POLK
COOPERATIVE HISTORY PROJECT (PCHP)
Manual
for Processing
Local History Pamphlet Materials Using
the PCHP Subject Headings
System
By
Lucy
Sperlin & Ronald J. Baker
Second
Edition
July
2002
Funding
for this grant project comes from the Library Services & Technology Act, a
Federal grant program from the
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Purpose and Scope of the Project Manual………………………………….. 1
Introduction and Background………………………………………………. 2
Defining and Organizing Local History Pamphlet
Files……………………. 5
Storing and labeling Local History Pamphlet Files………………………… 9
Physical Handling and Basic Conservation………………………………… 12
The PCHP Subject Heading System
Purpose……………………………………………………………… 19
Integrating Locality and
Subject……………………………………. 19
File headings………………………………………………………… 20
Additional Subdivisions…………………………………………….. 22
Local
Flexibility…………………………………………………….. 22
Constructing the Heading for a
Pamphlet File……………………… 22
Deciding on Levels of
Specificity…………………………………... 24
Leaving out Levels of
Specificity…………………………………… 24
Dealing with border issues………………………………………….. 25
Setting up the
Files…………………………………………………. 25
PCHP Subject Heading:
A List of Major Subject Headings……………….. 26
Definitions and Scope of Major Subject Headings…………………………. 27
Appendix I: PCHP Forms
Pamphlet
File Conversion Worksheet
Archives,
Manuscript and Scrapbook Collections Survey Form
Bibliographic
Survey Form
Appendix II: Model
Collection Development Policy
Appendix III: Major and Secondary Subject Headings Generated
by
the PCHP
Appendix IV: Model Updating
System
Appendix V: Glossary
of Terms
This manual has been designed to assist staff and
volunteers of libraries, museums, and historical societies in identifying and
processing local history “pamphlet” materials, including a wide variety of ephemeral
items and items sometimes termed “documentary artifacts.” In its first edition, the manual was created
specifically as a training and reference tool for the six agencies
participating in the Polk Cooperative History Project (PCHP), a grant-funded
effort undertaken during 2000-2001 in
This manual introduces a system of subject headings
designed to provide standardized and convenient public access to local history
pamphlet materials and other resources. Use of the “PCHP Subject Heading
System” has resulted in a comprehensive union list of local history pamphlet,
archival, and manuscript materials in
The Polk Cooperative History Project
represents the first local history networking effort in
Monmouth Public Library (MON)
The Project was funded by a grant from the Library
Services and Technology Act
and
the
-
Lucy Sperlin and Ron Baker
Introduction and Background
The
PCHP Subject Heading system provides a basic method for organizing and
classifying local history pamphlet, archival, manuscript, and photographic
materials. The system will not, of course, replace standard book cataloging in
libraries, nor will it replace object-name based cataloging of museum artifacts
such as Nomenclature (sometimes
called "the Chenhall System"), but it will
serve to supplement both as a subject heading system with broad application.
In
libraries it will provide an excellent system for organizing “pamphlet” files,
and for referencing manuscript and archival collections. Museums will find it ideal not only for their
library and documentary artifact collections, but also as a way to supplement
artifact cataloging systems that categorize objects only by name.
The Goal: a simplified universal system
Because
many local libraries and museums operate with extensive help from volunteers, a
primary goal was to simplify history-related cataloging, without “dumbing it
down,” by creating a system with comprehensive, logical sets of terms that will
make sense to almost anyone. The major
headings have been carefully considered, to minimize as much as possible the
number of headings that the cataloger or researcher needs while, at the same
time, providing meaningful categories that overlap as little as possible.
Background
The
PCHP System for local history subject headings is an offspring of what is known
as the “Riverside System,” originated and used by multiple agencies in
Although
it took much of its terminology from the Library
of Congress (LC) Subject Headings, the ”Riverside System” represented an
important advance over the LC headings for those working with local history
materials. Whereas LC sometimes gives
priority to place and sometimes to subject, the “Riverside System” always gave
priority to place whenever a place name was obviously applicable to materials.
In other words, this system wed LC subject terminology to a standard and simple
geographic matrix.
The
“Riverside System” was adopted and adapted by a number of localities across the
country in states as distant as
In
the PCHP System, a refined version of the “Riverside System,” subject headings
were rearranged into a tiered, hierarchical framework that groups related
materials under a reduced number of major subject headings. The list of 52
major subject headings was devised by screening headings in the Riverside
System against those in the Human
Relations Area Files (HRAF) Index originated by George Murdoch. The latter system has proven to be a
comprehensive subject headings list for the full range of historical activities
that might be encountered in any local setting.
The Murdoch system, however, was created for anthropological research
and often uses terms that are unfamiliar to historians and local history
users. The PCHP subject heading system
might be considered a hybrid of the
The
PCHP subject heading system thus simplifies cataloging so that it can easily be
done by volunteers and non-professionals in libraries and museums. On the other
hand, professionals in these institutions will find that depth has not been
sacrificed to achieve simplicity. Main
subject headings have been carefully constructed as umbrella terms that
encompass a wide range of local activities, and yet remain constant. The local
library or museum can and should add additional secondary and specific subject
headings that are necessary and useful in researching its own service area. For
instance, in local history regions that encompass sea coasts, various sets of secondary
subjects will be much different than those used in a landlocked region.
The
PCHP subject heading format has been created for use either with manual or
computerized retrieval systems. Those who use computerized systems will find
that the tiered subject headings are easily convertible to fields in a database
system.
Defining and Organizing
Local History Pamphlet Materials
Local History in a "Pamphlet"
File
When
we think of learning about history, books may be what first come to mind. But the so-called "primary source"
materials used by authors to write history books are really the foundation of
our knowledge about the past. Such material may take many forms, but often are
found in bits and pieces in personal letters, notes in ledgers or diaries,
event programs, and hundreds of other small-scale paper items gathered in what
are often called "pamphlet files."
Taken
together and properly collected over time, local history "pamphlet" materials
should provide as valid a reflection of your service community’s total social
history as it is possible to obtain.
Without these items, your agency is informationally
impoverished or limited to what individuals and organizations arbitrarily
choose to save or what governments have collected out of legal necessity. The local history pamphlet file insures a
diversity and richness of information and interpretation. It “fleshes out” the bare-bones of the legal
record and of formal record keeping by groups and persons. In short, the
pamphlet file can be a democratic animator of your community’s social
history. As such, it should be as
inclusive as possible.
Pamphlet File Content
As
suggested above, the pamphlet file holds much more
than actual pamphlets. It is intended to
be a depository for any sub-book paper item that, because of its size and
format, normally would not be formally cataloged in a library book system. A
good rule of thumb is that printed items of thirty or more pages having the
characteristics of a book (title page, table of contents, and pagination)
should probably be treated as books rather than as pamphlets.
Pamphlet
materials will usually be stored in file folders, but the file may also provide
references to the location of oversize items or those items placed in special
storage. Some items typical of a pamphlet file are:
Booklets
Leaflets & Brochures
Handbills, Fliers, & Advertisements
Newspaper Clippings and Special Supplements
Newsletters
Menus
Maps
Election Literature
Magazine and Journal Articles
Posters
Product Labels
Certificates and Documents
Invitations and Programs
Advertising Materials
Small Guidebooks and Directories
Copies of Web Pages
Oversize
pamphlet file materials or items that are too fragile
for standard file storage can still be considered part of the pamphlet file,
and referenced through the pamphlet classification system, but stored
separately according to physical size or preservation and security needs.
Because
local history files gather primary source material, they are created for
permanence and are maintained with a high level of physical protection and
security. Libraries with “ready
reference” or circulating pamphlet files will have to decide which local
materials are more appropriately placed in these collections and which should
be moved to or placed directly into the more secure local history files. At the very least, local history files should
be kept in mind when reference and circulating files are weeded or when
outdated materials are removed from community bulletin boards.
