[DCRM-L] MARC "Type" codes for MSS and reproductions of MSS

[Matthew C. Haugen]

Hi all,

MARC and OCLC guidance for the Leader/06 position for "Type of record"
provide guidance on the use of  the Type codes t, d, and f for
manuscript/unpublished text, notated music, and cartographic material,
respectively, as well as for microform reproductions thereof. But I am
finding the guidance on electronic reproductions of manuscript material to
be less clear, and seemingly contradictory. I am wondering what Type codes
other institutions are using for electronic reproductions of manuscripts?

MARC format guidelines <http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bdleader.html>
say: "The type of content characteristics described by the codes take
precedence over the microform characteristics of the item. Computer files
are identified by a distinctive Type of record code only if they belong to
certain categories of electronic resources as specified below; in all other
cases the type of content characteristics described by the other codes take
precedence over the computer file characteristics of the item."

OCLC's guidance <https://www.oclc.org/bibformats/en/fixedfield/type.html> says
roughly the same thing, but then adds another detail not present in MARC
documentation that seems contradictory: "For online resources, use codes a,
c, and e instead of their manuscript counterparts t, d, and f, since all
online resources are considered published."

When we image manuscript material here, our workflow includes deriving
"ebook" records for the electronic reproductions from the original catalog
record for the manuscript. Type code is currently not being changed during
that workflow. Also, changing the Type code value would affect faceting in
our local catalog, namely whether or not electronic reproductions of
manuscripts would be retrieved alongside the originals in searches limited
by the format type of manuscript.

Thanks for any advice you may have on this.

Matt

-- 
Matthew C. Haugen
Rare Book Cataloger
Columbia University Libraries
E-mail: matthew.haugen at columbia.edu
Phone: 212-851-2451
Pronouns: he/him/his
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