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Scope: This document lists the MARC fields that are treated differently required, or required if applicable, under the new current rules for cataloging manuscripts manuscript and archivesarchival collections, Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS), compared with the previous rules, Archives, Personal Papers, and Manuscripts (APPM).
Because RMC is now doing its collection-level cataloging of these collections in ArchivesSpace, which does not use MARC, the MARC tags previously included in this Procedure have been deleted.
Contact: Margaret Nichols
Unit: LTS Special Materials
Date last reviewed: 08/26/2015 August 2024
Date of next review: August 20162025
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Note:
DACS rules are intended to apply to finding aids as well as catalog records. Fields whose names are in boldface below are required in all DACS records (although the MARC tags are required only in the catalog records, not in the finding aids). .
Name of creator (if known)
Title Leader: Fill In
Date(s); Extent; Administrative/biographical history
520 Scope and Content; Agents
506 1_ Conditions governing access
538 Technical access element (required if applicable)
540 Conditions governing use (required if applicable)
546 Languages and scripts of the material
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008: fill in
Place: nyu [country code for location of repository, not for where the manuscripts come from]
040 $a NIC $c NIC $e dacs
099 _9 Collection number
100, 110, or 111 Creator or collector, if applicable (if the repository is the collector, don't use this field)
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Name of creator (if known): If the creator's name is not already established in ArchivesSpace, search in OCLC for an authority record for it. If there isn't an authority record, and it's not clear how best to formulate the name, look it up in reference sources to see how the person/organization is known. If the name isn't there, use the form of name given in the manuscript or collection itself. If it doesn't appear in the material, search in OCLC's WorldCat to see how it appears there. If it's not in any of those places, use your best judgment to formulate the name.
245 00 $a Title: creator's name + nature of the materials + (optionally) topic, $f date (if you use "circa," spell it out; if the collection has no date, use "undated," not "n.d."), $g bulk [dates, if you have bulk dates]
Examples:
Alexander Gardner Civil War photographs, $f 1861-1865
Willard Straight diaries on China, $f 1902-1904Kiplingiana, $f circa 1891-1954, $g bulk 1891-1924 (use of bulk dates is optional in DACS)
John Nolen papers
Note: Use "papers" (for an individual or family) or "records" (for an organization) only if the collection includes three or more forms of documents. If the collection consists of one or two forms of documents, include those forms in the title (see DACS 2019.0.3, rule 2.3.1920).
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Date(s): You can formulate the date(s) in the way that you think best, as long as you are consistent about it. For instance, expressions like "1890s," "probably 1834," or "before 1925" are OK. Anchor B B
300 Extent: spell out the words, e.g. 35 cubic feet. You can include in this field both a measurement and a count.
Examples:
6 $f cubic feet (15 boxes)
2 $f cubic feet (200 items)
545 Administrative/ biographical history, if applicable. First indicator: 0 for biographical information, 1 for administrative history (of an organization, etc.)
If you use "circa," spell it out; if the collection has no date, use "undated," not "n.d." Use of bulk dates is optional in DACS.
Extent: RMC practice: To help us gather sound estimates of the amount of space our collections are taking up, express the extent in cubic feet whenever practical.
Administrative/ biographical history (optimal, if applicable): Briefly describe enough of the creator's life history, or enough of the administrative history of the organization that created the collection, to help convey the nature and significance of the collection.
520 Scope and contentNote: : Describe the predominant forms of material in the collection, the nature and subject matter of the material, and the creator(s) if known, major correspondents, or other agents who helped create the material. Note: If the collection is incomplete for reasons other than appraisal decisions, describe the gaps here (DACS 3.1.5).351 Organization/arrangement: describe the aggregations within the collection and their relationships, if applicable (DACS 3.2.2). Use $a for information on organization, $b for information on arrangement. Anchor C C
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506 1_ Conditions governing access: RMC will use uses this field only when access is restricted. Note that the first indicator for this field has now been defined: 0 (zero) if there aren't any restrictions, 1 if there are restrictions.Anchor D D
Examples:
$3 Letters from Susie Bright are $a restricted until 2010.
$3 Some letters are $a illegible due to water damage
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Examples:
$3 Correspondence from 1980 onward is $a on floppy disks, double sided, double density.
System requirements: Windows 95/NT; sound card; color monitor.
BetaMax.
$3 Numerical data is recorded in $a Access database.
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540 Conditions governing use (required if applicable), e.g. restrictions on reproduction due to copyright (DACS 4.4.6, 4.4.8-9)Anchor F F
Note: RMC will use uses this field if there is a restriction concerning use of the collection. This field may also be used to alert patrons that they need permission to quote materials, or to specify who owns the copyright, etc.
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546 Languages and scripts Language(s) and script(s) of the material (required; also, use the appropriate MARC language code for Language in the 008 field). Use $a for language note, $b for a note on in local practice, sometimes required): In ArchivesSpace, RMC requires a note on the language of the material only if the collection material is in more than one language; otherwise it treats mention of the language as optional, although it's always useful to note the language if it is not English. You may also note the alphabet or script used (such as Cyrillic, Fraktur, etc.), if noteworthy. "Script" refers to a specific script or hand (such as Gothic script, or Secretary hand), not the quality or general characteristics of the handwriting such as the use of cursive vs. block letters or the like.Anchor G G
Examples:
$3 Pamphlets Letters in $a German; $b FrakturSuetterlin script.
$a In English. $3 Early (16th-century) documents are in $b secretary Secretary hand.
600, 610, 611, 630, 650, 651, and/or 655 Access fields (subjects) as appropriate. For more information on these, see Procedure 91, "Details on Fields Used in Manuscript Cataloging."
700, 710, 711, 730 Access fields (added entries, e.g. for contributors, correspondents, co-creators) as appropriate. For more information on these, see Procedure 91.
Other fields we routinely use: Add subject headings and/or form/genre terms to the resource record in ArchivesSpace as appropriate. Use authorized Library of Congress Subject Headings. RMC generally uses the Art and Architecture Thesaurus as the source of its form/genre terms for archival collections.852 Name and address of repository. RMC will not use this field.
Note: The absence of other fields from this list does not mean that you cannot use them in DACS. This list is meant to highlight the fields that are treated differently in DACS than in APPMrequired, or required if applicable.