What is Not in the Pamphlet File
Some
things, even though physically capable of being in the Local History Pamphlet
File, would not be considered part of
the pamphlet file. Manuscript and
archive collections, scrapbooks, photographs, architectural drawings, original
art prints and three-dimensional artifacts all should be considered as separate
collections. Additionally, some
materials normally in the pamphlet files but requiring higher security or
greater protection from handling should be moved to special storage. (A photocopy
of their information can be retained in the main file.) All, however, can be
referenced through the PCHP Subject Heading System.
Ephemera
While
the term "ephemera" technically applies to most pamphlet file
materials (that is, printed materials of short term or passing interest) it has
often been used to define only those items which are original (not photostatic copies or secondary accounts) and are over 75
to 100 years old. The reason for this
has been that special storage for these items often involves fire safe cabinets
and more staff retrieval time, and is therefore more expensive. Sometimes, however, even contemporary items
can become "instant ephemera" by virtue of the event they represent. For this project it is recommended that
any items of historic significance that are irreplaceable or very fragile,
should be placed in special storage regardless of their age. In any case, like oversized items, ephemera
can easily be stored separately and their location referred to in the main
pamphlet file.
Archival and Manuscript Collections
Archival
and manuscript collections often contain materials that are the same or very
similar to the local history pamphlet files, so how do you decide where these
materials are placed? The answer lies partly in an assessment of significance, in this case
significance due to the collection's origins from an individual or a group, and
partly as a matter of authorship or volume.
A
collection of original materials (written, printed, or graphic) produced by a
single individual, family, or organization (e.g. letters, diaries, scrapbooks,
meeting minutes, membership lists, etc.) has integrity as a collection and
normally should not be divided up by
topic and processed into the pamphlet files.
The value of these collections to the researcher is often enhanced by
the interrelationship of the items they contain and by their original
association. Therefore they should be
processed and stored together as separate “manuscript” or "archive"
collections and referenced in the pamphlet files by the use of “see” and “see
also” references. An archive would typically hold the materials of an
organization or group, a business, or other collective entity; a manuscript
collection would typically hold the papers generated by and/or collected by an
individual or a family. For example, the Monmouth Public Library, having been
given the records of the Monmouth Civic Club would create an archival
collection for those records, which would be referenced in its pamphlet file
subject headings as: MONMOUTH – Clubs
& Associations – Monmouth Civic Club (See Monmouth Civic Club Archive).
Storing and Labeling Local History Pamphlet
Files
File storage and containment
The
usual Local History Pamphlet File (or “L. H. Pam File”) will consist of
standing files containing materials in acid-free folders, stored either in
metal filing cabinets or archival document boxes, and maintained and handled
for long term preservation and security of its informational contents.
The
dimensions, physical composition, fragility, age, or uniqueness of local
history items should not be reasons for excluding them from your agency’s local
history pamphlet file system. While not
all items will be physically located in the local history pamphlet file, that
file will reference, for each topic, the location of fragile, oversize, and
rare materials that have been put in separate storage. Through the use of "dummy files" or
internal "see also" sheets the pamphlet file will connect the
researcher to other local history materials catalogued in the system that are
not part of the L. H. Pam File, such as manuscript and archives collections,
maps, photographs, scrapbooks, or artifacts.
Fragile
or oversize items such as maps, posters, and newspaper supplements should be
stored in folio cabinets or large, flat, acid-free boxes and referred to by the
use of “dummy” folders or location notes in the main pamphlet file itself. The same is true for so-called “ephemera”
items that are like material in the main L. H. Pam File, but, for reasons of
age, unique local history value, or other considerations, are
deemed to need special protection in storage and limited handling.
File Content Order
For
agencies with multiple information files, it may make refiling
easier to have a header designation at the beginning of each local history file
and item label. Monmouth Public Library uses “L. H. PAM,” all in caps, with
spaces between elements. A typical local history folder at the Monmouth Public
Library is labeled as follows:
L. H. PAM
MONMOUTH – Entertainment – Fairs &
Pageants – Victorian Tea Festival
Each
item within this folder is labeled the same way, using a # 3 pencil, which does
not smear.
Maintaining
an Authority List
Your
agency should maintain a list of current subject headings, both electronically
and in paper, for its own local history pamphlet files. This can serve as an index and updating tool
to your own collection. It is easily
maintained using a computerized list. It
should be an alphabetized listing of subjects exactly as they are found labeled
in your local history pamphlet file. The list should also contain any “see” and
“see also” references your agency deems necessary.
In
word processing your list of subject headings and typing folder labels, follow
the same stylistic format. The initial heading
element (geographical) should always be entirely in capital letters and all
subject headings, secondary headings and specific or proper names should be in
upper and lower case. Each element
should be separated by a “space-dash-space.”
Example: MONMOUTH – Buildings – Residences – Gentle House
MONMOUTH
– Buildings – Residences – Gentle House
(See
also MONMOUTH – Clubs & Associations – Friends of Gentle House)
As
each agency’s pamphlet files were processed during the course of the PCHP
Project, its subject headings lists were incorporated into a master project
list for the County, placed on the Polk Library Information Network (PLIN) Web
site (www.wou.edu/provost/PCHP), and provided to all participating
agencies. PCHP participating agencies
have in place an updating process for this master list and for a database
version of the list.
“There is still
nothing in the digital world like acid-free paper.”
Steward Brand
This
quote by Whole Earth Catalog founder
Steward Brand helps to spotlight the task of physically handling and processing
local history pamphlet materials correctly and the critical need for doing
so. These materials, once processed, may
serve differing needs depending on the mission of the collecting institution,
but in all cases preservation must be a primary concern.
In
public libraries, local history materials serve primarily an informational
function. In museums, such materials
may have important display and interpretive roles as well. In academic libraries,
their role may be to help support curriculum and administrative goals. But regardless of their function, local
history pamphlet file materials are intended to be permanent acquisitions, to
be useful for the entire lifetime of the institution doing the cataloguing and
processing or of the community being served, (or longer, if the materials are
of state or national significance). This
is a sobering thought, and a radical one in a world where most things are
expected to be replaced, upgraded, thrown out, or updated with great
regularity. Thinking “permanently” may
be a hard and unusual exercise, yet it is one that must be in the processor’s
mind at all times.
Knowing
how to prolong the useful life of your local history materials is primarily a matter
of understanding the forces that destroy these materials. While eventual disintegration may be
inevitable, it is possible to forestall the end for decades, if not for
centuries. For paper materials and other materials associated with the printed
word, the primary destructive agents are:
Acid (introduced in the manufacture of paper)
Moisture
Disasters (floods or fire)
Facts: Most commercial
papers produced in the
The
ideal pH for permanent paper is 7.5, with an alkaline buffer.
Prevention:
Counteract
acidic paper. Never put newsprint into
your pamphlet file. Copy clippings onto specially
manufactured acid free paper which has a shelf life of 450 to 750 years.
If you must save a newsprint item because of its artifactual
value, de-acidify it or, at minimum, isolate it from other paper materials in a
separate folder or a mylar
sleeve to prevent acid migration to nearby items. Finally, store all of your local history
pamphlet items in acid-free file folders, and interleave acidic items with
blank sheets of buffered, acid-free paper.
Never
laminate; only encapsulate. Lamination is a heat and chemical process
that bonds items to transparent materials.
Such a process is irreversible and often contributes to an early
chemical destruction of materials it is supposed to protect. Encapsulation
between sheets of mylar (an
inert material) is an easy, safe, and reversible alternative to lamination and
is useful for protecting fragile paper materials.
