Princeton Policy: Manuscripts in Microreproduction

Manuscripts in Microreproduction

The Catalog Division follows Library of Congress Policy for the cataloging of microreproductions. Thus, microform reproductions of manuscripts are cataloged according to AACR2 chapter 4 unless the items "are reproductions of material prepared or assembled specifically for bringing out an original edition in microform" in which case they are cataloged according to Chapter 11.

On August 22, 1985, Council agreed that the responsibility for description, storage, and control of microforms of codex manuscripts or the hardcopy generated from such microforms should rest with the Manuscripts Division of the Rare Books and Special Collections Department.

Accordingly, microfoms of manuscripts or manuscript collections which do not fall into the category of being prepared specifically for bringing out an original edition should be returned to Order Division for forwarding to the Manuscripts Division of Rare Books.

As a general rule, consider a photoreproduction of a manuscript to be an "original edition" if it falls into either of the following categories:

It is issued by a commercial publisher, including "on demand" agencies such as University Microfilms International.
It is issued by a non-commercial agency, such as a university photoduplication department, but contains an explicit edition statement relating to the photreproduction. This statement need not be formally presented and may be on accompanying material, such as a guide.