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Scope: This document lists the MARC fields that are treated differently under the new current rules for cataloging manuscripts and archives, Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS), compared with the previous rules, Archives, Personal Papers, and Manuscripts (APPM).
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Unit: LTS Special Materials
Date last reviewed: 08/2629/20152016
Date of next review: August 20162017
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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).
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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]
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545 Administrative/ biographical history, if applicable. First indicator: 0 for biographical information, 1 for administrative history (of an organization, etc.)
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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.
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506 1_ Conditions governing access: RMC will use 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
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$3 Some letters are $a illegible due to water damage.
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538 Technical access element (required if applicable)Anchor E E
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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.Anchor G G
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) as appropriate. For more information on these, see Procedure 91, "Details on Fields Used in Manuscript Cataloging."
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