Physical description
The physicial description should give information about the extent, illustrative material and the size of the item. It should be recorded in a 300 field.
Extent
All leaves in an item should be recorded, including blank leaves and unnumbered leaves. The only exception is blank pages that have been added as part of the binding process, if this can be easily identified.
Transcribe page numbers as they are written in the item, counting any unnumbered pages and supplying this number in square brackets, and recording any different numbering sequences, e.g. ix, [8], 145 pages.
If the item has multiple numbering sequences in the same number form, transcribe page numbers in the 300, e.g. xii, [1], 35, 35, [1] pages. Add a 500 note explaining the numbering (see DCRMR 6.21.424 for further examples and example notes).
If leaves are only printed or numbered on one side, record the page count as leaves, e.g. 48 leaves. Where leaves are printed on both sides, but only numbered on one, record leaves and add a 500 note.
If the item includes plates, count and record these after the page count, e.g. ix, [8], 145 pages, [8] pages of plates.
Missing pages
If you know the item is missing pages (e.g. you are copying a record from a complete copy), record this by adding (incomplete) after the page statement, e.g. ix, 162 pages (incomplete).
Add a note in a 500 field explaining the missing pages.
If you believe the item is missing pages but cannot find a perfect copy record to compare (e.g. pages 12 and 13 are missing but we hold a unique edition), also record this by adding (incomplete) after the page statement.
Note in a 500 field that the extent is based on an incomplete copy.
No numbering
If there are no page or leaf numbers printed in the item, count the pages and provide the number in square brackets.
Signatures
It is never required to record signatures, but keep in records that have been copied (if accurate) and add if time and knowledge allows.
Signatures should be recorded in a 500 note and prefaced with 'Signatures:', e.g. Signatures: [A]⁴ B-C⁴ D² E-G⁴ H². See DCRMR 6.215.44 for further examples and information.
Resources for recording signatures:
Illustrations
Record when an item contains illustrative content. Use general terms such as ‘illustrations’, ‘maps’, ‘plates’. The terms used in this description should match with the terms in the 008.
Generally, ornamental illustrations, e.g. a border on a title page, do not need to be recorded in a 300.
If considered important, record further details of illustrative material in a 500 note, e.g. 'map on endpapers'.
Size
Measure the height of the volume in cm and record this, rounding up to the nearest whole centimetre.
If the item is wider than it is tall, also measure the width and provide this, e.g. 21 x 23 cm.
If the item is housed in a case or box that was issued with the item when it was published (i.e. not a conservation box), also record the height and width of the case or box, e.g. 21 cm, in box 22 x 19 cm.
Format
Record the book format (in abbreviated form) in brackets after the height of the volume.
Broadsheet
Full sheet
Folio
Fol.
Quarto
4to.
Octavo
8vo.
Duodecimo
12mo.
Sextodecimo
16mo.
Guide to bibliographic formats
Notes on physical description
Notes on physical description should be recorded in a 500 field.
Where relevant, the following notes should always be included:
Numbering irregularities (e.g. leaves only numbered on one side, pages not numbered using Arabic or Roman numerals, misprints, multiple number sequences)
Further details of illustrative material
Binding
Information about an item's binding should be recorded in a 563.
Use terms from the RBMS controlled vocabulary where possible.
AbeBooks has a useful guide to understanding book bindings
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