I'm forwarding this with permission of our archival cataloger...
--Adam Schiff, University of Washington ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2006 10:30:25 -0700 From: Marsha Maguire <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: Adam Schiff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Families as authors Greetings, Having been forwarded an email about your question concerning families as authors, I'd like to reply (to you personally because I'm not currently on the list). I'm a cataloger and an archivist, and I work mostly with unpublished collections of personal and family papers, and organizational records. To archivists, the creator of such a collection is the person, family, or corporate body around whom the materials have accumulated (or been authored -- often both). The documents comprising an archival collection or record group are the product of the functions and activities of organizations, people, and families. The "Statement of Principles" in Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS, published in 2004 by the Society of American Archivists -- the standard for archival description in the U.S.) states that the "distinctive relationship between records and the activities that generated them differentiates archives from other documentary resources" (DACS, p. xi). We do include MARC records based on DACS in OCLC, local ILS's, etc. Because families are the creators of their papers, we need to be able to provide access points for them as creators (as well as subjects) of the archival collections our catalog records describe. Of course, most archives hold more personal papers and organizational records than family papers, but family records are not at all uncommon. Many thanks. Marsha Maguire Manuscripts and Special Collections Cataloging Librarian University of Washington Libraries P.O. Box 352900 Seattle, WA 98195-2900 (206) 543-8407 fax: (206) 685-8782 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
