Marking items with call number and property stamp

Music Cataloging at YaleLocal Yale music cataloging documentation

Marking books and scores | Parts | Reference and rare
Items with accompanying audio/video recordings | Special 590 notes and marking the item | Gifts


Marking books and scores

Use pencil, writing on the location (title page, cover, caption, etc.) used as the chief source of information in the bibliographic record.

  • When the source is the title page or cover, add the call number and property stamp to the verso of the title page or cover.
  • When the caption is the source, mark and stamp that location, rather than going to the next page of music following the caption.
    The call number will go in the upper left hand corner and the stamp on the bottom of the page.

Make three dots below the first letter of the name or title (excluding initial articles) functioning as the main entry in the bibliographic record.

  • If the spelling of the name as it appears in the bibliographic record varies greatly from the form of the name on the item, pencil in the form used in the bibliographic record.
  • When the information is in Cyrillic, write the matching Roman characters above or below (wherever they will best fit) the Cyrillic characters.

Formatting the call number on the item

The class and class number are entered on separate lines on the item.
The decimal point preceding the first cutter number in the 090 or 050 field in the bibliographic record is not included in the call number in the holdings record and is not marked on the score.

050/090 in the bib record: M1045.B651 ‡b A5
852 in the holdings record: M1045 B651 ‡i A5

M
1045

B651
A5

not

M1045
.B651
A5

When the call number includes a decimal portion of the class number (e.g., M557.4), drop the decimal portion to the second line of the call number, aligned to the right side:

M
1623
    .5
B745
T3

 

ML
3630
    .1
D486
N7

Oversize and folio
Use a single plus sign for oversize (equal to or more than 27 cm. and up to or equal to 36 cm. in any direction (height or width)
Use two plus sings for folio (equal to or more than 37 cm. in any direction (height or width)

The plus sign is not included in the 050/090 field in the bib record.
The plus sign follows the last element of the call number in the holdings record.

050/090 in the bib record: M652.L767 ‡b S5
852 in the holdings record: M652 L767 ‡i S5+ ‡m Oversize

M  
652  
L767  
S5+

Call number with a opus, work, serial, or thematic index number; date; key; or other element needed to make the call number unique:
050/090 in the bib record: M184 ‡b .T435 op.41
852 in the holdings record: M184 ‡i T435 op.41+ ‡m Oversize

The item is marked with the plus sign after the final cutter number preceding opus, work, or thematic number.

M  
184  
T435+
op.41  

not

M  
184  
T435  
 op.41+

050/090 in the bib record: M175.X6 A315 ‡b S4 no.1
852 in the holdings record: M175 X6 A315 ‡i S4 no.1+ ‡m Oversize

M  
175  
X9  
A315  
S4+
no.1  

not

M  
175 
X9  
A315  
S4  
no.1+  

The call number has a cutter number following the opus number to indicate publisher or editor in order to make the call number unique.
050/090 in the bib record: M452 ‡i B415 ‡b op.127 H5
852 in the holdings record: M452 ‡B415 op.127 H5+ ‡m Oversize

M  
452  
B415+
op.127  
H5  

not

M  
452  
B415  
op.127  
H5+

Multiple copies: copy number is not indicated for copy 1:

M
214
C429
V2

M
214
C429
V2
c.2

not

M
214
C429
V2
c.1

M
214
C429
V2
c.2

Multiple copies of multiple volumes: the volume is indicated before the copy number:

M  
128  
C293  
B1+
v.1  
c.2  

not

M  
128  
C293  
B1+
c.2  
v.1  

Parts

The call number is placed in the upper left-hand corner of the first page of the part. This could be a cover, title page, or caption, but it must be visible when it is placed in a pocket in the binder. Give the name of the instrument in English as the last line of the call number. The property stamp should usually be somewhere along the bottom. However, the first priority is to avoid obscuring any of the music with the property stamp.

When all you have is a set of parts, one of them will generally be bound. While all the other parts will have the part name indicated as the last line of the call number, do not indicate this on the part to be bound. If you do, the person creating the label will add the name of the part to the label.

With individual parts from multiple volumes, are they marked:

M  
557  
   .4  
A123  
B4+
v.1  
trumpet 1  

not

M  
557  
   .4  
A123  
B4+
trumpet 1  
v.1  

Multiple copies and parts: "Copy 1" is not indicated. Add the elements in this order: volume, copy, instrument.

M  
557  
   .4  
A123  
B4+
v.1  
trumpet 1  

 

M  
557  
   .4  
A123  
B4+
v.1  
c.2  
trumpet 1  


Reference and rare

Location:

Add as first line of the call number on the item:

Reference
Rare

Ref.
Rare


590 notes and marking the item

590 Fields

For non-rare items, generally do not include a 590 field related to gift or fund. See Gifts for marking the item.

For rare items, the 590 format we've been using the most lately is:
Purchased from J & J Lubrano with income from the Rose Jackson Fund, 1997.

If no funds were involved, there are other possibilities for rare items, depending on the situation:
Gift of Richard F. French, 1996.
From the Estate of Virgil Thomson.


Note in item

The item is to marked in pencil on the title page verso, bottom center.

For non-rare items, although there are variations abounding in the stacks, it's probably simplest to specify "____________ plate" if we have a specially printed one in the bindery bookplate collection, e.g.:
O'Meara plate
Carl S. Miller plate

See also Gifts for non-rare, gift items.

The goal is just to let the bindery worker know to use a special plate in place of the normal one, so it's not so important if the name is transcribed differently from cataloger to cataloger.

In lieu of a special plate, pencil on item whatever bindery worker should type on bookplate, e.g.:
Gift of Jane Smith.
From the Estate of Virgil Thomson
Gift of the Friends of Music at Yale University, 1997.
Gift of the Margaret Waith Fund, 1995.

This information would be taken from an annotation sent to the cataloger with the volume.

If you see a five-digit number written on the slip with the Orbis ID number and barcode, this is a fund number, for example "26280." On the item, write in pencil below the property stamp "Plate 26280."

For rare items, follow instructions for non-rare note-pencilling above, but write especially small and use discretion so as to minimize impact on the item. Shorten notes if the volume is fragile, e.g. "Friends of Music, 1997" instead of "Gift of the Friends of Music at Yale University, 1997."  A cataloger will be more involved in the bindery preparation for rare items than for non-rare items. The 590 note in the bibliographic record will be consulted more frequently when there's a question as to bookplate, and also items should be flagged if there is more complete information as to bookplate. The majority of the endowed funds have special plates.


Gifts

When an item is a gift or from the estate of a donor, a note to that effect is written on the slip the barcode is on and in the holdings record:
852 0 0 ‡b mus ‡h M25 S456 ‡i W7+ ‡m Oversize ‡x gift of the publisher
 

After writing the call number on the item and stamping it with the oval Yale property stamp, write in pencil underneath the stamp:
From the estate of "________________"
Gift of "________________"