Genre and form: Difference between revisions

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Genre/form terms in catalog records describe what an item ''is'' (or contains), not what it is about. ''Genre'' corresponds roughly to the intellectual content of what is being described: for example, almanacs, depositions, plays, and poems. ''Form'' corresponds with physical characteristics: for example, embroidered bindings, imposition errors, manicules, and sammelbands. This [https://catalog.folger.edu/record/170013 catalog record for two copies of a 1635 edition of Sternhold and Hopkins ''Whole booke of Psalmes''] includes the genre term ''Psalters (books)'' and the form term ''Embroidered bindings''. In practice, "genres" and "forms" overlap, so the [[MARC]] cataloging standard uses the same field for both (the [[MARC 655 Index Term - Genre/Form|MARC 655 Genre/Form field]]).  
Genre/form terms in catalog records describe what an item ''is'' (or contains), not what it is about. ''Genre'' corresponds roughly to the intellectual content of what is being described: for example, almanacs, depositions, plays, and poems. ''Form'' corresponds with physical characteristics. For instance, this [https://catalog.folger.edu/record/170013 catalog record for two copies of a 1635 edition of Sternhold and Hopkins ''Whole booke of Psalmes''] has been assigned the genre terms ''Psalters'', ''Adaptations'', ''Miniature books'', and ''Printing privileges'', and the form term ''Embroidered bindings''. In practice, "genres" and "forms" overlap, so the [[MARC]] cataloging standard uses the same field for both (the [[MARC 655 Index Term - Genre/Form|MARC 655 Genre/Form field]]).  


==Genre and form in library catalogs==
==Genre and form in library catalogs==
Catalogers use [[Controlled vocabularies|controlled vocabularies]] to ensure that terminology is more or less the same between different institutions, or can be cross-walked to equivalent terms when sharing data. But as the saying goes, "the great thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from."  
Catalogers use [[Controlled vocabularies|controlled vocabularies]] to ensure that terminology is more or less the same between different institutions, or can be cross-walked to equivalent terms when sharing data. But as the saying goes, "the great thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from."  


Guidance for Folger catalogers can be found in the Folgerpedia article "[[MARC 655 Index Term - Genre/Form]]" but the gist of it is:
Guidance for Folger catalogers can be found in the Folgerpedia article "[[MARC 655 Index Term - Genre/Form]]"; the general order of vocabulary preference is:
* Use the Getty's [http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabularies/aat/ Art and Architecture Thesaurus (AAT)]  if a suitable term exists
* RBMS [https://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/rbmscv.html Controlled Vocabulary for Rare Materials Cataloging]
* Use the [https://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/rbmscv.html RBMS Controlled Vocabulary for Rare Materials Cataloging] if AAT does not have an appropriate term
* The Getty's [http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabularies/aat/ Art and Architecture Thesaurus (AAT)]   
* If neither has the appropriate term, use the [https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/tgm/ Library of Congress Thesaurus for Graphic Materials (TGM)] or [https://id.loc.gov/authorities/genreForms.html Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms].
* [https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/tgm/ Library of Congress Thesaurus for Graphic Materials (TGM)] or [https://id.loc.gov/authorities/genreForms.html Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms].
* As a last resort, use [http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects.html Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH)] or a local term.  
* [http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects.html Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH)] or a local term.  


Form terms can also appear at the end of a Subject heading, though this practice has largely been replaced by separate Genre/Form terms. At the Folger, these include, for example:
Form subdivisions also appear at the end of a subject heading, though this practice has largely been replaced by separate Genre/Form terms. At the Folger, these include, for example:
* <code> -- Early works to 1800</code> (material ''about'' the named subject that ''is'' pre-1801)
* <code> -- Early works to 1800</code> (material ''about'' the named subject that ''is'' pre-1801)
* <code> -- Manuscripts</code> (material ''about'' the named subject that ''is'' manuscript rather than printed)
* <code> -- Manuscripts</code> (material ''about'' the named subject that ''is'' manuscript rather than printed)
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* Follow the '''Advanced Search''' link near the bottom of the catalog's landing page and select "genre/form (what it is)" from the drop-down menus next to any of the three search boxes. You can search by genre/form alone, or combine it with other searches.
* Follow the '''Advanced Search''' link near the bottom of the catalog's landing page and select "genre/form (what it is)" from the drop-down menus next to any of the three search boxes. You can search by genre/form alone, or combine it with other searches.
* Follow the '''Browse records''' link near the bottom of the catalog's landing page and select "genre/form (what it is)" then hit the "Search" button to browse an alphabetical list.
* Follow the '''Browse records''' link near the bottom of the catalog's landing page and select "genre/form (what it is)" then hit the "Search" button to browse an alphabetical list.
