Transcript Sharing Notes: Current Music Description Practice in the Context

DISCORD IN ARCHIVAL DESCRIPTION?
EVALUATING DACS COMPLIANCE AND
BEST PRACTICES THROUGH
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS OF FINDING
AIDS FOR MUSIC MATERIALS
ELIZABETH SURLES
ARCHIVIST, INSTITUTE OF JAZZ STUDIES
JOHN COTTON DANA LIBRARY
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY—NEWARK
HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE THIS?
John Coltrane Music Manuscript Fragment,
from http://cdn3.volusion.com/kzrwa.ykorx/v/vspfiles/photos/PT135-2.jpg?1376022177,
accessed 5/16/15
Discord in Archival Description, Elizabeth Surles
ARCHIVAL MUSIC MATERIALS
• Notated music
• Audio and moving image recordings
Discord in Archival Description, Elizabeth Surles
Photos by E. Surles
DACS AND ARCHIVAL
MUSIC COLLECTIONS
“…DACS includes basic rules for the types of holdings found
in many archives, but they do not include all the rules
needed to describe every possible type of document.
Where further guidance is required, the following standards
provide more detailed rules for describing published
materials and particular types of nontextual materials.” (141)
Society of American Archivists (2013). Describing archives: A content standard.
Chicago: Society of American Archivists.
Discord in Archival Description, Elizabeth Surles
LITERATURE REVIEW
• Why music description is problematic:
• Non-text proxy for the sound, not “about”
anything
• Variety of forms: published sheet music,
conductor’s score, condensed score,
sketch, lead sheet, tenor saxophone part,
piano-vocal score, etc.
• Musical style impacts description
• Bibliographic cataloging of music collections
• Describing music archives using standards
other than DACS or according to user needs
and local idiosyncratic practice
Discord in Archival Description, Elizabeth Surles
METHODOLOGY
• Exploratory, iterative research design
• Sampling strategy:
• Members from
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SAA’s Performing Arts Roundtable
Association for Recorded Sound Collections, and the
Music Library Association’s Archives and Special Collections
Committee
• Total: 256 Selected first 20 in randomized list:
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Holy Cross Family Ministries
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Doane College
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Western New York Library
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West Virginia Wesleyan College •
West Valley College
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Curtis Institute of Music
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Davenport Public Library
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Salvation Army Southern Historical •
Center
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Discord in Archival Description, Elizabeth Surles
Case Western Reserve University
Great Songbook Initiative
University of Miami
San Jose State
Texas Tech Southwest Collection
Cornell University
Kansas State Historical Society
Bowling Green State University
SUNY at Potsdam
Marshall
Emerson College
University of Iowa
METHODOLOGY (CONTD.)
• 8 institutions did not meet criteria:
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No finding aids online
No archival music collections
• Screened finding aids with the word “music” in them
and identified 160 that met the sampling criteria.
• Sampling Criteria:
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Created in 2005 or later
Collection must document musical activity of its
creator or be comprised primarily of music materials
(i.e., one series or sub-series devoted to music)
Excluded collections with a focus on non-musical
activities
Discord in Archival Description, Elizabeth Surles
METHODOLOGY
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For each institution
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Randomized the list of finding aids and analyzed the first ones in each list (total
of 35 finding aids).
• Recorded number of and types of fields containing music description
• Transcribed and coded the text of every part in the finding aid that described
music materials
Developed codebook:
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• Seven finding aids from two institutions
• 820 text fields with music description
• Text fields=coding units
• Added two codes during data coding
Analysis:
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DACS-compliant finding aid?
• Have required information?
• Is required information correct according to DACS?
Parts of finding aid containing music description (location in the finding aid)?
Description of notated music and/or sound or moving image recordings?
Applied codes to the music description
Most common codes
Discord in Archival Description, Elizabeth Surles
CODING UNITS
From http://collguides.lib.uiowa.edu/?MSC0643, accessed 7-16-16
Discord in Archival Description, Elizabeth Surles
CODES
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Title
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Music metadata
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Album, Piece, Folder,
Collection/Book
Creators
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Composer, Copyist, Editor,
Arranger, Lyricist
Performers
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Instrumentation, Key, Parent
Work, Incomplete, Notes,
Language, Lyrics, Issue/Matrix
#, style/genre,
instructional/student, draft or
sketch
Rights
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Record Label/Issue Number
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Union Information
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Publisher
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Level of description
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Date
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Location
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Technical metadata
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• Item
• Aggregate
Other
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Format, Material Composition,
Speed, Size-Extent,
Double/Single Sided,
Stereo/Mono
Discord in Archival Description, Elizabeth Surles
CODING WORKBOOK
Discord in Archival Description, Elizabeth Surles
FINDING AID DACS COMPLIANCE
Discord in Archival Description, Elizabeth Surles
MULTI OR SINGLE-LEVEL
Discord in Archival Description, Elizabeth Surles
SINGLE-LEVEL FINDING AID
REQUIRED ELEMENTS PRESENT
Discord in Archival Description, Elizabeth Surles
SINGLE-LEVEL FINDING AID
REQUIRED ELEMENTS DACS COMPLIANCE
• Language (8) and conditions governing access (7) most
commonly missing
• Title most commonly non-DACS compliant (4)
• One institution was the cause of two of these
• Only one single-level finding aid was complete and
DACS-compliant.
Discord in Archival Description, Elizabeth Surles
MULTI-LEVEL FINDING AID
REQUIRED ELEMENTS PRESENT
Discord in Archival Description, Elizabeth Surles
MULTI-LEVEL FINDING AID
REQUIRED ELEMENTS DACS COMPLIANCE
• Language most common missing element (9)
• Conditions governing access next most common missing
element (3)
• New creators named in lower levels most common error
(5)
• Title and name/location of repository next most common
error (3)
• Only seven of 25 finding aids were complete and DACS
compliant.
Discord in Archival Description, Elizabeth Surles
SINGLE-LEVEL FINDING AIDS
SECTIONS WITH MUSIC DESCRIPTION
• 10 elements contained at least one code for description of
music materials
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biographical/historical note
collection abstract
collection title
creator (if known)
date
extent
other
scope and content note (8)
subject headings (7)
sub-series title
Discord in Archival Description, Elizabeth Surles
MULTI-LEVEL FINDING AIDS
SECTIONS WITH MUSIC DESCRIPTION
12 DACS-based elements and 7 other elements contained at least one code
for description of music materials.
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container list
creator (if known)
arrangement note
date
sub-series title
collection title
subject headings
collection abstract
item level description
folder title (18)
scope and content note (21)
series title (21)
other: “Contents,” “Forms of materials,” “Formats/genres,” “Notes
Element,” “Contents,” “Series description,” “Box List, LP Inventory”
Discord in Archival Description, Elizabeth Surles
TYPES OF MATERIALS
Single-level finding aids
• Seven collections—music scores only
• Three collections—sound recordings only
Multi-level finding aids
• Seven collections—sound recordings and music scores
• Eleven collections—music scores only
• Seven collections—sound recordings only
Discord in Archival Description, Elizabeth Surles
RECOMMENDATIONS
Focus description in:
• Scope and content note
• Subject headings
• Titles for series, sub-series, folder, and item.
Describe at item level in multi-level finding aids.
Discord in Archival Description, Elizabeth Surles