Facts: Natural light (especially direct sunlight)
and flourescent lights produce ultraviolet light rays
that greatly hasten acidic deterioration.
They also cause inks and colors to fade, and
can completely destroy the information on a document.
Prevention:
Shield
documents from ultraviolet light.
Never leave documents out in the light. Put
ultraviolet light shields on light fixtures in the workroom or where documents
will be used. If it is necessary to exhibit an original document it should be
protected by UV filters on lights, windows, or case glass, and/or it should be
covered with a UV filtering plexiglass. It is always preferable to exhibit copies
of documents or photographs.
Moisture (Relative Humidity)
and Temperature
Facts: Relative humidity (Rh)
is a measure of moisture in the air.
When Rh is above 63% it will allow mold spores
to grow. Almost any moisture causes
metal clips to rust. When the relative
humidity is lower than 35% it causes drying and increases the brittleness of
organic materials such as paper.
Relative
humidity exists in relation to temperature.
With a given quantity of moisture in the air, increased heat will reduce
Rh while cooling will increase Rh. In
Fluctuations
of heat and humidity may be even more damaging than a slightly below-par but
even climate. The more frequent the fluctuation the more damaging it is;
gradual, long-term fluctuation is less damaging. Thus, seasonal fluctuation causes less damage
than daily changes in temperature and humidity.
The ideal temperature for storage of paper is between 65 and 68 degrees,
with no more than a 2.5 degree variation.
The ideal relative humidity is between 40% and 50% with a 5% variation.
Prevention:
Monitor
the relative humidity of your building around the clock during different
seasons of the year, and develop a strategy for dealing with excesses, or
fluctuations, of temperature and humidity.
If possible, maintain a constant climate of heat and humidity in
the building or room where history files are stored. Leave the heat on at night. As the
temperature drops, especially if it is cold and rainy outdoors, the moisture
content of the air will increase, often to unacceptable levels.
Consider
carefully where you locate archival storage.
Avoid placing pamphlet files against damp outer walls, around janitor’s sinks
and basins, or in unheated basements.
Keep them from close proximity to heating vents, kitchen stoves, or
other sources of artificial heat. Be sure storage areas are well ventilated, as
moisture can continually increase in closed areas.
Avoid
base-metal paper clips and fasteners. Remove base metal paper clips and staples
from items and replace them with vinyl covered paper clips or stainless steel
staples. Base metal fasteners will rust quickly and will stain and damage your
paper items, particularly in
Pests (insects and rodents)
Facts: Silverfish, book lice, and dermestid beetles (“carpet beetles”) love to eat paper and
other organic material such as leather book bindings. Mice quickly destroy paper for nesting
material.
Prevention:
Always
screen all incoming materials
before allowing them into your archival storage area. If there are signs of past insect activity
make sure there are no active insects or eggs.
If
insect activity is encountered, consult current pest control literature as to
how best to treat. It is important to
treat long enough, or repeat treatments, to destroy
eggs or larvae which do the most damage and are not always visible. Freezing may be the best option.
Disasters
Floods: Store document boxes and files off the
floor. Never store history materials in a basement in which there are
overhead pipes that may leak. In any room,
do not store boxes directly on the floor; store them on a pallet or on some
kind of raised platform.
Fire:
Avoid storing materials in a room with a water spray fire suppression
system, unless it is a “dry pipe” system, and each sprinkler head is activated
individually. More damage is caused from
leaks, or from systems which are accidentally set off, than from fires
themselves.
Consider
fire-safe storage cabinets
for irreplaceable items. Fire-safe storage
is expensive and should be used selectively for unique irreplaceable items of
clear historic significance. If your
agency cannot afford such storage, the hard question to ask is whether or not
it should give up irreplaceable items to another institution having such
storage.
Human Handling
Facts: Last but not least, the majority of damage to
historic artifacts and documentary materials is from our own handling!! Most people handle historic documents just as
they would paper materials in their own homes.
They lick their finger and push to turn a book page; they shuffle
through a pile; they fold or unfold at will; and they pay little attention to
what has been put on top of the paper or what is happening to its edges.
Prevention:
Handle
documents with care! Always be very, very
conscious about how you are handling paper (and other) materials. Older items are much more brittle than
today’s paper, and even one that is just a few years old already may be quite brittle. Just like most of us as we get older, they
cannot be bent, folded, pushed around, or abraded without damage.
Avoid
unfolding papers unless you are sure they can be unfolded safely. Long-folded
papers will crack and break along a fold or crease. Unfold papers with the utmost care and, if
they appear brittle, do NOT unfold until you have “relaxed” them in a humidity
chamber. (And then
very carefully.) When a folded paper appears to be brittle, never open
it out and try to flatten it by pressing on the crease.
Store
documents and paper in a flat position. For most documentary material such as
pamphlets and clippings, vertical storage, in supportive folders, is preferable
to horizontal, because stacks of paper create weight that is detrimental to
whatever is on the bottom of the pile.
If flat (horizontal) storage boxes are used, they should be no more than
3 inches deep. When handling vertical files, be careful not to bend the folder
as you pull it out of the drawer or box.
Maps and other large items such as posters will need to be stored
horizontally because of their size. They
should be stored in shallow drawers or boxes, using map folders for protection
so that others in the stack are not damaged when one is pulled out.
Support
vertical files. Files in a box or drawer
need to be supported to stay flat and not sag. In a full box they will support each
other. In a partially full box or
drawer, fill the extra space with a spacer of appropriate size until the box
fills up. Be especially careful of files in long drawers. Use hanging files to support the files. Otherwise, be sure the sliding support at the
back of the drawer is set correctly to maintain an upright position for all
folders.
Avoid
pushing or pulling files in a drawer to access one in the rear. Every movement of
a group of files will cause some stress on all items in each folder. Try to identify the file you need by
carefully looking at the tabs, then open the drawer far enough to allow you to
lift it vertically from the file. This means that
files
should not be over-crowded. While loose files permit folders and their contents
to sag, over-tight files make damage almost inevitable when access is needed.
A Systematized Approach to
Organization and Retrieval of Local
History Materials
Purpose
The
PCHP Pamphlet File System is designed to provide easy public access to a wide
array of printed and graphic items produced by and/or about your community. The
system provides for storage and retrieval according to a comprehensive,
expandable classification system of local history topics. It is designed to
facilitate and simplify research on any local history topic and can be used
with standard database formatting. It can also serve as a basis for cataloging
other collections, such as photographs or artifacts. In this way it also
becomes a "switching system" to other holdings.
Like
its predecessor, the “Riverside System,” the PCHP system is designed to
emphasize geographic locality as the basic component of local history. Unlike the “Riverside System,” however, the
PCHP System is set up with four defined levels of specificity,
each treated as a data field that should be used in a consistent way regardless
of whether the system is developed manually or as a computerized database. These tiered fields are:
Geographic Location
Major Subject Heading -
Secondary Subject
Heading -
Specific
Name or Proper Name
The
first two fields, geographical location and major subject heading, should be
universally adhered to as critical components of any local history retrieval
system. Because the geographic area
served is usually specific to the local library or museum, and is often defined
by the mission of the institution, the institutional user can more easily
identify, sort, and limit new local history file acquisitions to the defined
geographical area. (Dealing with
so-called “border areas” will be discussed in a later section of this
manual.) Because geographical names are
placed in a distinct data field, the system is fully functional with existing
computerized databases using a relational database. If geography and subject are entered in
separate data fields in a computerized system, when retrieved together they
retain the full effect of the local history access system.
File Headings
Most
files will have a heading consisting of one to four terms. The first term will
be the geographical designation, and may be a self-contained file with
everything the agency has on that locale.