==List of common genre and form terms in the Folger catalog==
* This list of genre and form terms, and Folger policy for applying them, is currently under review and revision. Terms in bold have been approved for current use. Most of the terms on the list were meant to be used consistently for all Vault materials. Other terms were selectively applied for unusual or outstanding examples of a feature (e.g. ''Fan style bindings'' for [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=333769 267- 907.1q])
* Not all RBMS terms had scope notes at the time of this table's initial creation; consequently, some scope notes are taken from other thesauri with the same terms (or variant terms to represent the same concept). The source of each scope note is indicated.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Term !! Term source !! Scope note !! Scope source !! Folger practice
|-
| '''Abridgements''' || ǂ2 aat || Versions of written works produced by condensation and omission but with retention of the general meaning and manner of presentation of the original, often prepared by someone other than the author of the original.  || AAT||  ||
|-
| '''Academic addresses (documents)''' || ǂ2 aat || Texts of speeches to be delivered in an academic environment.  || AAT||  ||
|-
| '''Account books''' || ǂ2 aat || Books in which financial accounts are kept. || AAT|| UF ''Estate accounts'', if unbound, and waste books. ||
|-
| '''Accounts''' || ǂ2 aat || Documents in which monies or goods received and paid or given out are recorded in order to permit periodic totaling.  ||AAT || ||
|-
| '''Acrostics''' || ǂ2 aat || Short poems or prose compositions in which text is arranged so that the first letters of each line form a word, phrase, or motto.  || AAT||  ||
|-
| Acting editions || ǂ2 rbgenr || Use for plays with extensive printed production information. || RBMS || Apply when an edition explicitly identifies itself as the text of the play as it was performed, usually using words like "as it is acted at the Theatre-Royal, Covent-Garden" or "Printed from the promptbook. They will often have cast lists, but that is not a necessary criterion. ||
|-
| Addresses || ǂ2 rbgenr || Documents containing the text of any public address or talk. || AAT (Speeches) ||  ||
|-
| '''Advertisements''' || ǂ2 aat || Public notices or paid announcements, especially those in print. For announcements paid for by an advertiser and broadcast on radio or television, use "commercials."  || AAT || ||
|-
| Addresses || ǂ2 rbgenr || Documents containing the text of any public address or talk. || AAT (Speeches) ||  ||
|-
| '''Affidavits''' || ǂ2 aat || Sworn statements in writing; especially made upon oath before an authorized magistrate or officer.  || AAT||  ||
|-
| ''Album amicorum'' use ''Libri amicorum''
|-
| '''Allegorical prints''' || ǂ2 gmgpc  ||Use for prints representing truths or generalizations about human existence by means of symbolic images; often of classical derivation. ||local || In the rare cases of other media in the Folger collection, use Allegorical drawings, Allegorical paintings, or Allegorical photographs from gmgpc as appropriate. ||
|-
| '''Almanacs''' || ǂ2 aat  || Publications, usually annuals, containing a variety of useful facts of miscellaneous nature, or statistical information; originally included projections of coming days, months, and holidays.  ||AAT|| ||
|-
| ''Alphabets of arms'' use ''Armorials (reference sources)''
|-
| ''Anagrams'' use ''Games''
|-
| '''Annotations''' || ǂ2 aat  || Notes added as comment or explanation, such as those accompanying an entry in a bibliography, reading list, or catalogue intended to describe, explain, or evaluate the publication referred to.  ||AAT|| Folger practice: use for manuscript annotations by someone other than a scribe or transcriber ||
|-
| '''Anthologies''' || ǂ2 aat || Collections of choice extracts, from the writings of one author, or various authors, and usually having a common characteristic such as subject matter or literary form.  || AAT ||Use for books in which the owner has copied or written passages of interest or importance that are not organized under specific headings or in alphabetical order. Use ''Commonplace books'' for books in which the extracts are organized under specific headings or in alphabetical order.||
|-
| '''Anti-Catholic works''' || ǂ2 rbmscv || Use for works that exhibit hostility toward or bias against Catholicism, or its proponents and practitioners.  || RBMS ||  ||
|-
| '''Aphorisms''' || ǂ2 aat || Short, pithy statements of principle or precepts, often of known authorship; distinguished from Proverbs, which are statements repeated colloquially and which often embody the folk wisdom of a group or nation.||AAT|| UF ''Aphorisms and apothegms''.  ||
|-
| ''Aphorisms and apothegms'' use ''Aphorisms''
|-
| '''Apologetic writings'''|| ǂ2 lctgf || Works that explain a religion, denomination, sect, etc., and defend it from external criticism. ||LCTGF || ||
|-
| '''Arguments'''|| ǂ2 aat || Statements of fact, in speech or writing, in support of a proposition and advanced for the purpose of influencing another person.  ||AAT|| ||
|-
| '''Armorials (reference sources)''' || ǂ2 aat || Reference works on coats of arms, heraldic bearings and devices, or the subject of armory (the devising and regulating of emblematic representations according to established convention).  || AAT|| UF ''Alphabets of arms''; ''Heraldic manuscripts''; ''Ordinaries of arms''.  ||
|-
| '''Astronomical charts''' || ǂ2 aat || Refers to maps of the heavens, including the constitution, relative positions, and motions of the heavenly bodies, which are all the bodies in the material universe outside of the Earth, as well as of the Earth itself relative to them. The earliest examples were often decorated with fantastic figures depicting the constellations and recognizable groupings of bright stars, and were primarily used as aids to navigation. || AAT || Do not confuse with astrological charts; use ''Horoscopes'' instead.  ||
|-
| '''Auction catalogs'''|| ǂ2 aat|| A listing of items, including works of art, manuscripts, books, or other items, that are for sale by auction.  ||AAT || ||
|-
| '''Autobiographies (literary works)'''|| ǂ2 aat|| Literary works that are biographies of individuals written by themselves. For the overall genre, use "autobiography (genre)."  ||AAT || ||
|-
| ''Autograph albums'' use ''Libri amicorum''
|-
| Autographs || ǂ2 rbgenr || Persons' names written in their own hand. || AAT (Signatures (names)) || Use only for collections of autographs and single, clipped autographs. UF ''Signatures'' ||
|-
| ''Ballads'' use ''Songs'' or ''Poems'', as appropriate
|-
| Bequests || ǂ2 aat || Gifts of personal property by will. UF Legacies || AAT  || ||
|-
| '''Bibles''' || ǂ2 aat || Refers to books, scrolls, rolls, or other document forms containing the sacred scriptures of Judaism or Christianity.  || AAT  || ||
|-
| '''Bibliographies''' || ǂ2 aat || Lists of books, documents, and other bibliographical items, often all related by author, topic, or another criterion. Bibliographies are arranged in some logical order giving brief information about the works, such as author, date, publisher, and place of publication.  || AAT  || ||
