Scope: This document lists the MARC fields that are required, or required if applicable, under the current rules for cataloging manuscript and archival collections, Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS).
Contact: Margaret Nichols
Unit: LTS Special Materials
Date last reviewed: 09/06/2017
Date of next review: August 2018
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).
Leader: Fill In
Date(s)
520 Scope and Content
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
Leader: fill in
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)
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 1902-1904
Kiplingiana, $f circa 1891-1954, $g bulk 1891-1924 (use of bulk dates is optional in DACS)
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 2.3.19).
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.
300 Extent: spell out the words, e.g. 35 cubic feet. You can include in this field both a measurement and a count. RMC practice: To help us gather sound estimates of the amount of space our collections are taking up, always express the extent in cubic feet.
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.)
520 Scope and content
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 the collection's organization, $b for information on its arrangement.
Example:
351 $a Organized into 3 series: Manuscripts, correspondence, and photographs. $b Arrangement: Manuscripts, photographs, and outgoing correspondence are in chronological order. Incoming correspondence is in alphabetical order by correspondent.
506 1_ Conditions governing access: RMC uses this field only when access is restricted. Use first indicator 1 if there are restrictions.
Examples:
$3 Letters from Susie Bright are $a restricted until 2010.
$3 Some letters are $a illegible due to water damage.
538 Technical access element (required if applicable)
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.
540 Conditions governing use (required if applicable), e.g. restrictions on reproduction due to copyright (DACS 4.4.6, 4.4.8-9)
Note: RMC 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.
546 Languages and scripts 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 the alphabet or script used (such as Cyrillic, Fraktur, etc.), if noteworthy. The 546 $b is used to describe a specific script or hand, not the quality or general characteristics of the handwriting such as the use of cursive vs. block letters or the like.
Examples:
$3 Pamphlets in $a German; $b Fraktur.
$a In English. $3 Early (16th-century) documents are in $b Secretary hand.
600, 610, 611, 630, 650, 651, and/or 655 Access fields (subjects or form/genre) 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.
852 Name and address of repository. RMC does 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 required, or required if applicable.