The second through fourth terms are taken from the subject heading list
and constructed to fit the subject heading system. The second term will be a
major subject heading, followed, if appropriate, by a third subject term that
will be a subdivision of the major topic.
If there is a proper name, such as the name of a business, organization,
governmental entity, etc., that will follow, in the fourth field. In rare cases a fifth and sixth data field
may be added, as described below.
Maintaining this structure will allow for easy database searches on one
or more of the four fields, providing consistent information and specific
information retrieval.
Geographic headings (Data Field 1)
Any
recognized geographical area or geo-political boundary may serve as a
geographic heading. This may be a state, county, or city, or it may be a named
valley or other recognizable, geographic region in which human settlement and
activities have taken place. Geographic terms will almost always encompass
multi-dimensional subject headings and/or have multiple social and cultural
activities associated with them.
Recognized, named regions that are larger than the defined local history
area, such as the "
Major Subject Headings (Data Field 2)
The
52 major subject headings, in the second data field, were mostly constructed
and named as broad "umbrella" terms with which the cataloger can
readily become familiar, and that will lead the user to the next level of complexity
or detail. However, a few major
headings are more specific than "umbrella" terms. If a special subject did not easily fit into
a broader category, and if experience had shown it to be a very commonly
requested subject by local history patrons, it was deemed better to use the
narrow term as a major subject heading.
"Landmarks and Monuments," "Cemeteries," and “Anniver-saries" are examples.
Secondary Subject Headings (Data Field 3)
The
third level or data field, the secondary subject heading, is at a degree of
specificity that will require review and changes to suit the institutional
user’s individual locality. It is
typically a subdivision of the major subject heading. Different geographical areas have different
crops or agricultural products that should be added as secondary headings.
Coastal regions will need to have marine-related businesses and industries and
related topics in their system. Those and many other regionally-specific topics
can easily be built into the system at the secondary subject heading level. It
is the ability to provide regional specificity that makes this system extremely
effective for local history in any area.
Specific Subject Heading or Proper Name (Data Field 4)
What
is normally the last level of specificity, or fourth data field, will be names,
or discrete subdivisions of secondary headings.
Either proper names or names of things (events, clubs, businesses,
plants, animals, etc.) always will be placed in this field. Adhering to the use of a single data field for
proper names will allow alphabetization for finding aids or indices, so that
materials on local named entities can easily be found by name.
Additional Subdivisions
If
intermediate terms are needed, in order to have clusters of subdivisions filed
together, they may best be handled by qualifying the specific term in the third
field. For instance, to cluster all the
churches of a single denomination you could modify the secondary term
“Churches” to become:
There
will, however, be occasions when modifying the secondary term is not enough and
more data fields will be needed. This is
particularly true when handling pamphlet materials from specific colleges,
universities, or other complex institutions that have many organizational
subdivisions and multiple activities and publications. The user of the system can add data fields
for additional levels of terms at will.
It is recommended, however, that these be thought out ahead and used as
consistently as possible within existing major and secondary subject headings.
In the following example, two data fields have been added:
Example: MONMOUTH – Education – Colleges and
Universities –
University (1997 -
) – Publications – Western Journal
Flexibility
is a critical component of the PCHP system.
As noted above, there is not only wide latitude in the use of Secondary
and Specific headings for use by the local institution, but also a real
expectation that local institutions will adapt this part of the system to their
own locality. New or modified major
subject headings, however, should be added only
when there is no other recourse within the system, and after discussion with other
regional users. All regional users should agree to a change in or addition to
the major subject heading list.
The
heading for a pamphlet file is simple to construct. The
heading will always begin with a geographic location and then will usually have
one or more levels of subject specificity following. It may, of course, consist only of a
geographic location if the amount of material does not warrant subdivision.
1)
Decide on the
geographic location to which the material pertains.
2)
Find the major subject
heading which the material talks about or represents.
3)
Look at secondary
headings provided in the list. If one
pertains, use it. If not, decide on
another term at this level of specificity that better suits the material.
4)
Look at the specific
terms or proper names already in use. If
one fits, use it. Otherwise use another
specific term or proper name that is correct for this material.
Write
the heading, beginning with a geographic location in capitals followed by a
dash, then subject headings in upper and lower case, using space-dash-space
between each subject level that is used.
Example:
Or:
Or:
It
may be easier to do this if you visualize separate cells or data fields, each
with a particular type of information.
Each vertical line on the table would be represented by a dash:
|
Geographic Term |
Major heading |
Secondary heading |
Proper name |
subdivision or publication title |
While
it is possible that a heading might consist only of the geographical location,
the extent to which at least a major subject heading is also used will greatly
facilitate research, and save the time of both staff and the researcher. Indeed, the greater the level of specificity,
the easier searches will be. For
example, “
To
reach greater specificity, your institution can subdivide a secondary subject
heading using a comma, thus leaving room in the fourth field for a proper
name. (Internal punctuation in any field
will always be done by commas.) Or, it can add one or more additional fields as
described above.
Example:
Or:
Or:
The
PCHP System allows you to leave out levels of subject heading specificity in
certain circumstances. Occasionally,
there is simply no appropriate term for a secondary subject and, rather than
inserting useless words before a proper name, it is simply better to leave out
that level of specificity. The
convention for doing so is to leave a space between two dashes to indicate a
missing subject level. This practice
will be common with the categories "Biography" and "Clubs and
Associations" and allows all proper names to be placed in the same data
field.
Example
1:
Example
2:
In
both cases, the lack of a secondary subject heading is indicated by the two
dashes after the major subject heading.
History
does not always respect present geographical boundaries, so local history files
must have a way of dealing with occurrences and places that are “just across
the county line.” To maintain the
structure of the system, these materials should be filed under the geographic
region or county name to which the material is pertinent, and be included in
the local history file. For example,
In
this case, a “see reference” would normally be used from “
Files
are arranged alphabetically, first by geographic name, and then by each
succeeding heading.
One
of the benefits of the tiered system of headings is that it puts files for the
same locality and for similar subjects adjacent in the filing system. Thus
researchers can quickly broaden their search to other topics in the same locale
or to other kinds of agriculture, for example, or businesses within the same
location.
PCHP Subject Heading System
(Authority List)
AGRICULTURE
ANIMAL HUSBANDRY
ANNIVERSARIES
ARCHAEOLOGY
ARTS
BIOGRAPHY
BUILDINGS
BUSINESS & INDUSTRY
CEMETERIES
CHILDREN & YOUTH
CLUBS & ASSOCIATIONS
COMMUNICATIONS
CULTURAL FACILITIES
DEMOGRAPHICS
DISASTERS
ECONOMICS
EDUCATION
ENTERTAINMENT
ENVIRONMENT &
ECOLOGY
ETHNIC, MINORITY, &
GENDER GROUPS
GARDENS
GEOGRAPHY
GEOLOGY
GOVERNMENT
GROWTH &
DEVELOPMENT
HEALTH & WELFARE
HISTORY
HOLIDAYS
HOUSING
HUMAN RELATIONS
LABOR
LAND & PROPERTY
LANDMARKS &
MONUMENTS
LAW & JUSTICE
MILITARY ACTIVITIES
MINES & MINERAL
RESOURCES
NEIGHBORHOODS & DISTRICTS (inc.