|-
| '''Bills of mortality''' || ǂ2 aat || LA periodically published official return of the deaths (later, also of the births) in a certain district.  || AAT  || ||
|-
| '''Blank forms'''  || ǂ2 aat || Forms, which are formulary documents that arrange particular information in a prescribed sequence and format, that are created with blank spaces, lines, boxes, data entry fields, or other means to prompt users of the form to fill in the particular information. Blank forms may be handwritten, printed, typed, or online. When indexing, this term may be used for such forms, whether or not they have been filled in by a user of the form. ||AAT || ||
|-
| '''Blankbooks'''  || ǂ2 aat || Books of blank, mostly blank, or ruled pages, or of printed forms.  ||AAT || ||
|-
| ''Book auction catalogs'' use ''Auction catalogs''
|-
| Book illustrations || ǂ2 gmgpc || Illustrations in books or pamphlets, whether photographs, photomechanical prints, or other media; whether still part of or detached from the volume. Also, drawings, photographs, prints, and other pictures made to be reproduced as illustrations, whether or not they were ever published. || LC || Use for graphic materials only. ||
|-
| '''Book prices'''  || ǂ2 rbmscv || Use for original price only  ||AAT || ||
|-
| Bookplates || ǂ2 gmgpc || Book owners' identification labels; usually intended for pasting inside a book. || LC || Use when the item being cataloged ''is'' a bookplate. For volumes containing bookplates, use an 852 ǂz note.  ||
|-
| '''Booksellers' advertisements''' || ǂ2 aat||Advertising materials for those selling books.    || AAT||Use this term rather than "Publishers' advertisements" for examples appearing before the roles of bookseller and publisher were clearly differentiated. ||
|-
| '''Booksellers' catalogs''' || ǂ2 aat|| Catalogs containing lists of books available by a given bookseller.  ||AAT|| Use this term rather than Publishers' catalogs for examples appearing before the roles of bookseller and publisher were clearly differentiated. ||
|-
| Borders (Type evidence) || ǂ2 rbtyp || Ornamental areas of distinct pattern, material, color, or shape around the edge or boundary of something.  With regard specifically to tapestries, refers to the areas around the central field outside the inner guard and within the guard that edges the outer sides of the tapestry.  For the narrow surfaces showing the 'thickness' or smallest dimension of thin, flat objects, as distinguished from the broad surfaces, see "edges (object components)." || AAT || ||
|-
| '''Botanical illustrations'''|| ǂ2 aat || Drawings, prints, or other pictures that illustrate plants and their parts, often accurately rendered from life.  ||AAT || ||
|-
| ''Bowdlerized books'' use ''Expurgated editions''
|-
| '''Broadsides (notices)'''|| ǂ2 aat || Sizeable single-sheet notices or advertisements printed on one or both sides, often chiefly textual rather than pictorial, and printed to be read unfolded. For the format in which the sheet is not folded, use "broadsheet (format)." For folded sheets having printed matter that generally does not cross the folds, use "folders (printed matter)."  ||AAT || ||
|-
| '''Burlesques (literary works)'''|| ǂ2 aat || Literary works that ridicule either through the treatment of a solemn subject in an undignified manner or by applying an elevated style and manner to a trivial subject.  ||AAT || ||
|-
| ''Cablegrams'' use ''Telegrams''
|-
| '''Calculations'''|| ǂ2 aat || Documents containing numerical determinations, such as of quantities, distances, or amounts of time.  ||AAT || ||
|-
| '''Calendars (documents)''' ||ǂ2 aat|| Registers of days or other contrivances for reckoning days, months, years, etc., such as a table showing the division of a given year into its months, weeks, days, years, or other divisions of time. A calendar may include important astronomical data, ecclesiastical or other festivals, and other events belonging to specific days. For calendric systems of dates, see children under "<dating systems by specific type>."  || AAT ||  ||
|-
| Calf bindings (Binding) || ǂ2 rbbin || || || Use also ''Goatskin bindings'', ''Pigskin bindings'', etc.  Use for decorative bindings only, i.e. exhibition-worthy bindings.  ||
|-
| Calligraphy || ǂ2 gmgpc || Works composed primarily of beautiful, elegant letters or flourishes that are typically created by hand with a pen, either in unjoined characters or in cursive writing. May also refer to similar works created by computer or another means. || AAT || ||
|-
| Cancelled ownership marks || ǂ2 local || {Draft} Use for ownership marks that have been cancelled in any way, including by crossing out, obliterating, erasing, or excising. ||
|-
| '''Caricatures''' || ǂ2 aat|| Exaggerated, distorted representations of a subject in art or literature; in art, refers particularly to representations, often portraits, that exaggerate certain features or characteristics to humorous or ludicrous effect. || AAT|| ||
|-
| '''Cartoons (humorous images)''' || ǂ2 aat|| Pictorial images, usually drawings, that are humorous or that use wit and satire to comment on contemporary events, social habits, political trends, or other topical subjects, often executed in a broad or abbreviated manner. Originally referred to full-page illustrations in a circulating paper or periodical, especially when comical and relating to current events.  || AAT|| ||
|-
| '''Cartularies'''  || ǂ2 aat || Registers, usually in volume form, of copies of charters, title deeds, and other documents of significance belonging to a person, family, or institution. || AAT || ||
|-
| '''Cast lists''' || ǂ2 rbmscv|| Use for lists associating specific performers with their parts. ||RBMS || ||
|-
| '''Catechisms'''|| ǂ2 aat|| Manuals or guides for instructing through a series of questions and answers, especially for religious instruction. ||AAT|| ||
|-
| '''Cautionary tales'''|| ǂ2 aat|| Stories, verses, or writings usually intended for children, admonishing or warning of the consequences of misbehavior or foolishness; also, in various disciplines, refers to writings warning of possible methodological pitfalls.  ||AAT|| ||
|-
| '''Censored works'''|| ǂ2 rbmscv || Use for works that have been altered, prohibited, or suppressed because of allegedly objectionable content.  ||RBMS || ||
|-
| '''Certificates''' || ǂ2 aat || Use for documents containing certified statements of ownership, membership, fulfilled requirements, legal status, etc.  ||AAT ||  ||
|-
| '''Chapbooks''' || ǂ2 aat|| Small books or pamphlets, usually cheaply printed and containing such texts as popular tales, treatises, ballads, or nursery rhymes, formerly peddled by chapmen.  ||RBMS ||Do not use for 20th century items which represent themselves as chapbooks. ||
|-
| ''Charades'' use ''Games''
|-
| '''Charters'''|| ǂ2 aat ||Documents, usually sealed, granting specific rights, setting forth aims and principles of a newly established entity, and often embodying formal agreements and authorizing special privileges or exemptions. || AAT || ||
|-
