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Barbara McCormack
Special Collections Librarian, NUI Maynooth
02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 1
Learn about rare book
cataloguing: an introduction to
key concepts and standards
Why bother?
• Over 13 million items in UK libraries
have not yet been catalogued
• This means that 1 in every 5 books
is part of a backlog
• 53 libraries in the UK have special
collections material that needs
cataloguing
• This equates to over 7 million items
– plenty of opportunities!
02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 2
X
According to the following report: Mertens, Mike et. al (2012) Hidden collections: Report of the findings of the RLUK Retrospective
Cataloguing Survey in association with the London Library. RLUK, London. ©
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But why the backlog?
02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 3
Time intensive
Requires expertise
Cutbacks
Benefits of learning about rare books
• Helps you make informed decisions about
your own library collections
• Enhances your skill set
• Gives you a good overview of the issues and
complexities involved
• Helps to prepare you for new opportunities as
they arise
• Gives you the tools to carry out further
research and study
02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 4
Today I hope to...
• Introduce the basic concepts of rare book
cataloguing and equip you with the tools to
further your learning
• Give you a taster – an insight into the
management and processing of rare books
• Introduce the technical aspects of rare book
cataloguing including: collation, illustrations,
provenance and binding
02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 5
By the end of my talk you will know:
• What constitutes a rare book
• The key characteristics of rare
books
• Why descriptive cataloguing is
important
• What standards you should use
02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 6
A note on terminology
Rare Books Special
Collections
Early Printed Books
Out of Copyright
Collections
• Rare Books – typically refers to
early printed books but can include
manuscripts
• Special Collections – encompasses
books, archives, manuscripts and
other formats
• Early Printed Books – incunabula,
post-incunabula, other important
print periods
• Out of Copyright Collections –
printed material without copyright
restrictions
02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 7
Characteristics of these collections
• Monetary value
• Cultural & historical value Value
• Cut-off point e.g. Pre-1800, 1850,1900
• Incunabula/Post-incunabula Age
• Physical characteristics
• Annotations etc. Uniqueness
• Significant owners
• Locally or globally important Provenance
02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 8
Descriptive cataloguing
• Creation of a high quality bibliographic record,
describes the book as an artefact
• Analysis of text block and binding
• Item/copy level description
• Includes details on: illustrations, paper,
provenance, format etc.
02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 9
Benefits of descriptive cataloguing
02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 10
• Enables users to select material
for further consultation
• Reduces unnecessary access to
fragile materials
• Facilitates item retrieval
• Enables the identification of
material for exhibition,
digitisation and conservation
• Informs storage decisions
Image from a ‘Glossary of
ecclesiastical ornament and
costume’ by A.W.N. Pugin.
London, 1846.
© Russell Library (http://library.nuim.ie)
Descriptive cataloguing: main aspects
Paper Format Binding
Provenance Illustrations
02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 11
Paper
• Handmade paper can be characterised as
laid paper or o e paper
– Laid paper is derived from linen rags which have
been pulped and set into wire moulds
– Wove paper was produced c1750s and uses a fine
wire mesh
• Machine made paper
– Emerged in early 1800s, in common use by 1830s
– Wood pulp introduced c.1850s, by the early 1900s
most paper is made from wood pulp
02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 12
Chain lines • Handmade paper until the 1750s was made by a
process of cutting and pulping rags, diluting this
formula and storing it in vats
• A wire mould in a wooden frame was dipped into
this solution and laid to one side for drying. Each
sheet was then cut to size
• The wire mould left an impression on the paper. The
ertical lines are kno n as chain lines . Thinner, horizontal lines are also visible on the paper. These
are kno n as ire lines
• To find chain lines - hold up a sheet of handmade
paper to the light, the lines should be visible 02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 13
02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 14
Horizontal
wire lines
Vertical
chain lines
Watermarks
• Images or designs visible on handmade paper
due to patterns or shapes in the wire moulds
• Used by printers to authenticate their works
• Useful for dating books and establishing place
of publication
• Can also be used to determine formats
02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 15
Format
• The format of a book is the relationship
between the original sheet of paper and the
number of leaves or pages produced from that
sheet
• A single SHEET is folded a number of times to
make LEAVES, which are then grouped
together to make GATHERINGS
• Most common formats include: folio, quarto
and octavo
02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 16
Folio
• A sheet is folded once
to produce two leaves
• Each leaf equates to
two pages – therefore a
folio produces four
pages in a publication
• Chain lines are vertical
• Watermark typically in
centre of page
02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 17
Quarto
• A sheet is folded twice,
producing four leaves
• This equates to eight
pages
• Chain lines are
horizontal
• Watermark visible on
several different pages
02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 18
Octavo
• A sheet is folded three
times, producing eight
leaves or sixteen pages
• Chain lines are vertical
• Octavo format became
increasingly popular in
the sixteenth century to
minimise capital
expenditure
02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 19
Signatures
• Signatures assisted the printer during the
imposition stage to determine collation
• The first leaf of each gathering was assigned a
letter or symbol (based on a 23 letter alphabet
which excludes w, u, j)
• Typically letters are assigned to a gathering
and numbers are allocated to each letter in
sequential order
• Not all lea es in a gathering are signed
02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 20
Membrane
• Vellum or parchment was
used for printing,
particularly in the early
years
• Often this was for
prestigious or liturgical
works e.g. Books of
Hours
• Vellum – calfskin
• Parchment – sheep, goat,
pig, deer skin
02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 21
1526 Book of Hours, printed in Paris on
animal membrane, in this case vellum
© Russell Library
(http://library.nuim.ie)
Bindings
• Rare book cataloguing includes a description of
binding materials:
– Outer materials that cover the boards and spine.