Downtowns)
PLANTS
POLITICS & ELECTIONS
REFERENCE SOURCES
RELIGION
SCIENCE & RESEARCH
SENIOR CITIZENS
SOCIAL LIFE & CUSTOMS
SPORTS & RECREATION
STATISTICS
TRANSPORTATION
TRAVEL & TOURISM
UNEXPLAINED PHENOMENA
WATER
WEATHER
WILDLIFE
This
subject heading is used for materials on farming, including overviews of
growers and marketing and state-of-industry reports. Usually it will be for items dealing with
growing of any sort of plant for food (such as home vegetable gardens), or
other commercial purposes such as textile crops or flowers. Cooperative
community gardens should also be included here. Secondary headings will vary
considerably depending on local crops, and should be created to match the needs
of the user. Material on agricultural
organizations should be placed under “Clubs & Associations.”
Materials
on a crop that is associated with or marketed through a particular city should
be placed under that city’s name even though most of the growing acreage is
outside the city limits.
Example:
Registered
wine regions and districts, or similar regions for other crops, which extend beyond
defined local history boundaries, should be treated as separately named
entities in the context of established headings.
Example:
Use
the same guidelines as for “Agriculture,” applied to the raising of animals.
When a farm has grown both plants and animals, place it under whichever was the
dominant or primary product.
This
heading is used for materials related to a one-time community-wide event of
civic significance, such as the centennial of the founding of a city. It may be
followed by the date of the event in parentheses.
Example: MONMOUTH –
Anniversaries – Centennials – Founding of Monmouth (1956)
Archaeology
This
heading contains information related to the recovery of historic and
pre-historic materials by archaeological methods. Include sites, artifacts,
results of various archaeological dating methods, and historical
interpretations drawn from archaeological data.
Use
for materials related to activities that are creative and life enhancing, and
for aspects of the creation and interpretation of art, literature, music,
dance, and drama. When a group is responsible for an actual performance,
information about the performance should be in this field. Information about the internal structure and
administrative aspects of an arts institution or its support group should be
classified as “Clubs & Associations” and cross-referenced.
Example:
MONMOUTH/INDEPENDENCE – Arts – Music – Reconstituted Monmouth -
Biography
"Biography"
is the major heading used for all materials on individuals and families. Because of the mobility and variety of life
experiences of people, two special conventions apply to the subject heading
structure of this category:
First,
"Biography" is always attached to the geographical term representing
the largest area of common local history interest for a group of institutional users
(in the case of the PCHP, this is
Second,
there will never be a secondary heading after biography, and two hyphens will
be placed between "Biography" and the personal name.
Example:
Note
that the personal name is always inverted, with last name or surname first,
followed by a comma and the given name.
This
major heading is used for materials relating to the history and architecture of
all separately identifiable buildings.
The information should mainly pertain to the structures themselves. Material about owners or activities that took
place within the structure should be placed in other categories and, usually,
should be cross-referenced.
Most
businesses providing goods and some providing services will be in this
category. However, because the exchange
of money occurs in almost every area of life, there are overlaps with other
categories that need to be considered.
Before placing a service or a provider of goods into "Business and
Industry" as opposed to "Communication,"
"Education," "Transportation,"
"Art," "Sports and Recreation," or other categories,
consider whether the exchange of service for money provides goods with which to
undertake an activity, or provides the activity itself. If it provides the activity itself, it
probably should be placed in the subject heading related to that activity.
For
instance, a roller rink or riding stable would be under "Sports and
Recreation" because they are recreation providers. A sporting goods store, however, where you
buy equipment to skate or ride, would be under "Business &
Industry" because it is providing goods, not the sport as activity.
An
art gallery is a business because it is selling art, but is not doing art. A pottery firm, while it may be doing art, is
manufacturing it in quantity as goods, so falls under "Business &
Industry" rather than "Art."
A
ferry or a railroad is providing actual transportation, so should be under
"Transportation." However, a
car rental or automotive retail business, while providing the means to
transportation, is not actually providing a transportation service, so is listed
under "Business and Industry."
A
simple way to think of the distinction involved with this heading is to ask
whether materials relate to a business that provides goods or that provides an
activity.
Cemeteries
often will not have a secondary subject heading. Use the convention of two hyphens between the
major heading and the proper name of the cemetery to indicate that a subject
field has been omitted.
Example:
All
information about the activities and special interests of children and young
people will be in this category.
Use
for all organizations that are not governmental. Almost any type of private
organization, from a formal private foundation to the smallest hobby club, may
be classified here. Organizations that are clearly related to the activities of
another major heading should be cross-referenced using “see also” in the activity heading.
Material
from “friends” and other support groups should be placed here, even if files
are maintained elsewhere on the institution being supported. Use a “see also” reference to tie the support
group and its institution together.
Because
clubs and organizations usually are requested by name, they are optimally
retrieved alphabetically. To achieve
this do not use a secondary subject, and use the convention of two hyphens
following the major subject heading to denote the empty secondary subject
field.
Example: MONMOUTH – Clubs & Associations – –
If
a specific organization is responsible for the creation of material, normally
that material is assigned to the organization’s file rather than to the subject
file of the materials. For instance, a
schedule of events published by Central Youth Sports would be placed
under: "MONMOUTH – Clubs &
Associations – – Central Youth Sports" rather than
"Sports and Recreation," and would be cross-referenced.
Organizations
created by government, such as commissions and advisory boards, and government-funded
projects should be placed under “Government.” Chartered non-profit
organizations, however, even if they receive government grants or other
governmental funds, are classified at "Clubs & Associations." Cooperatives (associations or quasi-businesses
formed for mutual benefit of the stakeholders), on the other hand, should be
placed under the major heading to which their activity pertains, such as
“Agriculture” or “Water.”
The
newsletter of an organization should be filed in a separate folder in date
order, under the name of the organization.
If the newsletter has a distinctive and regular title, the title should
be added in italics following the name of the organization, and
cross-referenced from its title in the library's subject heading list. If the
newsletter does not have a distinctive title, or if the title changes
frequently, place the term “Newsletter” after the organizational name.
Example:
Homeplace Reader
Or: DALLAS
– Clubs & Associations – – Friends of Delbert Hunter Arboretum and Garden –
Newsletter
Use
for materials on publicly-regulated electronic communications or any entity or
activity involving some means of systematic communication. This may include radio, postal service,
newspapers, telegraph, telephone, or more modern telecommunication. Materials on dialects and other local or
regional language variations may also be classified here.
Use
for any facility in the community that is an amenity used by many people that
adds to the quality of life and does not clearly fall under another major
subject heading (such as churches or recreation centers). A cultural facility may derive its funding
from government, from private sources, or from a combination thereof, and is
open to all persons. Such facilities
include libraries, museums, and art centers.
Senior centers, youth centers, and parks will normally be included in
the category "Sports & Recreation."
Use
for information about population, including birth and death statistics,
composition of population, populations that are changing in relation to place
(the change may be in numbers, in ethnicity, or in other characteristics) and
general information about population policy. Some materials will offer
demographic statistics and information mixed with other types of
information. Depending upon the nature
of the other information, it might be necessary to place it in the major
heading "Statistics" and to cross-reference with a “see also.”
Use
for major disasters and disaster incidents, and for reaction to disasters,
including prevention, emergency relief, and reconstruction. A disaster may be defined as any happening,
usually unexpected, that detrimentally affects numerous people and/or their
property and can include natural or weather-related disasters such as famines,
insect plagues, and epidemics or man-made disasters such as fires or chemical
spills.
Use
for information related to money, exchange of material goods (including money
substitutes such as barter), finance, determination of price and economic
value, the state of the economy, or the flow of goods as imports and exports.
Banking, credit, savings, insurance, and business cycles may all be included in
this heading. Information specific to
individual financial institutions would be classified under "Business
& Industry."
Use
for schools and all other material related to education of any kind. This
category covers pre-schools to higher education and includes specialized
institutions such as business, training, and vocational schools.
Use
for events that are primarily intended to provide a variety of kinds of
entertainment to an audience, such as a circus, fair, race, pageant, or annual
festival. Most music or theater performances should be classified under the
major heading "Arts," unless they are clearly light entertainment.
