Creating a bibliographic record
There are two main ways to create a bibliographic record:
You can also start with a blank bibliographic record, although this is not recommended for those new to cataloguing.
TIP: When cataloging it is useful to set Sierra to show multiple windows. This can be changed at any time through Admin -> Settings -> Windows -> Multi Window Mode.
REMEMBER: Never feel pressure when making a cataloguing decision. By cataloguing this material, you are already making a huge difference to its accessibility. Cataloguing, though there are standards and rules, also allows for cataloguer's discrection. Two people can look at the same material and make slightly different decisions, especially for trickier items such as ephemera. Always feel free to ask advice but don't get too caught up in decision making.
Note on MARC21 format and ISBD punctuation: At Wellcome we catalogue records in MARC21 format and include International Standard Bibliographic Description (ISBD) standardised punctuation. This is so that our records have structured, standardised data in fields and codes that can be read by both machines and humans. It also gives our data or records interoperability, meaning they can be shared/used in cooperative catalogues. By following these guidelines you will be creating records according to these rules.
Use of square brackets
Square brackets should be used for any conjectured information or where you are creating information with lettering that is not on the object. For example, if you are unsure about a date or place of publication [1680] or [London]; Or when creating a descriptive title or using words not on the object.
Marks of omission
Marks of omission should be used when you are using the lettering on the object but may be missing out information. For example, the lettering may say 'New medical product sold by Frances Bell at the sign of the bull and weasel at St Paul's yard with amazing healing properties, called Wonder Elixer' could be written in the 245 field 'New medical product sold by Frances Bell ... |bcalled Wonder Elixer'.
Multiple items
A single melinex sleeve may contain multiple items. Different scenarios require slightly different solutions.
if they are multiple copies of the same item, they may be duplicates that require weeding - guidance can be found here
if they are multiple parts of the same item, use the physical description field e.g. 1 folded sheet and 1 sheet, 1 folded sheet and envelope, 1 sheet and plastic film fish, and add a 500 note with |5UkLW at the end (to show this field note relates to the Wellcome copy).
if they are not part of the same item but one of the items is an accompanying piece of material, there are two options. If the second item relates to how the item came into Wellcome Collection e.g. an order form, it should go into the collection file. If the second item relates to the items provenance, add it as an accompanying item in the physical description field with subfield +|e and add a 500 note with |5UkLW at the end.
if they are contemporary related items which may have been purchased or found together, catalogue them as separate items but add a 500 note with |5UkLW at the end on both records.
Using a template
The template can be found through clicking 'New' in the top right corner and selecting 'EphInv: Ephemera MVR Inventory'.
Once selected, you will be guided through a series of prompts before editing the final record. At the end you will be able to change any field you created during the prompt stage.
Language
The first prompt will allow you to set the language. The default is set to eng English. To change the language, you can click once and type in the appropriate three-letter MARC language code. Or you can double click on the language and a list will appear.
If the item contains multiple languages, use the code of the majority language. After the prompts, you can add a 546 field to highlight the mix of languages on the item e.g. In French and Spanish.
If you need to add accented letters, this is a handy site.
Cataloguing date
Click on the field and press 't'. This will add today's date.
Country
The default is xxk United Kingdom. To change the country, you can click once and type in the appropriate three-letter MARC country code. Or you can double click on the country and a list will appear.
Where possible, try to be specific with the country or state e.g. enk (England), sco (Scotland), lau (Louisiana). However, leave at a wider level if it is not immediately obvious e.g. xxk (United Kingdom), xxu (United States).
Ref No
The Ref No is the item's unique object number. It will follow the pattern EPH / [old box number] / [number in the box] e.g. EPH/125/3.
Uncatalogued ephemera is unlikely to have a given ref no. To create one, start with EPH/, then the old box Ref no e.g. 336A, add another slash, followed by the number the item is in the box e.g. item 5 in the box will have the ref no EPH/336A/5. In the rare cases where a ref no has already been given to uncatalogued material, use it but make sure it conforms to the new pattern e.g. EPH223:4 -> EPH/223/4.
Title
The title is made up of three components:
Title/lettering/descriptive title [subfield a - REQUIRED] - 'a word, phrase, character, or group of characters, normally appearing in a resource, that names the resource or the work contained in it' [DCRMR]
subtitle [subfield b] - 'a title borne by a resource other than the title proper or parallel or series title(s); also any phrase appearing in conjunction with the title proper, etc., indicative of the character, contents, etc., of the resource or the motives for, or occasion of, its production or publication' [DCRMR]
statement of responsibility [subfield c] - 'a statement relating to the identification or function of agents responsible for the creation of, or contributing to the realization of, the intellectual or artistic content of a resource' [DCRMR]. This is can be single or multiple authors or a corporate body/institution.
