3.3 Collection-Level Information (Archival Description)
3.3 SECTIONS: Home | Basic Description (The High-Level <did>) | Controlled Vocabulary Terms | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketches and Agency Histories | Scope and Content Note | Arrangement | Description of Subordinate Components | Adjunct Descriptive Data | Other Descriptive Data
3.3.5 Scope and Content Note
Tag:Description:
Labels/heads:Summary overview of the range and topical coverage of the collection, often mentioning their form and organization, and naming significant individuals, organizations, events, places, and subjects represented in the materials.
LC Practice requires inclusion of a scope and content note. While a description of the organization or arrangement of the collection as a whole forms a natural part of the Scope and Content Note, LC practice recommends formally encoding this information separately in an <arrangement> section in view of emerging community practice.
Encoding Analog:Recommended content of required <head>:
- Scope and Content Note
Subelements: Tagging Example 1:520
Scope and Content Note with head and paragraphs
<head>Scope and Content Note</head>
<p>The Blackwell Family Papers span the years 1759-1960, with the
bulk of the material dating from 1845 to 1890. The collection
features the papers of Lucy Stone; her husband, Henry Browne
Blackwell; and their daughter, Alice Stone Blackwell, all of whom
were prominent in the woman's rights movement. Also included are
papers of Elizabeth Blackwell, Henry Browne Blackwell's sister who
as a doctor pioneered in the role of women in medicine. The
collection is organized in seven series: Alice Stone Blackwell
Papers, Elizabeth Blackwell Papers, Henry Browne Blackwell Papers,
Kitty Barry Blackwell Papers, Lucy Stone Papers, Other Blackwell
Family Papers, and Addition. </p>
<p>The Alice Stone Blackwell Papers contain ...</p>
</scopecontent>
Scope and Content Note with head and paragraphs
Scope and Content Note
The Blackwell Family Papers span the years 1759-1960, with the
bulk of the material dating from 1845 to 1890. The collection
features the papers of Lucy Stone; her husband, Henry Browne
Blackwell; and their daughter, Alice Stone Blackwell, all of whom
were prominent in the woman's rights movement. Also included are
papers of Elizabeth Blackwell, Henry Browne Blackwell's sister
who as a doctor pioneered in the role of women in medicine. The
collection is organized in seven series: Alice Stone Blackwell
Papers, Elizabeth Blackwell Papers, Henry Browne Blackwell
Papers, Kitty Barry Blackwell Papers, Lucy Stone Papers, Other
Blackwell Family Papers, and Addition.
The Alice Stone Blackwell Papers contain ...
Comments:
Repeatable: yes (and recursive)Summary overview information is also presented in a series-by-series description in the Description of Subordinate Components. Judgement should be used in determining the fullness of description in the overall Scope and Content Note with that given in the <scopecontent> for each series in the <dsc>.
The <scopecontent> is recursive; separate <scopecontent> elements may be nested within a single <scopecontent>, for example,
- for a multi-divisional finding aid with different discussions for holdings of each division
- for a collection organized and described in parts
- to enable the extraction of the first paragraph for use as content in a MARC record (see Application Guidelines for example).
While a description of the organization or arrangement of the collection as a whole forms a natural part of the Scope and Content Note, LC practice recommends formally encoding this information separately in an <arrangement> section. See Section 3.3.6 for further guidance.
Order: following <bioghist> and preceding <dsc>
Revision Date: 03/05/03