Includes information about the activities, interests, and
status of any recognized group of people that is not formally organized
(although organizations may exist for it or within it). Cross-reference
organized ethnic groups in "Clubs and Associations" or "Labor" (if a labor
organization). This category will include ethnic groups, gender affiliation
groups, groups of the handicapped, or any other group of people who affiliate
informally to promote knowledge of, or pride in, a particular identity.
Example: DALLAS – Ethnic, Minority, & Gender
Groups – Scandinavian Americans
Or:
MONMOUTH – Ethnic, Minority, & Gender Groups – Deaf Community
Materials
about deliberate or incidental cultivations of flowers, shrubs, and trees for
pleasure, public enjoyment, or home use will go in this category, including
botanic gardens, arboretums, conservatories, or other public garden
facilities. Home vegetable and herb
gardens can also be classified here.
Of
course, many geographical locations will be used as the first field in a
heading, preceding the major subject heading.
This category, then, is to provide a place for any geographical entity
that does not fall under the definition of data field 1, geographical
locations, as described on page 20.
In
addition to named geographical locations which do not qualify as first headings
in the tiered subject heading system, there may be material covering multiple
locations or geographic features (such as information about rivers and creeks) for which you would use “Geography”
as a major heading.
This
category includes maps, and will also include general and specific information
on boundary and boundary changes, and on place names and other activities that
change maps, such as post-flood river channel changes.
Note
that information which references a geographic feature but is really about the
human use of this feature, may be better placed under
another topic. Such topics for rivers,
for example, could include water quality, information about fish, watershed
concerns, or river boats, all of which might be better under a more descriptive
and specialized heading.
This
category will include all information related to geologic phenomena, including
soil composition, fossils, metals, gems and other minerals. See also "Mines and Mineral
Resources."
Because
government is involved in, or is a partner in, multiple community agencies and
amenities, it may be useful to distinguish between government activity which is
governance, and that which is service.
The service activities of government, or material that is only
government related, often will go under other headings. Governmental entities that are not strictly
for administration, but are implemented by government to improve life for
individuals and/or enhance the quality of life in a community, will go under an
activity-related heading (libraries and parks are examples). Information about other governmentally
related services will often be placed under "Cultural Facilities,"
"Sports and Recreation," "Health and Welfare," etc. Remember, though, that units of oversight,
such as the parks departments or museum commissions will still be placed under
"Government."
Use
for all programs and materials that foster people’s health or meet their
medical needs, subsistence, and basic well-being. This will include information on social problems,
medical needs, care of indigents, medical facilities, respite care, and
hospice. Information on housing, the
homeless, and shelters for them would be placed under the major heading
"Housing." Material relating
to a specific government entity dealing with health and welfare would be placed
under "Government." Animal
health materials (on veterinary clinics, etc.) would be placed in "Animal
Husbandry."
While
all files are “history,” this
category will contain materials that are likely to be broad in topic, or cover
a longer span of time in the history of a locality than most materials. This heading will contain chronologies, and
also reminiscences when they contain information about local events as seen
through the eyes of the writer. The
secondary or sub-headings should be changed as needed to be specific to
locality. For smaller communities, this
heading may be the only one used in addition to a geographic name file that
contains more contemporary material.
This
heading is for materials on normal civic and religious holiday celebrations.
However, if the community marks a holiday by some special annual celebration or
festival, then materials on these events should be placed under
"Entertainment."
"Vacations" fall under "Sports and Recreation," or
under "Travel & Tourism," even though they may be the way a
holiday is celebrated.
Use
for all material related to homes, housing developments, house building, housing
costs, group housing, shelters, unusual modes of housing construction, or
related material. If the information is
data on a specific house, rather than the providing of housing, however, it
should be classified under “Buildings – Residences," particularly for
historic houses.
Use
for material about individual and family life and relationships, and for group
human relation actions that impact individuals, such as acts of intolerance or
prejudice. If such acts are attributable
to a recognized, named organization or entity, this may need a cross-reference
to “Clubs and Associations” or other categories. This category differs from "Social Life
and Customs" mainly in that it pertains more to that which affects
individuals rather than manifestations of group custom and practice.
Use
for all material relating to employment and work. If migrant labor pertains to a single ethnic
group, use this heading and include a “see also” under "Ethnic and
Minority Groups." For most
professional occupations, information would be put in the area of service, such
as “Law &
Justice – Lawyers,” or “Education –
Teachers.” Information about an
individual's work or career would normally be found in "Biography." This is a case, however, when the recording
institution will need to determine in which category the material will best
meet user needs.
Use
for all material relating to land acquisition, land survey systems, ownership
and methods for claiming and dividing land.
Some isolated legal documents concerning land and property, or copies of
them, might be found in this category.
Cross-reference maps that show land claims, land surveys, etc. Anything
documenting actual land subdivision would also be included in this heading,
even though the political process enabling subdivision may be documented under
“Growth & Development.”
In
addition to buildings or sites declared to be historic landmarks by official
government bodies, most regions have known and named landmarks that take on a
life of their own in research because they commemorate events, places and
people in a wide variety of ways. This
might include towers, arches, gates, free-standing clocks, memorial monuments,
or even an historic tree or other unique planting. Official lists of historic
landmarks, and property recognition such as Century Farm designations, should
be included here. Additionally, many localities have ad-hoc landmarks that have
come to be recognized over time, such as a highly unusual building or
property. All of these qualify for
inclusion in the “Landmarks and Monuments” subject heading and would be placed
here unless better placed in another category.
(For instance, material on a single historic building, even if it is an
official landmark, would better be placed under “Buildings.”)
Use
for all information about law, crime, criminal trends, the court system, and
sanctions or punishment of crime. If a
suspect or criminal has been previously known in the community for non-criminal
activity, then materials should be placed under “Biography” and
cross-referenced. General materials
about a government entity that responds to crime, whether law enforcement or
criminal justice, should be placed under “Government” unless it concerns a
specific criminal act or legal case. For
convenience, when possible, individual cases should be named in the proper name
field.
Example: MONMOUTH – Law & Justice – Crimes, Arson
–
Use
for all information related to military activities, training, personnel, or
military installations. “Wars” is used
as a secondary term and should be followed, in the proper name field, by the
name of the war. Civil defense is
included in this category.
Example:
Use
for information related to the finding of or extraction of raw materials from
the earth. Use "Geology" for
surveyed but unmined mineral resources. Use “Business
& Industry” for the conversion of raw materials into goods or refined
materials.
Towns
and cities, especially, will have material pertaining to their downtown, or to
named neighborhoods or districts. Also include
in this section special projects in the community such as beautification
efforts, seasonal decoration with flower baskets, etc. In some communities, the names of
subdivisions are referred to rather than named neighborhoods, in which case the
subdivision information in "Land & Property" should be
cross-referenced from this heading.
Any
material that is specific to plants, with little or no overriding human
activity, will be placed in this category, including a locale's flora, both
natural and invasive, and efforts to save rare and endangered species. Other
information about plants, such as might be found in “Environment & Ecology”
should be cross-referenced here.
This
heading is used for materials on election campaigns and election results, as
well as pre-election material and political literature on issues. If specific to another category, such as
"Environment and Ecology," it should be cross-referenced. Material on a single candidate, including
campaign literature, should be placed in “Biography” files. Folders may be
subdivided by using the date and type of election as a specific name.