| '''Checks (bank checks)''' || ǂ2 aat || Written orders drawn on a bank or the Treasury of the United States to pay on demand a specified sum of money to a named person, to his order, or to bearer, out of money on deposit to the credit of the writer; must be endorsed to be transferred. || AAT ||UF any bank in any country, plus the U.S. Treasury ||
|-
| Chronicles || ǂ2 rbgenr || Use for histories in which events are described in chronological order. These differ from annals in being more connected and full. || RBMS || ||
|-
| '''Chronograms''' || ǂ2 aat || Phrases, sentences, or inscriptions in which certain letters, usually distinguished by size or other means from the rest, express by their numerical values a date, year, or epoch when added together.    ||AAT ||  ||
|-
| '''Chronologies (lists)''' || ǂ2 aat || Tables, lists, or treatises listing events, biographies, milestones, or other items in serial temporal order relative to given dates or time periods.  ||AAT ||  ||
|-
| '''Civilité (typeface)''' || ǂ2 aat || Group of script typefaces based on Gothic cursive hand-written scripts.  ||AAT ||  ||
|-
| Ciphers || ǂ2 rbgenr || Use for texts, the meaning of which is concealed by substitution or transposition of letters or numbers.  || RBMS || ||
|-
| Cityscapes || ǂ2 gmgpc || General or broad views of cities and towns or sections of them. Usually made from an elevated or distant vantage point, such as a view from a roof or a view of a skyline. || TGM || ||
|-
| Clasps (Binding)|| ǂ2 rbbin || Fasteners made of two or more parts, often of metal, and consisting of separate interlocking hooking and catching elements that hold together two or more objects or complimentary parts of the same object. || AAT || Use whenever there is evidence of original clasps, even if now missing.  ||
|-
| '''Clippings (information artifacts)'''|| ǂ2 aat ||Illustrations, pages, articles, or columns of text removed from books, newspapers, journals, or other printed sources and kept for their informational content.  || AAT || ||
|-
| Coats of arms || ǂ2 gmgpc || Heraldic bearings, usually depicted on an escutcheon often with a crest, motto, or other adjuncts. || TGM || For books, only make for extraordinary exemplars, such as [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=265414 225- 452f] ||
|-
| ''Coats of arms, books of'' use ''Armorials''
|-
| Coins || ǂ2 gmgpc  || Pieces of metal stamped by government authority for use as money. || AAT (Coins (money)) || Use for actual coins; for depictions of coins, use  650 0 Coins, ǂe depicted. ||
|-
| '''Collected works''' || ǂ2 aat || All the writings of an author, including those which have not been printed previously, published in one volume or a number of volumes in a uniform style of binding, usually with an inclusive title.  ||AAT ||  ||
|-
| '''Commentaries''' || ǂ2 aat || Treatises or series of comments that systematically explain or annotate another work. ||AAT ||  ||
|-
| Commonplace books || ǂ2 rbgenr || Use for personal notebooks in which the owner has copied passages of interest or written his or her own compositions; use also for printed versions of such works. || RBMS  || Use only for such books organized alphabetically or thematically under specific headings. For similar books without headings, use ''Anthologies''; ''Poetical miscellanies''; ''Memorandums'' ||
|-
| '''Communiques''' || ǂ2 aat || Official announcements.  ||AAT ||  ||
|-
|-
| '''Compilations (arranged works)''' || ǂ2 aat || Arrangements, compositions, or constructions comprising a written work, art work, or other work, by arrangement of materials collected from various sources. It may refer to the arrangement of content only (as in a literary work), or of physical pieces.  ||AAT ||  ||
|-
| '''Composition irregularities''' || ǂ2 rbmscv  || Use for dittography, omissions of text, misspelling, and any other compositorial errors.||RBMS || ||
|-
| '''Concealed editions''' || ǂ2 rbmscv || Use for closely similar editions, printed from substantially different settings of type, not distinguished as such by the printer and/or publisher  || RBMS || ||
|-
| '''Concordances'''  || ǂ2 aat|| Includes indexes to the location of words or phrases in a text and finding aids, in two columns, establishing the relationship between the past and present reference numbers of individual items.||AAT || ||
|-
| '''Contracts''' || ǂ2 aat|| Documents, enforceable by law, embodying agreements between two or more competent parties to do or not to do something, and specifying the terms and conditions of the agreement. || AAT || ||
|-
| '''Cookbooks''' || ǂ2 aat ||Reference publications containing collections of recipes with ancillary content on selection of ingredients or the broader context of the types of cooking presented. Contemporary cookbooks may focus on cultural or regional themes.  ||AAT || Also use for manuscript cookbooks. UF ''Receipt books'' ||
|-
| Copy books (Penmanship) || ǂ2 rbgenr || Use for penmanship or calligraphy manuals which include instructional text and examples as well as blank areas designed for a pupil's practice writing. For works which do not contain such blank areas for practice, use ''Penmanship manuals.'' || RBMS || ||
|-
|'''Corantos''' ||ǂ2 rbmscv  ||Use for single-leaf forerunners of newspapers. For similar items consisting of more than one leaf, use ''Newsbooks'' || RBMS || ||
|-
| Costume design drawings || ǂ2 gmgpc || Graphic delineations made for the design and production (or documentation of design and production) of costumes for theatrical and other performing arts productions and for special events, such as costume balls or Halloween. || TGM || ||
|-
| Counterproofs || ǂ2 gmgpc || In printmaking, impressions taken from a print or drawing by passing it through a press against a sheet of damp paper. The image appears in reverse. || TGM || ||
|-
| ''Court rolls'' use ''Judicial records''
|-
| Courtesy books || ǂ2 rbgenr || Use for books outlining the education, conduct, duties, and training of noble or royal persons, or persons serving at court. || RBMS || ||
|-
| '''Cryptograms''' || ǂ2 aat || Messages or writings in cipher or code. || AAT|| ||
|-
| Dates (Provenance) || ǂ2 rbprov || Use for evidence dating the acquisition or period of ownership. || RBMS || ||
|-
| ''Debates'' use ''Addresses''
|-
| '''Decisions (judicial records)''' || ǂ2 aat || Conclusions or resolutions reached after consideration by a judicial body.  || AAT|| ||
|-
| '''Declarations''' || ǂ2 aat || Documents conveying formal statements intended to create, preserve, assert, or testify to a right.  || AAT|| ||
|-
| Decorated papers (Binding)|| ǂ2 rbbin || Use for the occurrence of such papers as any part of bindings, cases, endpapers, or doublures. || RBMS || ||
|-
| Decorations || ǂ2 gmgpc || Images that ornament a text or picture but do not relate specifically to its meaning. || TGM || ||
|-
| '''Decrees''' || ǂ2 aat || Authoritative orders, edicts, laws, ordinances, or judicial decisions that are set forth by a civil or ecclesiastical authority, typically having the force of law and often settling a disputed issue or doctrine.  || AAT|| ||
|-
