5XX

545: Biographical/Historical Data  

Follow local usage. Provide information on the material’s creator or subject (cartographer, land owner,  company, etc.) as relevant.  

520: Summary  

Comment on: 

  • Genre and form, and if the material is handwritten by the person intellectually responsible for the  work, or is signed. “Manuscript atlas, in the hand of François Azan and in a second unidentified  hand, of the ports and coasts of the Mediterranean sea […]”, “Sketch map in the author’s hand,  signed, […]”, “Manuscript map, signed by the surveyor and the chief engineer […]”.
  • Date of the situation depicted on the map, if not apparent from the title and if different from the  time of production. “Depicts boundaries as of March-August, 1939”, or “Shows sites of 1809  battles”. 
  • Geographic coverage of the material. “Covers Atlantic Ocean from as far north as Halifax, N.S., and  as far south as Puerto Rico”, or “Covers area bounded by Julia St., Barrone St., Bienville St., and  the Mississippi River.” 
  • Specific geographic features, including topographic details, geological details (especially for  mining-related maps), political or other boundary lines, and bathymetric/hydrographic details  such as seafloor relief and depths. 
  • Related personal or corporate names, or topical subjects, to justify 6xx access points. 

561: Ownership and Custodial History 

For transferred to the Beinecke Library from the YUL Map Collection, use the standard wording,  following any additional provenance information: “Transferred from the Yale University Library Map  Collection.” 

546: Language 

Indicate location and content of text when present. 

Examples:

546 __ ‡a Accompanying text in Italian. 

546 __ ‡a Legend in English and Latin. 

546 __ ‡a Manuscript annotations in French. 

546 __ ‡a Place names in Latin. 

546 __ ‡a No linguistic content. 

500: General Notes 

Required notes, when applicable: 

  • Coordinates (see 034 and 255): “Coordinates not present on map and are approximated” or  “Coordinates not present on map”. 
  • Title (see 245): “Title devised by cataloger”, or source of title if not taken from a preferred  source. 
  • Physical description: Note important physical details (including support, binding, watermark);  and illustrations and decorative elements. 
  • Relief: Always make a note on the method of relief portrayal, if present on map, such as “Relief  shown by contours, hachures, and spot heights, “Relief shown pictorially”, “Raised relief”, or  “Depths shown by soundings”. See Glossary for relief methods. 

Optional: 

  • If the manuscript item is the basis of a printed publication, supply the publication details.

524: Preferred Citation  

Use the 1xx name, if applicable, in direct order, followed by a comma, followed by the title in 245 ‡a.

Example:

524 __ ‡a Ernest W. Branch, Lakeside Park Annex, Tewksbury. General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book  and Manuscript Library, Yale University.