Example: MONMOUTH – Politics & Elections –
Elections – 1998 Primary
Reference Sources
This
category will include items that are organized in a manner that provides ready
reference on multiple topics, usually in a "look-up" format. General
guidebooks published on a community by chambers of commerce, newspapers, etc.
will be placed here, as will lists, directories, statistical information, and
bibliographies. If these items are over 30 pages and have a book-like format
(pagination, title page, table of contents, index), agencies may decide to
catalog them. Directories for specific
types of organizations such as businesses, social services, or churches, should
be placed under a more specific heading.
Material
pertaining not only to churches, but to any kind of religious, spiritual, or
supernaturally related thinking or activity should be included in this
category. Christian denominations can
be differentiated in the secondary heading field using “Church, (denomination)," and the
name of the specific church in the proper name field. While many church-sponsored schools will fall
under "Education" as private schools, schools which exist only for
giving religious instruction should be placed in this category.
Example: MONMOUTH – Religion – Churches, Episcopal –
St. Hilda’s
While most science and research takes place in
"Business & Industry" or "Education," some will be
independent either because it is undertaken by an individual, or because it is
an independent agency receiving funding from several sources. University
research, unless it is tied closely to classroom work, should be
cross-referenced to this category also.
Example:
All
information pertaining to people past mid-life, particularly issues about
health, aging, activities, and care should be placed in this category, as well
as information about senior activism and advocacy. Advocacy that is related to specific
political elections or legislation should be placed in "Politics &
Elections" with a "see also" reference in this category. Similarly, information about a senior center
would be placed under "Sports & Recreation - Facilities - Senior
Centers," and cross-referenced.
This
is a wide-ranging category taking in many aspects of the social and domestic life
of the community as a group. Anything
that is custom, or that is common, ordinary, or prescribed behavior fits
here. Trends, fads, and styles are
included also. General materials on
courtship, weddings, funerals, dances, church socials, and group expectations
for home life are filed under this heading.
Celebratory events for individuals, such as birthday parties, weddings,
or retirement events are also included, although if this kind of material deals
with a specific individual it should be placed in a “Biography” file. Information about individual human
relationships will be in the "Human Relations" category.
All
sports, sporting events, and recreational activities in which individuals or
groups actively participate (rather than are merely passively entertained by),
are included in this category. Major
sports, even though largely for spectator’s entertainment, are included because
of the active participants, and the vicarious participation of spectators.
Example: MONMOUTH –
Sports & Recreation – Golf – Rotary Golf Tournament
Statistics
are often published that are not specific to a single location, or that include
multiple topics. They would be placed
under this heading, and cross-referenced to other headings if appropriate. See also "Demographics."
This
heading is used for materials on all methods of transportation, transportation
providers, transportation facilities, and any other entities facilitating
travel. “How to get there” might be a
way to differentiate this category from "Travel and Tourism."
Not
to be confused with "Transportation,” this heading can be differentiated
by thinking of “people
going to other places” and “what they see when they get there.” Camping vacations, sophisticated travel to
other countries, volunteer travel programs, general accommodations for
travelers, and visitors to the area all would be placed in this category,
including information about visiting dignitaries. Guidebooks and brochures that
specifically promote an area for tourism would fit under this heading.
There
is continued interest in subjects like UFO’s and other unexplained
phenomenon. Researchers avidly search
for information on haunted houses, local ghost stories, and other such ideas,
warranting a major subject heading on this topic.
Water
is more of a critical topic than ever. This heading will be used for materials
relating to the water supply, both domestic and agricultural, other water uses,
and related materials, such as information about water cooperatives. Rivers and lakes, except for information on
their use as water sources, would be placed under the "Geography"
heading. Some items related to water may
be better placed under “Government” or “Environment and Ecology.” If so, cross-reference.
Weather-related
information, particularly that which seems out of the
ordinary, such as an unusual snowfall or excessive rain or drought, should be
placed under this heading. If weather is
severe enough to cause loss of life or damage to property, information should
be placed under "Disasters."
All
information about non-domestic animals is placed in this category unless the information
better rests in another category because of the animal’s impact on human
activity. Wild animals in a circus, for
instance, would be better placed under “Entertainment,” or a story about
cougars killing sheep might be better placed under “Animal Husbandry.”
FOR PCHP INSTITUTIONS
[Name of Institution]
[address or
geographical location (and governing body if appropriate)]
I.
Principles
& Purpose of Local History Collection
Example: “ The ___________Library, in 19__ , established a local
history collection to assist in meeting its stated mission “ …(excerpt from
mission statement)…”
II.
Purpose
and Scope of Collections
Example: “ The local history
collection is comprised of books, archival and manuscript collections, clipping
and pamphlet files, and ephemera pertaining to the cultural, political,
economic and natural history of
“In accordance with the institutional
mission, special emphasis is given to ……(as
appropriate, if any)…”
for
instance: DAL already has strength in
PHS is strong in agriculture, schools, churches,
genealogical and biographic
materials, industries, transportation, etc.
WOU in college related materials (duh)
…etc (after the Union
list is compiled, we may want to look for both strengths and gaps to consider
areas that might be taken on by one or another institution…)
III.
Ethics
Example: “The libraries and museums of the Polk
Cooperative History Project, including staff and volunteers, subscribe to the
ethics statements of their respective professional organizations.
“No staff (paid or volunteer), management or
governance may participate in the buying of selling for profit of materials or
copies of materials similar to or related to objects collected by their
institution.”
IV.
Acquisitions
criteria
(example)
A.
Scope
The library(museum)
will acquire, for the Local History collection, archival and documentary
materials that pertain to: (can be a
string or bullet list)
(example)
·
The lives and concerns of the residents
of …(town)… and
·
The lifestyles and heritage of the
people of …(town)… and
·
Government; agriculture, business,
& industry, economics of …(town)… and
·
Trends and changes of historic
importance to … … … and
·
Materials illustrative of regional,
state or national history as it specifically relates to …(town)…
and
B.
Consideration
criteria
(example)
Historical significance to ….(town) … and
Whole collections which do not entirely
fit the collecting scope and parameters of the Local History collection will be
accepted only if the collection is predominantly related to the history of
Material in very poor condition will be
collected only if it is an important part of the history of the area that will
otherwise not be available to researchers and the library/museum can provide
appropriate storage, and preservation measures.
If there
are special circumstances related to the immediate preservation or salvage of
endangered, unique historical materials, the library/museum may accept
temporary custody until they can be evaluated. If they do not meet the library/museum
collecting policies they will be transferred as soon as possible to an
appropriate organization.
C.
Methods of Acquisition
The
library/museum may acquire additions to the local history collections by gift,
bequest, purchase, field collection, transfer or exchange with other
institutions. Loans will not be
accepted.
D.
Transfer
of Title and Rights
The donor or seller transferring archival
materials to the Library/Museum must certify true, rightful and legal
ownership, or be the agent of the legal owner of that property. If the archival materials have been in the
possession of the donor for less than seven (7) years, the donor must provide
information stating prior ownership and means by which it was acquired. The
signing of a legal instrument of conveyance must document the transfer and
title of ownership of archival materials acquired by gift or exchange. A bill
of sale or similar record will document acquisitions acquired by purchase.
The acquisition of ephemera or
newspaper clippings that might be acquired piecemeal or serendipitously, or are
field collected, will not be considered an archival collection and does not
require documents for legal transfer.
Title and rights to acquisitions
generally should be granted free and clear and without condition, limitations
or restrictions as to use or future disposition. In some cases, however, such as oral history
tapes with sensitive material, or genealogical material that includes living
persons, it may be appropriate to allow limitations on use of the material for
a period of time not to exceed 75 years or the reasonable lifetime of those
affected.
If material belonging to other persons
or institutions is copied for use in the library/museum, reproduction rights
must be clearly stated in a form signed by the legal owner.
E.