| '''Decretals''' || ǂ2 aat || Letters of the pope determining some point or question in ecclesiastical law and possessing the force of law within the Roman Catholic Church. ||AAT || ||
|-
| '''Deeds'''  || ǂ2 aat|| Documents, usually executed under seal, containing a conveyance, especially of real estate. || AAT || Consult Curator of Manuscripts when coming across more specific types of deeds. ||
|-
| '''Depositions''' || ǂ2 aat || Testimonies of witnesses, under oath or affirmation, before a person empowered to administer oaths.  || AAT || ||
|-
| '''Descriptions (documents)''' || ǂ2 aat || Written, digital, spoken, or signed representations of the attributes or qualities of something or someone.  || AAT || ||
|-
| ''Designs and ornaments'' use ''Decorations''
|-
| '''Devotional literature''' || ǂ2 aat|| Religious texts that explore the values, ideas, and behaviors that a religion is seeking to advance, for the purpose of leading the individual, through devotion, closer to an ultimate state of grace or perfection. || AAT || ||
|-
| '''Dialogues''' || ǂ2 aat|| Written compositions in which two or more characters are represented as conversing. ||AAT || ||
|-
| '''Diaries''' || ǂ2 aat|| Refers to books containing the daily, personal accounts of the writer's own experiences, attitudes, and observations. || AAT || ||
|-
| '''Dictionaries''' || ǂ2 aat|| Reference sources containing alphabetical lists of words with information given for each word; generally including meanings, pronunciation, etymology, and often usage guidance. ||AAT || ||
|-
| '''Digests (legal documents)''' || ǂ2 aat|| Systematically arranged summaries of laws, reported cases, decisions, and other legal documents. || AAT || ||
|-
| Documentary films || ǂ2 lcgft || || ||Use for films and programs which depict actual persons and/or events. Exclude frank historical re-creations, but do not attempt to judge the "truth" of the depiction in a film purporting to be factual or documentary in character. UF ''Factual films'' ||
|-
| Documentary television programs || ǂ2 lcgft || || || ||
|-
| '''Drafts (documents)''' || ǂ2 aat || Preliminary or tentative versions of documents.  || AAT || ||
|-
| '''Drafts (negotiable instruments)''' || ǂ2 aat || Written orders drawn by one party ordering a second party to pay a specified sum of money to a third party (who may be the first party); usually restricted to domestic transactions. For similar orders to pay used for foreign transactions, prefer "bills of exchange." || AAT || ||
|-
| Dramatic music || ǂ2 lcgft |||| || Music written for the stage. Use more specific terms (e.g. ''Incidental music'', ''Operas'') whenever possible ||
|-
| '''Drawings (visual works)''' || ǂ2 aat|| Visual works produced by drawing, which is the application of lines on a surface, often paper, by using a pencil, pen, chalk, or some other tracing instrument to focus on the delineation of form rather than the application of color. This term is often defined broadly to refer to computer-generated images as well. TGM scope: Narrower terms include both physical media and genre categories but are limited to those which use drawing in the sense of a specific medium rather than in the everyday sense of graphic representation. || AAT/TGM || When applicable, prefer the following narrower/related terms: ''Set design drawings''; ''Watercolors'' ||
|-
| '''Edicts''' || ǂ2 aat || Proclamations or orders concerning a law, decree, or other authoritative command, usually having the force of law. Edicts are the proclamations, as distinguished from the formal, finalized laws, decrees, ordinances, etc. that are referenced by the edicts.  || AAT || ||
|-
| Educational films || ǂ2 lcgft || This heading is used as a genre/form heading for films that are intended to impart knowledge and information, including those for classroom viewing. Films that use a structured format to teach or train the audience are entered under Instructional films. || LC || Use ''Educational films'' also for instructional films ||
|-
| Educational television programs || ǂ2 lcgft || || || ||
|-
| '''Elegies''' || ǂ2 aat || Mournful, melancholy, or plaintive poems, especially funeral songs or laments for the dead.  || AAT || ||
|-
| '''Emblem books''' || ǂ2 aat || Artistic genre that flourished in Europe particularly in the 16th and 17th centuries, focusing on a motto and an image representing that motto. Each emblem generally consists of three parts: a short, often Classical, motto (lemma, inscriptio), a pictorial representation or icon (pictura), and the explanation of the link between them in an epigram (subscriptio).  || AAT|| ||
|-
| Emblems (allegorical pictures)|| ǂ2 aat || Allegorical pictures, often inscribed with mottoes, common especially in the 16th and 17th centuries. Distinct from "emblems (symbols)," which are simpler symbolic objects or representations of an object. ||AAT || ||
|-
| '''Embroidered bindings''' || ǂ2 aat|| Bindings featuring cloth covers, usually of velvet, silk, or canvas, embroidered with gold, silver, or silk thread.  ||AAT|| ||
|-
| '''Encyclopedias''' || ǂ2 aat|| Books, set of books, or disks, containing informational articles on subjects in every field of knowledge, or limited to a special field or subject, usually arranged in alphabetical order.  ||AAT|| ||
|-
| '''Engravings (prints)''' || ǂ2 aat|| Prints on paper incorporating impressions of a reverse design created on a printing plate, usually copper, into which the design has been incised (engraved) using burins or gravers.  ||AAT|| Use only for pure engraving. Use "Intaglio prints" for engraving and etching combined. Do not use for wood engravings.||
|-
| '''Ephemerides''' || ǂ2 aat|| Works giving the computed positions of celestial bodies each day or other regular interval; used by navigators and astronomers.  || AAT || ||
|-
| '''Epigrams'''|| ǂ2 aat|| Short satiric poems or any similar pointed sayings.  || AAT|| ||
|-
| Epitaphs || ǂ2 rbgenr || || ||Use for inscriptions copied from sepulchral monuments in the memory of those buried in the tomb or grave. (Adapted from AAT). Also use for satirical epitaphs found in poetical miscellanies. ||
|-
| Erotica|| ǂ2 rbgenr  ||Use for literary or artistic works focused on sexual love or desire.  || RBMS || ||
|-
| '''Essays'''|| ǂ2 aat|| Short literary compositions on single subjects, often presenting the personal view of the author.  || AAT|| ||
|-
| ''Estate accounts'' use ''Account books'', if bound; ''Accounts'', if unbound
|-
| '''Eulogies (documents)'''|| ǂ2 aat|| Tributes or laudatory speeches written in praise of a person or thing; often, but not always, refers to tributes in honor of the deceased.  || AAT|| ||
|-
| '''Executive orders'''|| ǂ2 aat|| Orders or regulations issued by the President, or some administrative authority under his direction, for the purpose of interpreting, implementing, or giving administrative effect to a provision of the Constitution or of some law or treaty. May also include similar state documents issued by governors or upper-level management in business.  || AAT|| ||
|-
| Expurgated copies (Provenance) || ǂ2 rbprov || Use for copies of a work from which objectionable parts have been defaced, obliterated, or removed, usually on moral grounds. || RBMS ||This term is copy-specific and applies only to individual copies. ||
