Beinecke Cataloging Manual

Atlases in the Beinecke Library which receive original cataloging are cataloged according to the latest full national standards for descriptive cataloging. The national standards are the latest revision of Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, 2nd ed., commonly known as AACR2, as interpreted by the Library of Congress rule interpretations (LCRI), and Cartographic Materials : A Manual of Interpretation for AACR2, 2002 Revision (2003). The latest editions of AACR2, the Library of Congress rule interpretations, and Cartographic Materials are all available through Cataloger's Desktop. A print copy of Cartographic Materials is also available in the Rare Book Team area.

When appropriate, catalogers should also consult Rare, Antiquarian, or Just Plain Old: Cataloging Pre-twentieth Century Cartographic Resouces (2007), located in both the team area and Technical Services in the Beinecke.

Another useful source is "Cataloging the Contemporary Printed Atlas," by Paige G. Andrew in Maps and Related Cartographic Materials (1999), p. 147-164. This monograph is located in both the Rare Book Team and Technical Services areas.

For composite atlas cataloging, see the Composite Atlases cataloging instructions.

NOTE: The following select rules are taken from Cartographic Materials : A Manual of Interpretation for AACR2, 2002 Revision (2003), unless otherwise noted.

An atlas is a systematically arranged collection of maps or charts intended to be shelved like a volume, either flat or vertically. Historically, many printed geographic atlases originated as collections of maps or charts, produced for a particular purpose, and assembled in the form of volumes, portfolios, or cases meant to be shelved.

Printed atlases share the characteristics of maps and books, having the content of maps and often the format of books. Like maps, most geographic atlases consist of graphic representations of the Earth’s surface; some also include aerial photographs, photomaps, and remote-sensing images.

An atlas in book form is distinguished from other books by its emphasis on maps; any textual material is secondary or complementary and serves mainly to support and explain the cartographic content.

An atlas is distinguished from other collections of maps primarily by the publisher’s or compiler’s apparent intent that the work be used like a book and shelved in the form as issued. An electronic atlas may simply be the digital counterpart to a traditional paper atlas, or it may be interactive, and allow the user to manipulate the data.

Atlases are published in a variety of formats, including electronic. For example, they may be bound or loose-leaf, flat or folded, in cases, boxes, portfolios, or folders. Sizes range from miniature and small pocket size through quarto, folio, and even larger sizes.

The cataloguing record describes the atlas as received, and atlases should be preserved and stored as closely as possible to the original format. On a selective basis, for the purpose of preservation, the format may be altered, e.g., folded maps may be unfolded; covers and parts isolated from contents (but kept with them); highly unstable material isolated; leaves removed from original bindings for deacidification and encapsulation prior to being rebound.

Atlases may or may not contain a title page and other expected parts such as tables of contents, preface, introduction, appendices, and indexes. Sometimes explanatory texts are issued under separate cover.

Atlases often include an index map to the collection of map sheets that forms the body of the atlas. They frequently have indexes to place names, streets, landowners, tourist sites, etc., and they may include directories.

Atlases usually have legends of map symbols, and frequently contain graphs, tables, gazetteers, glossaries, bibliographies, description and travel information, and even biographies and histories. Any textual material is secondary.

The key words in an atlas title may be “atlas of [geographic area]”; “map of ...”; “guidebook for motoring in ...”; “guide to ...”; etc. In any case, the item is treated as an atlas if it is principally a collection of maps issued in a form intended to be shelved.

The atlas spine, portfolio, or container often bears one or more elements of bibliographic data: title, author, publisher, distributor, edition, or date of publication.

Atlases may be published in parts over a period of time.

In the Header, "Type of Record" should be e: Printed cartographic material. This applies both for maps and for atlases.

In the 007, Physical Description Field (listed as a Fixed Field but appears in the record with variables), the "Map" selection should be applied, with the "Specific Material Designation" coded d: atlas. The remainder of the fields are usually coded as follows:

Color = a: One color or c: Mutlicolored (with two or more colors involved)

This field contains cartographic mathematical data, including scale, projection, and/or coordinates in coded form. Field 034 is based on information from field 255 (Cartographic Mathematical Data). According to current cataloging practice, although it is optional, if bounding coordinates appear on a cartographic item they are included in the bibliographic record in two places: in subfield $c of the 255 field in the form of degrees, minutes, and seconds; and in subfields $d, $e, $f, and $g of the 034 field in the form of cardinal direction and numerical value. If supplying geographic coordinates in the 255 field, one must also supply geographic coordinates in the 034 field.

This practice differs from PCC standards, which strongly encourages "that this practice of recording coordinates be applied within the core level record." See http://www.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/bibco/coremaps.html

If adequate copy is found which includes the 034 field, check to ensure the coordinates match the item in hand and retain in record. Otherwise, delete from the record.

Transcribe early letter forms according to section 0G. Transcription and Appendix G. Early Letter Forms and Symbols in DCRM(B).

0C5. Chief source of information for an atlas (see also DCRM(B) section 0C)

The chief source of information for printed atlases is the title page or, if there is no title page, the source from within the publication that is used as a substitute for it. For printed atlases published without a title page, or without a title page applying to the whole work (as in the case of some bilingual works), use the part of the item supplying the most complete information, whether this be the cover (excluding a separate book jacket), caption, colophon, running title, or other part. Specify the part used as a title page substitute in a note (see 7B3). If no part of the item supplies data that can be used as the basis of the description, take the necessary information from any available source. If the information traditionally given on the title page is given on facing pages or on pages on successive leaves, with or without repetition, treat those pages as the title page.