Judging where a title starts and ends and who is 'responsible' for the work is one of the trickiest aspects of working with ephemera. Unlike a book, there is no set title page or layout, so you may need to create a title from information across the item.
The priority should be in creating a title from the wording on the sheet. If there is no lettering on the item, you can create a descriptive title. Here you would use square brackets as you would not be following the actual lettering on the object. This technique was used more in previous cataloguing projects even if there was limited lettering, but should be avoided if there is text available. If you do need to create a descriptive title, guidelines can be found here.
In creating a title, leave any physical description/extent to the 300 field e.g. newspaper cutting. If you feel the lettering does not provide enough detail as to what the actual item is, you can add a description to the 520 field.
A full straightforward title in the 245 field would look like the example below.
REMEMBER: unless a proper noun, words in the title and subtitle should not be capitalised, even if they are capitalised on the item.
Here we have a three pieces of information that fit neatly into the three different subfields.
However, many of the items will not be as straightforward.
All records require a title [subfield A]. The key is to allow for clear identification so always try and use the text which is on the item.
For other items you may also have a subtitle [subfield b].
Or a statement of responsibility [subfield c].
There may also be multiple people/institutions responsible for an item. In the subfield this would be separated by spaces and semi-colons.
You may have to pick out the best information from what is available.
If there are multiple separate titles on a single item e.g. when 3 newspaper cutting have been pasted on a single sheet, add them all to the 245, separated by colons and spaces e.g. The incombustible Spaniard :|bM. Martinez, the fire-proof man : Mons. Chaubert, "The Fire King". Use the 300 field to provide the extent - 3 newspaper cuttings mounted on 1 sheet.
For an item with limited text, or a title which is less obvious, it may be best to add a 520 description field to provide more information. This can be done after the prompts when you are on the main bibliographic record.
To make a clearer title, you can omit certain parts of the lettering using a mark of omission. This will be a space .... space. DCRMR guidelines.
Punctuation reminder: the 245 field must end with a full stop. This is usually just a full stop but could be from an initial or an abbreviation e.g. Duckworth and Co. or a truly amazing item that will astound and delight... The filed can end with a mix of punctuation as long as it ends with a full stop e.g. ]. or ?.
Do not use square brackets unless you are providing conjectured dates/places of publication etc or creating a descriptive title.
Imprint
There are three components to an imprint:
Location of publisher/creator
Publisher/creator/printer
Published date
Older materials may have a fairly obvious printer:
In this instance, because it is an obvious printer rather than a publisher or creator, you will need to change the second indicator from the default '1' to a '3'. This is the only scenario in which you will need to change the default indicator.
Most imprints will need to be created using the information on the item:
If the place/publisher/date is assumed i.e. it is not printed on the object but is written somewhere or there is a clear context, use a square bracket.
Publication dates are best as a single date, but can also cover a range.
If you are unsure of the date, use square brackets and a question mark. This can be either a single date or a range.
If there is no obvious location or publisher, add [Place of publication not identified] and/or [publisher not identified] but make sure you add a published date, even if it is a ranged estimate.
Punctuation reminder: the 264 field must end with punctuation but only one type. For example, this could be a full stop (.) or square bracket (]) but never both.
Some good resources for dating items, especially labels with limited information, are Graces Guide which provides details on Britain's industrial history, such as dates for soap manufacturers, and the British Book Trade Index which provides dates for printers working in England and Wales up to 1851 (there is also a link on the site to the equivalent for Scotland). This Early Photography website also lists early photography companies which were often chemists.
Physical Description
Extent = 1 sheet, 1 folded sheet, 1 bookmark, 3 newspaper cuttings mounted on 1 sheet, 1 box (folded), 1 stamp, 1 label
The extent should demonstrate how the item is expected to look, not how it is stored e.g. a item which you would normally see folded would have the extent '1 folded sheet' even if it was stored unfolded.
If there are illustrations, leave the subfield b. If not, delete the subfield.
For items with multiple sheets bound together - count the number of items and update the physical description. Use the 520 field for further description of the item.
If there is more than 1 identical item which have no clear copy specific difference, these items should be removed as duplicates.