|-
| '''Expurgated editions''' || ǂ2 rbmscv || Use for editions or versions of works from which objectionable parts in the original text -- whether or not that text has been published -- have been deleted, usually on moral grounds. UF ''Bowdlerized books''; ''Expurgated books''; ''Expurgated works''. || RBMS || ||
|-
| Extra-illustrated copies (Provenance)|| ǂ2 rbprov || || ||Use only when enough material was added to necessitate rebinding. Otherwise, use ''Insertions (Provenance)'' ||
|-
| '''Fables''' || ǂ2 aat|| Fictitious narratives usually with animals or inanimate objects as protagonists, intended to convey a hidden meaning regarding human conduct. || AAT|| ||
|-
| '''Facsimiles (reproductions)''' || ǂ2 aat|| Exact copies of an original object, usually in the same dimensions as the original, especially of books, documents, prints, and drawings. Today often reproduced photographically; in the past, reproduced by engraving or other printmaking process.  || AAT|| ||
|-
| ''Factual films'' use ''Documentary films''
|-
| '''False imprint dates''' || ǂ2 rbmscv||  || || ||
|-
| '''False imprints'''|| ǂ2 rbmscv || || || Use for incorrect but plausible imprints. Use "Fictitious imprints" for completely imaginary imprints. ||
|-
| '''Family histories''' || ǂ2 rbmscv || Use for narrative family histories. For family trees and other genealogical listings of family members, use ''Genealogies.'' ||RBMS|| ||
|-
| '''Family papers''' || ǂ2 aat || Personal papers of members of a single family; usually of parents and their children, but sometimes including papers of spouses and their families as well.  ||AAT || ||
|-
| '''Fast-day sermons''' || ǂ2 rbmscv || Use for texts of sermons given on days designated as days of fasting.  ||RBMS|| ||
|-
| Feature films || ǂ2 lcgft || Here are entered individual full-length films with a running time of 40 minutes or more. || LC || ||
|-
| '''Festival books'''|| ǂ2 aat  || Books containing accounts of such events as festivals, parades, or ceremonial entries. ||AAT|| ||
|-
| '''Fiction (general genre)''' || ǂ2 aat || Genre that refers to works evoked from the imagination of the creator and not conferred as fact. In literature, fiction generally refers to the novel, novella, short story, and poetic forms.  ||AAT || ||
|-
| '''Fictitious imprints'''|| ǂ2 aat|| An imaginary imprint used for the purpose of evading legal and other restrictions, to mask piracies, to protect anonymity of the author, etc.  || AAT || For incorrect but plausible imprints, use "False imprints" ||
|-
| Film adaptations|| ǂ2 lcgft || || || Use for films based on any written literature ||
|-
| Film scripts || ǂ2 rbgenr || Written forms of stories prepared for motion picture productions, including description of characters, details of scenes and settings, dialogue, and stage directions. ||AAT (Screenplay) || ||
|-
| Filmed performances|| ǂ2 lcgft || Here are entered films that document a performance, event, or concert of dance, music, opera, operetta, theatrical stage productions, magic, circus, stand-up comedy, burlesque, or other vaudeville or variety stage acts. etc. ||LC || Also apply the topical or genre heading for the specific performance, concert or event, e.g., ''Rock concerts''. ||
|-
| '''Financial records'''|| ǂ2 aat || Documents pertaining to money matters. ||AAT || ||
|-
| Fists || ǂ2 rbprov|| Use for previous owners' indications drawing attention to text. UF: ''Index fingers'', ''Note signs'', ''Pointing hands'', ''Manicules'' (local UF); BT ''Annotations'' || RBMS || ||
|-
| '''Flyers (printed matter)'''|| ǂ2 aat || Printed pieces such as notices or advertisements intended for distribution by hand or by mail. For those intended for posting, use "posters."  ||AAT || ||
|-
| '''Folding errors'''|| ǂ2 rbmscv || For errors in folding one or more sheets of text.  ||RBMS || ||
|-
| Fore-edge paintings|| ǂ2 aat || Paintings done on the fore edge of a book, either with the edge solid so that the resulting image is visible when the book is closed, or, in the more usual sense of the term, with the edges fanned out so that the image is visible only when the book is open. ||AAT || ||
|-
| ''Forgeries'' use ''Literary hoaxes''
|-
| '''Formularies'''|| ǂ2 aat|| Reference works setting out formulas, recipes, or prescribed forms or models. In pharmacological contexts, use for non-standard works formulating the ingredients and amounts to be used in preparations, but not including recommendations for such things as use and dosage. For reference works detailing preparation of drugs and medicines, including their use and dosage, especially those works recognized as official or standard sources, use "pharmacopoeias."  ||AAT|| ||
|-
| Frontispieces|| ǂ2 gmgpc || Illustrations placed next to the title page. || TGM || Use when cataloging individual frontispieces in the art collection.  ||
|-
| Games || ǂ2 rbgenr || Use for materials designed for play, usually according to prescribed rules. ||RBMS || UF ''Anagrams'', ''Charades'', ''Puzzles'', ''Riddles'' ||
|-
| '''Genealogical notes''' || ǂ2 rbmscv  || || || Use for manuscript notes in printed books. ||
|-
| Genealogies || ǂ2 rbgenr || Use for family trees and other listings of family members. For narrative histories, use ''Family histories.'' ||RBMS ||UF ''Pedigrees'' ||
|-
| '''Gift books''' || ǂ2 aat || Books, usually illustrated literary anthologies, intended to be given as gifts and often published annually; popular in the 19th century. For works produced to mark an occasion, use "keepsakes (books)." ||AAT|| || 
|-
| '''Grammars (instructional materials)''' || ǂ2 aat|| Books or treatises presenting the basic principles or elements of an art, science, discipline, or practice, especially in the 17th through the 19th century. ||AAT ||  ||
|-
| Greeting cards|| ǂ2 gmgpc || Cards sent or given on special occasions; usually bearing messages of good will.  ||TGM || ||
|-
| ''Heraldic devices'' use ''Coats of arms''
|-
| ''Heraldic manuscripts'' use ''Armorials''
|-
| Herbals|| ǂ2 rbgenr  || Books containing names and descriptions of herbs, or of plants in general. ||AAT || ||
|-
| Horoscopes ||ǂ2 lcgft || Horoscope is a chart or diagram representing the positions of the planets, other celestial bodies and sensitive angles at the time of any event, such as a person's birth; other common names include astrological chart. ||LC || ||
|-
| Housebooks|| ǂ2 aat || Documents in which are recorded household expenditures such as for food, utilities, and domestic help, maintained in a journal or other book; also includes classed or chronological files of the bills and receipts for household goods and services || AAT || ||
|-
| ''Household accounts'' use ''Housebooks''
|-
| Human hair|| ǂ2 aat || || || Use for locks of hair, single strands of hair, and hair incorporated into jewelery. Do not use for wigs in the costume collection.  ||
|-
| Humorous pictures|| ǂ2 gmgpc || Images intended to be funny. UF ''Comic pictures''. ||TGM ||UF ''Humorous sketches''.  ||
|-
