Goodreads Librarians Group discussion
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Archived MSS and Typescripts?
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Mod
Are such items listed on the Library of Congress site? If so, can you link to some examples?
Well I'm based in Ireland so the items I use would not be listed on the Library of Congress site but I'll pick a couple of items from online archive or library catalogue entries and post links to these shortly so that you can get an idea of what I mean.
Here is an example of one work that I've consulted in a municipal library. It is a photocopied typescript calendar of diocesan documents compiled in 1982 and available in this library for about 30 years in the form of two softbound volumes, one 125 pp long, the other 250 pp in length. Each volume has a separate catalogue entry but the second volume does not have a distinct title page as the compiler had not intended to split the text into two volumes. Therefore, the proper title of the work should be 'Calendar of the Records of Christ Church Cathedral, Waterford 1210-1833 A.D.'The first part is: Calendar of the Records of Christ Church Cathedral, Waterford 1210-1672 A.D.
The scond part is: Calendar of the Records of Christ Church Cathedral Waterford 1672-1833
Incidentally, I understand that the work is due to be published but this might have been delayed due to the current economic situation.
In the same library, there is another calendar of documents compiled by the same historian (Julian C. Walton) in 1982-4 but which is not listed in the library's computerised catalogue. This is a stapled (but unbound) 37-page photocopied typescript entitled 'Waterford material among the salved chancery pleadings at the P.R.O.I. (1560-1640)'. It is kept with other assorted documents in a box file and is given an 'item' number - 21/26 (which means box #21, item #26). Since I read this typescript work last month, it would be nice if I could include it in my read list but I'm not sure if it qualifies as a 'book' or not.
Mod
That library has a second copy of the 'Calendar of the Records of Christ Church Cathedral, Waterford 1210-1833 A.D.' in two parts, both of which are catalogued (one of them not very accurately). I am not aware of any other copy of this text that is publically available. The same can be said for 'Waterford material among the salved chancery pleadings at the P.R.O.I. (1560-1640)'. So I guess that there are at least two copies of the former work and one of the latter (there could be more if the compiler had deposited copies in other locations but I'm not aware of this).
Mod
I would lean towards these not qualifying as books for GR purposes, but I welcome input from other librarians. Especially others with experience with similar items.
I've never added any manuscripts or typescripts on the basis that they are not publications but I'd be interested in what people think about this. There are the related issues of publications on microform and whether a thesis not made available through a service like PROQUEST or University Microfilms International should count as a book or not.
My question has some similarity with this thread. Can I add manually and shelve MA and PhD theses available for download - even if they don't have an ISBN?
Mod
Ufff... I guess they are very easily available, but to access to University databases or even scribd.com, where some are also available, you have to register for free... Maybe that eliminates 80 or 90% of the theses I have access to :(
rivka wrote: "If they are publicly available (not on a site that requires a password or subscription), then those are technically considered ebooks."Does public availability extend to paper documents in a library then? It could be pointed out, by the way, that you don't have to visit a library or archive in person to view documents as copies can often be ordered and mailed instead. And since non-digitised theses can be ordered via inter-library loan (with exceptions) that would also make them more available.
Mod
No, just to the definition of whether something has been published as an ebook. If those same documents were to be made publicly available as PDFs (for instance), they would count as a published ebook.
Or is there allowance made for those manuscripts and typescripts that are bound, as opposed to those that exist in the form of a scroll, or as loose leaves kept in a folder? In other words, is binding as a book the key factor for inclusion or must a work have been published (as in the case of ebooks)? And what about microfilm copies of such manuscripts and typescripts?