them individually and giving them a holdings location in our Codex Manuscripts Collection—good for discovery since each item is getting its own name and subject access points, but a bit of a misleading since they’re not codices. (2) Adding them to a made-up collection with a finding aid named the Historical Manuscripts Collection—a nice one-stop shop for patrons looking for letters in our collection, but they lack subject access points and our finding aids database only does keyword searching. Neither approach is perfect, so I’m hoping we can follow the lead of other libraries.

Best wishes,

Rebecca

______________________________

Rebecca Flore, PhD
Special Collections Metadata Librarian
The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center
The University of Chicago
Regenstein Library
1100 E. 57th St., Chicago, IL 60637

T 773.702.7602
rflore at uchicago.edu<mailto:rflore at uchicago.edu>

lib.uchicago.edu/scrc<http://lib.uchicago.edu/scrc> | additional info


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