| Illuminations || ǂ2 gmgpc|| Book leaves or single sheets of text embellished with hand-drawn ornamental letters, scrolls, paintings, and other designs; usually gold and color; may be decorations or illustrations. ||TGM||  Illuminated letters, for very early books ||
|-
| Illustrated works|| ǂ2 rbgenr || || || Use for texts which are 30% or more illustrative matter, or for works whose illustrations are particularly significant. Do not use for armorials. Do not use for graphic materials. ||
|-
| Imposition errors (Printing)|| ǂ2 rbpri || || || || 
|-
| '''Imprimaturs''' || ǂ2 aat|| Authorizations to print or publish a work implying approval or sanction of content, usually in a context of church or government censorship. Distinguished from "privileges (permissions)" which are authorizations for the printing or selling of books, usually exclusively and for a specified period of time.  ||AAT ||  ||
|-
|Incidental music ||ǂ2 lcgft || || ||Music played during a performance of a spoken drama, which is of secondary importance to the speech (though it may still have dramatic significance) and thus the term does not refer to the operetta, musical, Singspiel, or masque. It embraces both the music 'outside' the drama (e.g., overtures before the play or interludes between acts) as well as the music performed as part of the action (e.g., fanfares, songs, dances, marches, and mood music) whether on or off the stage. ||
|-
| '''Indentures''' || ǂ2 aat|| Legally binding agreements between two or more parties in two or more originals or copies. Also, contracts binding one person to work for another for a given period of time. ||AAT ||  ||
|-
| '''Indexes (reference sources)''' || ǂ2 aat|| Systematic guides to the contents of texts, files, documents, or collections, presented as a list, usually in alphabetical order, of persons and/or subjects referred to in documents, with location of references thereto. ||AAT ||  ||
|-
| Inquisitiones post mortem || ǂ2 rbgenr|| Use for official documents concerning the nature, extent, and value of a deceased landholder's possessions. ||RBMS || ||
|-
| '''Insertions''' || ǂ2 rbmscv || Use for any kind of insertion that might allow identification of the provenance, e.g., autograph letter, news clipping, photograph, etc. || RBMS ||Use for insertions with intrinsic interest (e.g., flyers, pictures, flowers, newspaper clippings), whether there is just one or several. Do not use for insertions without intrinsic interest, such as a plain strip of paper used as a bookmark, unless there's firm evidence of specific former owner placement (for example, if it's pinned). For numerous insertions requiring rebinding, use ''Extra-illustrated copies (Provenance)''.  ||
|-
| '''Instructional literature (moral guidance works)''' || ǂ2 aat|| Literature, including novels, poetry, and other forms, that provides guidance and instruction, often having a moral overtone and told through stories and examples. For more formal modern instructional manuals regarding practical undertakings, prefer "guidelines" or "manuals (instructional materials)."  ||AAT ||  ||
|-
| '''Instructions (document genre)''' || ǂ2 aat|| Information in the form of outlines of procedures, as directions or commands.  ||AAT ||  ||
|-
| '''Interleaved books''' || ǂ2 rbmscv|| Use for books bound with blank leaves systematically inserted between the original leaves, whether by the publisher or owner, to facilitate user-added content. ||RBMS || Not to be used for tissues bound in to protect illustrations. ||
|-
| ''Interleaved copies (Provenance)'' use ''Interleaved books (Binding)''
|-
| Interludes||ǂ2 lcgft  || Here are entered collections of dramatic interludes. Musical interludes are entered under Interludes (Music). ||LC ||Use for dramatic or mimic representations, usually of a light or humorous character, such as was commonly introduced between the acts of the long mystery-plays or moralities, or exhibited as part of an elaborate entertainment ||
|-
| ''Instruction books'' use ''Textbooks ''
|-
| ''Instructional films'' use ''Educational films''
|-
| Intaglio prints|| ǂ2 gmgpc || Prints made using the process of intaglio printing. ||AAT || ||
|-
| '''Inventories''' || ǂ2 aat || Detailed lists of things in one's view or possession, as of all goods and materials on hand, or detailed lists of all items in a given category. For documentation of examination conducted to achieve a comprehensive view, use ''Surveys.'' ||AAT || ||
|-
| Invitations || ǂ2 rbgenr || Use for printed or handwritten requests for one's presence at an event. ||RBMS || ||
|-
| '''Invoices''' || ǂ2 aat|| Documents showing items supplied, together with the prices charged for each; also, itemized bills or accounts. ||AAT || ||
|-
| '''Jestbooks''' || ǂ2 rbmscv|| Use for collections of short humorous anecdotes or prose tales of a style popular during the 15th through the 18th century, often with such additions as brief poems, riddles, epitaphs, or witticisms, and typically cheaply printed.  ||RBMS || ||
|-
| '''Jokes''' || ǂ2 aat|| Something written, said, or done to excite laughter or amusement.  ||AAT|| ||
|-
|'''Journals (accounts)'''|| ǂ2 aat || Use for books containing accounts of an individual's or organization's occurrences or transactions, including records of financial transactions. Use "diaries" when referring to personal accounts of the writer's experiences, attitudes, or observations.  ||AAT || ||
|-
|'''Judicial records'''|| ǂ2 aat || Records of a tribunal established for the administration of justice. ||AAT ||UF ''Court rolls''.  ||
|-
| ''Lampoons'' use ''Satires''
|-
| Landscapes (Representations) || ǂ2 gmgpc || General or broad views of natural scenery, including inland bodies of water; may also include figures or man-made objects, but these are of secondary importance to the composition. Usually made from an elevated or distant vantage point, such as a view from a hill; not ground level close-up view of, for example, a tree. ||TGM || ||
|-
| ''Law reports, digests, etc.'' use  ''Legal documents''
|-
| '''Laws (documents)''' || ǂ2 aat|| Documents stating rules of action or conduct prescribed by controlling authority and having binding legal force.  ||AAT|| ||
|-
| '''Leases''' || ǂ2 aat|| Contracts by which one conveys land or other property for a specified time usually for compensation or rent. ||AAT|| Also use BT ''Deeds''. ||
|-
| '''Lecture notes''' || ǂ2 aat|| Use for notes made with reference to a lecture, both those from which the lecturer speaks, and those taken by people in attendance.||AAT || ||
|-
| '''Lectures''' || ǂ2 aat|| Expositions of a given subject delivered before an audience or class, especially for the purposes of instruction. ||AAT || ||
|-
| ''Legacies'' use  ''Bequests''
|-
| '''Legal documents''' || ǂ2 aat || Documents having legal relevance in general. For documents that give expression to a legal act or agreement for the purpose of creating, securing, modifying, or terminating a right, or for the purpose of furnishing evidence of a right, use ''legal instruments''. || AAT || UF ''Legal notebooks''; ''Law reports, digests, etc. '' ||
|-
| Legal formularies|| ǂ2 rbgenr || || || Use for collections of specimens of legal documents. UF ''Legal notebooks''. ||
|-