For example: Vellum, goatskin, pigskin, sheepskin
– Decoration. For example: marbled endpapers,
gold tooling, blind tooling, clasps and ties
– Boards. For example: wooden boards and
pasteboard
• Other information such as: headbands, gilded edges,
binders name, approximate date of binding and
manuscript fragments
02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 22
Manuscript fragment
Manuscript fragments (also
known as binders waste) were
used in the early days of
printing to reinforce spines or
cover boards.
This particular example is
from a book printed in
Strasbourg in 1482 by the
printer Martin Flach.
02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 23
© Russell Library (http://library.nuim.ie)
Provenance • Details about previous
owners, institutions,
handling and usage
• Useful for researchers
and book historians
• Examples include:
– Inscriptions
– Bookplates
– Shelf-marks
– Library stamps
– Annotations
02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 24
Bookplate from the collections of the
Russell Library
© Russell Library (http://library.nuim.ie)
Printer s de ice
• Symbol or logo representing the
printer of a text
• Used since the mid-fifteenth
century
• Introduced to prevent forgeries
and to add authority to a work
– early trademark
• Also kno n as a Printer s Mark
02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 25
Printers device of the Parisian printer
Pierre Levet (fl. 1485-1517)
© Russell Library (http://library.nuim.ie)
Illustrations: woodcuts
02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 26
• Printing technique using
woodblocks – an image was
carved into a woodblock,
inked and then printed in
relief
• Woodblocks were typically
5x7 inches
• Primary technique for
illustrations until the
sixteenth century
© Russell Library (http://library.nuim.ie)
© Russell Library (http://library.nuim.ie)
Other illustrations • Copper plate images – a design or image was
carved into a copper plate which was then used
for printing
• Wood engravings - images were carved into the
end grain of a woodblock. This facilitated much
greater detail. Popular in the18th century
• Decoration – head and tail pieces, borders and
other details
02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 27
© Russell Library (http://library.nuim.ie)
02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 28
ataloguing of
escriptive
are
aterials
Cataloguing standards
• Descriptive Cataloguing of Rare Materials (DCRM) is
the international standard for Special Collections
material. It should be used in conjunction with
AACR2. DCRM is not yet RDA compatible
• DCRM(B) is the standard for rare book cataloguing
and DCRM(S) is used for cataloguing rare serials
• DCRM(B) describes the book as an artefact. It can be
used at minimal, core or full levels depending on
resources, expertise and the needs of your
organisation
02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 29
DCRM(B) guidelines – key points
• Transcribe title, edition statement and imprint details
using the mark of omission when necessary
• Punctuation – retain original punctuation and add
prescribed punctuation
• Pagination – detailed information on pages, leaves,
and plates
• Physical description – collation, illustrations etc.
• Provenance and binding – details should be included
in local notes field
02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 30
Conclusion
Today we have looked at:
- The definition of a rare book and key
characteristics
- The importance of descriptive cataloguing
- Rare book cataloguing standards
- Key guidelines of DCRM(B)
02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 31
Now please join me for a tour of
the Russell Library!
02/03/2014 Barbara McCormack 32
© R
usse
ll Lib
rary
(http
://libra
ry.nu
im.ie
)
Escaping the Dust and Rust
Cataloguing Records for 30 Year Release
Captain Claire Mortimer
Military Archives
Outline of Presentation Military Archives: An introduction Roles of Military Archives
Legislation
Stages of Release
Group Activity
Q & A
MILITARY ARCHIVES: An introduction
The ‘National Archives Act 1986
1990: section 14 – the place of deposit for the records of the Department of Defence, the Defence Forces and the Army Pensions Board
Cathal Brugha Barracks
2011 – Dedicated website: www.militaryarchives.ie
Flickr
Twitter @dfarchives
The role of the Military Archives today
Mission: to acquire, preserve and make available material
Close relationship with the NAI
Accountability and transparency
Our services: Internal queries and external queries Records management
FOI requests
Legal queries
Military culture and heritage
(commemorative events, DF
publications)
Academic research
Genealogy research
Media groups
Public lectures and talks
National Archives Act 1986
Transfer of records by end of year in which the become more than 30 years old
Regulation 5(1) states that records due for transfer in accordance with the provisions of the Act must be transferred to the National Archives not later than the end of the year in which they become more than 30 years old. That is to say, records becoming 30 years old in a given year are eligible for transfer to the National Archives by 31 December of that year
Stages of Release
Identifying records
Transfer and Reviewing Process
Cataloguing
Housing and labelling
Release
Identifying Records for Release Databases - Accuracy
Check – Time consuming
Transfer and Reviewing Process
Transferred quarterly to Office of the creator for review and recommendations
Abstraction/Retention/Disposal
Reviewed by OIC Military Archives
Final approval and authorisation from Director of Intelligence
Recommendation
Cataloguing
Performa from NAI
Military Archives version
Finding Aid version
Group Activity Using the distributed files and electronic performa,
review, catalogue and make recommendations as to whether the files should be released/withheld/disposed. In the case of withholding/disposal you must state your reason as one of the following;
A. Would be contrary to public interest
B. Would or might constitute a breach of statutory duty, or a breach of good faith on the ground that they contain information supplied in confidence
C. Would or might cause distress or danger to living persons on the ground that they contain information about individuals, or would or might be likely to lead to an action for damages for defamation.
Where the file/part of a file is to be withheld or disposed list it under the relevant column.
Where part of the file is to be released, state ‘Partial Release’ and list what is to be withheld/disposed
Thank You