Appraisal,
Monetary Value and Internal Revenue Service Compliance
Appraisals of valuations for tax
deduction purposes are the responsibility of the donor. Library/Museum staff cannot provide appraisal
for donated collections.
The library/museum will comply with
current Internal Revenue Service rules and reporting regulations regarding
charitable contributions.
V.
Access
Access to Local History collections
will be facilitated for research purposes, though finding aids and
catalogs. The Library/Museum will set
public access hours for maximum availability to the public within staffing
limitations.
Use of Local History collections is
limited to the premises of the library/museum, and archival storage areas will
not be accessible to the public.
Materials will be treated in accordance
with current copyright law.
Reproduced copies, including film, tape
recordings, and video or electronic images will be used and made accessible to
the extent allowed by legal restrictions and appropriate within current
archival practices, while safeguarding the library’s/museum’s interests in it
own intellectual property.
Copying local history materials within
the limits of “fair use” will be allowed unless there is a specific restriction
on the materials being used. Copying for
commercial use will be at the discretion of the institution.
In the case of Public Records held in
the library/museum collections, Oregon Public Records law, or the regulatory
practices, ordinance and procedures of the jurisdiction of origin will
supersede other institutional practices.
Glossary of Terms
Abraded: rubbed off or worn away by friction.
Acidic:
containing acids, substances that yields hydrogen ions
(H+) when dissolved in water and measure less than 7 on a pH scale.
Acid-free:
any item with a pH of 7 or higher, usually with an alkaline buffering agent to
prevent gradual reacidification due to atmospheric
pollutants or acid “migration” from adjacent materials.
Acidity:
the prime factor in aging and destruction of paper items. Ultraviolet light,
heat, and environmental pollutants interact with acid to break down paper
fibers. These interactions are
accelerated by extremes and fluctuations in temperature and in relative
humidity.
Active deterioration: when the condition of an object is changing for
the worse at an accelerated rate.
Agents of deterioration: the factors that cause the condition of objects
to worsen.
Airborne particulates: very small particles that float in the air
including dust, soot, etc. that can abrade or chemically degrade paper and
other materials.
Ambient light levels: surrounding and reflected light from a variety of
sources.
Archive:
the records of a government agency or private organization. Government archives
usually include founding documents such as charters, minutes of elective and
appointive bodies, legal enactments, reports, correspondence, contracts,
memoranda, permits, and publications. Archives
of private organizations typically include founding documents, by-laws,
minutes, reports, correspondence, membership lists, publications, and
scrapbooks.
Artifact:
any two or three-dimensional object, made by humans, which has historic value
because of the information it imparts about the era and setting in which it was
produced and used. See also:
"Documentary Artifact."
Artifactual value: the historic value an artifact or piece of
ephemera has as a physical object. This is in contrast to its informational
value.
Atmospheric pollutants: airborne contaminants or impurities that cause
accelerated damage to objects.
Buffer:
something that protects by counter-balancing or moderating negative
influences. Paper can be
"buffered" against acidity by the use of alkaline additives.
Cellulose:
the main chemical constituent of all plant tissues and fibrous products,
including paper and textiles.
Catalog:
the act of classifying, describing, and recording the information about an
item, for retrieval purposes.
Classification: the systematic arrangement of items into groups based on common
characteristics such as subject or physical characteristics.
Collection: a group of items related by subject, type, genre, and/or physical
format that are given greater value by their association and usually originate
from a single source or creator.
Conservation: steps taken actively to restore, in a scientific manner, the
original physical qualities of an historic item. See related terms: "Preventive
Conservation" and "Preservation."
Deacidify: to remove acid from, or to reduce the acidity of something by a
neutralizing process.
Decompose:
the process of breaking down into parts.
Degradation: the degree of decomposition or deterioration.
Deterioration: changes in the physical and chemical structure of something towards
a worsened condition.
Documentary artifact: a term usually used in museums to denote any
object which contains or stores, in printed, written, or pictorial form,
information which can be “read” for meaningful content.
Dummy folder: an empty subject folder with a reference to another location; the
physical equivalent of a “see reference.”
Encapsulation: a safe, reversible process by which printed, graphic, or written
materials are protected by being “sandwiched” between Mylar (polyester)
sheets. This is in contrast to
lamination.
Ephemera:
printed matter originally designed for short-term use, such as programs,
invitations, playbills, handbills, campaign literature, and advertisements.
With age, these items often gain in historical value.
Folio storage: storage for oversized items larger than 8 ½ x 14 inches.
Foxing: brown spots on paper due to impurities which have
reacted chemically with surrounding fibers.
Fumigation: to employ noxious poisonous gasses to kill bugs or other vermin.
Fungus:
any of numerous plants of the sub-kingdom Thallophyta,
ranging from a single cell to a body mass, that produces specialized fruiting
bodies, including yeasts, molds, smuts, and mushrooms.
Historic significance: to have intrinsic historic value, usually
referring to an artifact or document, and may derive from artifactual
value, informational value, or representational value.
Humidify: to add moisture to paper items to make them more
pliable (usually to counteract folding and stiffening caused by aging).
Hygrometer: an instrument that measures moisture in air.
Hygroscopic: something that absorbs and transfers (gives off) moisture in
reaction to moisture changes in the air.
(Glass is hygroscopic; plexiglass is not.)
Inorganic:
something that does not contain carbon; or a non-living thing like metal or
stone.
Integrity (of a collection): a term
used when a collection of disparate items relate to one another in a way that
provides additional meaning or interpretive value. In other words, the “integrity” would be
destroyed if the collection were to be dispersed.
Lamination: an irreversible heat and chemical process that bonds paper items to
transparent materials. This process is
known to hasten the destruction of historic items.
Manuscript Collection: materials produced by an individual or family,
whether for private, business, or literary reasons. Typically, such a collection includes: manuscripts and typescripts; letters; diaries
and daybooks; personal, legal, and business documents; and scrapbooks. These
materials usually have more informational value when processed and accessed as
collections than they do as individual items.
Mechanical stress: applying physical force against anything.
Micro-environment: a smaller, enclosed space.
Mold:
a variety of fungus.
Organic:
containing carbon; of living organisms (made of plant or animal products).
Pamphlet:
any printed, sub-book item, usually less than 30 pages in length and lacking a
title page, table of contents, and pagination.
Pamphlet file: a file or series of files containing miscellaneous printed,
sub-book items that have been collected into a group, usually about a topic,
person or place.
Pressure sensitive tape: mending strips that stick readily to most
surfaces with only light pressure.
Preventive conservation: activities associated with minimizing or
stopping the deterioration of objects.
Preservation: steps taken to slow the aging process in historic items, or to
preserve the informational value of such items by transferring them to another
media or format. May
also be termed “preventive conservation.”
Processing: an overarching archival term for the steps taken to make “raw”
local history materials accessible to users. These
steps include: evaluating significance, format, and condition; arrangement and
classification; preventive conservation; and the creation of “finding aids”
such as indexes and inventories.
Recording Hygrothermograph: an instrument that records variations in
temperature and relative humidity.
Relative Humidity: the ratio of the actual amount of water vapor in
the air at a specific temperature to the maximum capacity of the air at that
temperature, expressed in percent (%).
Relax or relaxing: to make flexible the fibers of a brittle or
stiff paper item by humidifying it.
Reversible: an action in preserving or
conserving a item may be undone, so that the item can
be returned to its original state.
Reversibility is the hallmark of all proper conservation techniques.
Nothing should be done to restore or protect an item that cannot be undone at a
future time.
Ultra-violet (UV) light: that part of the light spectrum that breaks down
cellulose-based paper and other organic materials. Sources include sunlight and florescent
tubes. It can be filtered with treated
light lenses, with UV filter sleeves on florescent tubes, or with UV filter
film on windows or display case glass.