If the early atlas has a title page, use it as the chief source of information. If it has no title page, use the following sources (in this order of preference):

This rule applies when the atlas was issued without a title page and when an atlas was issued with a title page but the title page is missing and no reliable description of it is available.

For publications issued without a title page (and for publications issued with a title page when the title page is missing and no reliable description of it is available), if a single title proper is available in a single source within the publication, use this source as the title page substitute. If the same title proper is available in more than one source within the publication, choose as the title page substitute the source that supplies the most additional title page information. If different titles, or differing forms of the same title, appear within the publication, select one as the title proper and use its source as the title page substitute. If for any reason this last mentioned provision does not settle the issue, choose as the title page substitute one of the following, according to the order given.

If the item has both an engraved and letterpress title page, the letterpress title page is preferred. The engraved title page, if different, is given in 246 note.

If an item has only an engraved title page, the title is taken from the prelimiaries or the colophon (see DCRM(B) 03C). Make a note indicating the title page is engraved.

If the item has no title page, make a note indicating the source used (see DCRM(B) 7B3).

1B7. If the item lacks a title, supply a title proper from the rest of the item, or a reference source, or elsewhere. If no title can be found in any source, devise a brief descriptive title. Enclose such a supplied or devised title in square brackets. Always include in the supplied title the name of the area covered.

The statement of responsibility for an atlas may appear on the title page, in other preliminaries, or in the colophon. If it is not taken from the chief source of information, enclose it in square brackets. Indicate the source of the bracketed information (e.g., engraved title page) in a note.

Generally transcribe all the names mentioned. If the number of responsible persons or bodies named in a single statement is very great, all after the third may be omitted. Indicate the omission by the mark of omission and add et al. in square brackets.

If no statement of responsibility appears in the item and facts relative to authorship are available (e.g. from a bibliography), give this information in a note. Include the authority for the attribution whenever possible and useful.

3B4. In describing a cartographic item in which the main maps, etc., are of more than one scale, give Scales differ.

If all of the maps within an atlas are the same scale, give the scale in the 255.

5B1. Give the extent of a cartographic item. In the case of atlases and globes, give the number of physical units ...

5B5. Add, to the statement of extent for an atlas, the pagination or number of volumes as instructed in 5B6-5B29 of Cartographic Materials. NOTE: for early atlases, pay attention to the Early Atlases APPLICATIONS sections of the rules

5C4. Number of maps, etc., in an atlas. Give the number of maps, etc., and other illustrative matter in an atlas as instructed in 5C5-5C10.

Count only the main maps, not including insets, etc. Indicate folded or double leaves, if present.

Tables containing only words and/or numbers are not illustrations. Disregard illustrated title pages and minor illustrations.

Early atlases: When a publication is unbound or inserted in a container subsequent to publication, measure the height of the publication itself.

For publications issued before 1801, add the bibliographic format of the publication in parentheses following the size statement, when it can be determined. If desired, give the format also for later publications. Give the format in abbreviated form (fol., 4to, 8vo, 12mo, etc.; use lº for volumes made up of unfolded sheets).

7B1. Nature and scope of the item. Make notes on the nature or scope of a cartographic item unless it is apparent from the rest of the description. Also make a note on unusual or unexpected features of the item.

Relief. Indicate the method of relief portrayed (see Figure 35 in Cartographic Materials, between p. 7-6 and 7-7, for examples of relief).

7B3. For atlases, make notes on the source of the title proper if the chief source of information is a title page substitute.

7B18. Contents [for pre-1800 atlases]. Transcribe contents from the title page of atlases if they are presented there formally and have not been transcribed as part of the title and statement of responsibility area. In such cases, follow the word Contents with the parenthetical phrase (from t.p.). If a formal statement of contents is not present on the title page, take contents from the head of the parts to which they refer, or, if this is not feasible, from any contents list, etc., that is present. For publications in two or more volumes, generally transcribe the volume or part designations as found.

Copy specific notes are made to record important information pertaining to individual copies but not to all copies. This information is often noted on the accompanying accessions slip. Information about provenance evidence, imperfections, and bindings (including bound-with information) pertaining to the copy in hand but not to all copies is recorded in copy specific notes.

Restriction on access notes (506) precede copy specific notes (590). All other notes follow. Restriction on access notes (506) and copy specific notes (590) always begin with BEIN [call no.]: Line-breaks in call numbers are indicated by spaces.

If the copy specific information is not extensive, a single 590 note per copy suffices. For clarity's sake, several copy specific notes for the same copy may be made, each beginning with BEIN [call no.]. This is the case with long runs of serials with issues which have come from numerous sources with various provenance. In general note the copy specific information in the order given below.

NOTE: The subject subdivision "Atlases" can only be used for scientific or technical works consisting of comprehensive, often systematically arranged, collections of illustrative plates, charts, etc., usually with explanatory captions.

Always add the following genre tracings, when appropriate. Use multiple tracings, when appropriate (e.g., an atlas of nautical charts). Subdivide geographically, not by place of publication, but by place described, and then by date. Use the broadest geographical subdivision possible; e.g., for an atlas of the Pacific Northwest, do not make separate 655s for Washington, Oregon, Idaho, etc., but rather use: Northwest, Pacific.