Pre-November 2024, if a single melinex sleeve contained multiple identical items, the extent was used to record how many there were e.g. 2 labels. Tackling this legacy work around multiple identical items will come at a later period.
For unfinished items, such as when coming across a printed sheet which has yet to be folded and cut to make a booklet, add the expected extent and a note in the 520 to explain why it is different.
The example below is an 8-page booklet which was printed but never folded or cut. For this, put 8 pages in the extent and add 'Unfolded, uncut sheet.' in the 520.
One exception to this rule is if the item is a single page from a larger published work. In this case, do not give the extent as if it was the book. Give the title and extent as presented by the object in hand. However, make sure you add a 520 note e.g. Page 97 from 'Winter-evening entertainments; in two parts'. or Page 20 from unidentified book of poetry.
The decision made not to include measurements as it not required for a museum accreditation inventory record.
Title Source
Add a title source indicating how the title was compiled. Use the set text below.
From visual cataloguing guidelines:
Record the source of the preferred (main) title used in the catalogue record. Record if the title was provided by the creator, has been taken from the object itself, from previous owners, from supporting documentation, or whether the title is a brief description of the work created by the cataloguer. Where possible select the appropriate text from the list below:
Title provided by the artist.
Title provided by the creator.
The title has been taken from wording on the object.
This work is untitled: the title has been supplied by the cataloguer.
This work is untitled: the title has been taken from acquisition documentation.
Title taken from published source: [example: Catalogue of prints & drawings in the British Museum].
After the prompts - full bibliographic record
008
Filling in data you've already identified in 008 field. To open the field Ctrl + r
Date Ent - YYMMDD
Dat Type - default as s (single), but may also use m (multiple/range)
Date One - add date in the imprint
Date Two - only applicable if providing a range e.g. add the second date
Country - should match the country listed further up the record
089
Adding L negative numbers e.g. L0040437 would be recorded as 08900L 40437 (space instead of leading zeros).
On some items you may see N numbers e.g. N18718. These relate to Miro images, so N18718 = M0018718. For these, add the number to the ephemera spreadsheet in the inventory notes starting with the word 'Image Check' and highlighting the field in yellow for futher checks.
See images fields for more info.
773
For now, Nic is checking all 773s. If you do not add one, or forget to edit or format it correctly don't worry!
Use the box title from 245 in box level bibliographic record to create a 773. When copying from box level 245, remove subfields but keep the punctuation.
This field works like a series on the public catalogue so people can find items that were originally organised together under a theme. We added |iPrevious box title: to make this clearer to the user.
When a title has a subfield:
So, delete the subfields (in orange) from the old Title - but keep subfields |i and |t in the 773 field.
Keep the spaces before and after the : and ensure that the word after the colon is lowercase, unless it is a name or brand name.
Keep a space between the title and the box number.
The field ends in a full stop.
Optional fields
500/520 - use these fields for description/additional info if title not enough to identify e.g. if you have two items with the same title/imprint but one is printed on yellow paper while the other is printed on pink. use double quotation marks.
546 - use if multiple languages.
610/650/655 - copy and paste appropriate 610/650/655 subjects/genres and corporate bodies from the box level record. For definitions on genre headings, search the Getty AAT site. If there are no suitable subject/genre headings to copy across, have a look on the catalogue/website for headings which may be appropriate. More guidance can be found on the Library Cataloguing guidance.
7XX - add 7XX (i.e. 700/710) if they exist in box record. Technically this should match statement of responsibility
You can also correct anything which you want to change since working through the prompts.
The team decided not to use any copy specific fields to make things simpler. You can simply record any provenance/marginalia in the item record with inventory macros.
Duplicating a bibliographic record
If you have lots of very similar items that you need to create new bibliographic records for, it may be quicker to duplicate or copy a record rather than using the template to create a new one.
Make sure you have the bibliographic record open that you want to copy, then go to the toolbar menu (along the top) Edit > Copy record
You may be asked to select a template (use EphInv as usual)
An exact copy of the record will appear on the screen. The ONLY thing that makes it identifiable as such is the "title" of the record is New BIBLIOGRAPHIC (top left) rather than a b number. A b number will only be assigned when you SAVE
Make sure you check and change all fields, especially the 001! Also be sure to double-check the second indicator in the 245 field to account for the 'skip'. More guidance can be found in the library cataloguing guidelines.
When you are happy with the bibliographic record you can attach a new item record.
Last updated