| '''Legal instruments''' || ǂ2 aat || Use for documents that give expression to a legal act or agreement, for the purpose of creating, securing, modifying, or terminating a right, or for the purpose of furnishing evidence of a right. For documents having legal relevance in general, use ''Legal documents.'' || ||
|-
| ''Legal notebooks'' use ''Legal documents'' or ''Legal formularies'', depending on content
|-
| ''Legends'' use ''Myths and legends''
|-
| Legislative proceedings|| ǂ2 rbgenr ||  || || ||
|-
| Letter books || ǂ2 aat || Books of blank or lined paper on which letters to be sent have been written; also copies of letters, originally on loose sheets, bound together, usually in chronological order. ||AAT || ||
|-
| Letters  || ǂ2 rbgenr || Use for pieces of correspondence that are somewhat more formal than memoranda or notes, usually on paper and delivered. ||AAT (Letters (correspondence)) || ||
|-
| Letters patent || ǂ2 aat|| Written communications, usually signed and sealed from a government or sovereign of a nation, conferring upon a designated person a grant (as a right, title, status, property, authority, privilege, monopoly, franchise, immunity, or exemption) that could not otherwise be enjoyed. ||AAT || ||
|-
| Library catalogs||ǂ2 rbgenr || || || Use for lists of books or other materials held in public or private libraries ||
|-
| Libretti ||ǂ2 rbgenr || Books or booklets containing the text or words of an opera or similar extended musical composition. || AAT (Librettos) || Use for printed or manuscript books giving the literary text, both sung and spoken, of an opera (or other musical work). ||
|-
| Libri amicorum || ǂ2 rbgenr || Books, loose-leaf binders, or other volumes containing blank leaves, on which persons have written sentiments, quotations, or signatures. UF ''Album amicorum'', ''Autograph albums'' || AAT (Autograph albums)  || ||
|-
| Literary hoaxes|| ǂ2 rbgenr || Valued objects or documents that are made or altered with intent to deceive; may range in falsehood from counterfeiting of whole works to altering of signatures or other deliberate misrepresentations. Distinguished from ''Copies (derivative objects)'' by the intention of deception. UF ''Forgeries'' ||AAT (Forgeries (derivative objects)) || ||
|-
| Loyalty oaths || ǂ2 aat || Oaths, usually mandatory, affirming the loyalty of the takers, such as to a government, ruler, constitution, or set of principles. || AAT || ||
|-
| Made-for-TV movies ||ǂlcgft || || || Use for feature-length films made exclusively for television, although some are released theatrically or made available on videocassette. ||
|-
| ''Magazine illustrations'' use ''Periodical illustrations''
|-
| Manorial records|| ǂ2 aat || Records having to do with the history and transactions of a manor house and its estate.  || AAT || ||
|-
| Manuscript waste (Binding)|| ǂ2 rbbin || || || Use for the presence of manuscript waste paper in bindings ||
|-
| Manuscripts|| ǂ2 aat || Use especially for handwritten documents; may also be used to distinguish certain documents from published or otherwise printed documents, as in the cases of typed personal letters or a typescript from which printed versions are made. || AAT || Use for all manuscripts in English. Further subdivide by physical format if applicable (e.g., Facsimiles). ||
|-
| Manuscripts, [language] ||ǂlcgft || || || Use for all non-English manuscripts ||
|-
| Manuscripts for publication|| ǂ2 aat || || || Use for manuscripts used as copy-text by typesetters, etc.  ||
|-
| Manuscripts from print || ǂ2 local  || || || Use for manuscripts copied directly from printed texts ||
|-
| Maps|| ǂ2 rbgenr || Graphic delineations at a set scale, of all or part of the earth or another celestial sphere indicating the relative position of selected artificial and natural features. || TGM || Use for resources that are entirely, or substantially, composed of maps. Subdivide by location depicted in the maps, not by place of production/publication ||
|-
| Masques || ǂ2 rbgenr || Short allegorical dramatic entertainments performed by masked performers, popular in the 16th and 17th centuries. || AAT || ||
|-
| ''Masques with music'' use ''Masques'' || also use ''Dramatic music''? [[Talk:Genre and form#List of common genre and form terms in Hamnet|Needs discussion]]
|-
| Maxims || ǂ2 rbgenr  || Rules or principles of conduct, morality or prudence, expressed in sententious form. It is often used specifically for precepts of morality or prudence occurring in Old English verse, or for self-evident propositions assumed as a premise in mathematical or dialectical reasoning. The meaning of this term may overlap somewhat with ''Aphorisms ''|| AAT || ||
|-
| Medical formularies || ǂ2 rbgenr || Use for works not having the contemporary status of a standard.  ||  RBMS || Use for works formulating the ingredients and amounts to be used in medical preparations. UF ''Receipt books''. ||
|-
| Memorandums || ǂ2 aat|| Documents recording information used for internal communication. || AAT || Use for early modern manuscripts which consist of simple notes of something to be remembered, or a record (for future reference) of something that has been done, without the formulas and signature characteristic of a letter, and conventionally bearing the heading 'Memorandum' ('It is to be remembered') and often the writer's name (OED).  ||
|-
| Menus || ǂ2 rbgenr|| Lists of dishes to be served or available for meals. || AAT || ||
|-
| Military manuals|| ǂ2 rbgenr || || || Use for manuals on military or naval instruction, training, or operations  ||
|-
| Military orders|| ǂ2 rbgenr || Use for commands issued by a military superior. '''Note:''' Use only if it is a directive issued from a higher authority to a lower one.  ||RBMS|| ||
|-
| Miniature books (Printing) || ǂ2 rbpri || Use for volumes 10 cm or less in height ||RBMS || ||
|-
| Miniatures (Illuminations) || ǂ2 gmgpc|| Pictures in an illuminated manuscript; distinct from the initials and borders. For non-manuscripts, use ''Miniatures (Paintings)'' ||TGM|| ||
|-
| Miniatures (Paintings)|| ǂ2 gmgpc || Paintings on a very small scale (usually five inches or less), especially the portraits on vellum or ivory popular in England and America from the Renaissance into the 1800s. For miniatures in manuscripts, use ''Miniatures (Illuminations)'' ||TGM || ||
|-
| Minutes || ǂ2 aat || Records of what was said and done at meetings or conferences.||AAT || ||
|-
| ''Miscellanies'' use ''Anthologies''
|-
| Money orders||ǂ2 aat || Credit instruments ordering the payment of a specified amount of money, usually issued and payable at a bank or post office. ||AAT || ||
|-
| Morality plays || ǂ2 rbgenr|| Use for allegorical plays of the type which offer discourses in praise of morality between actors representing characters such as Charity, Faith, Death, etc. ||RBMS|| ||
|-
| Musical notation|| ǂ2 gmgpc || || || Use for a system of expressing musical sounds through the use of written symbols. Use only when cataloging a resource other than on the scores format. ||
|-
| Musical works|| ǂ2 rbgenr  || || || Use for written compositions in musical notation not covered by a more specific genre ||
|-
| Mystery plays|| ǂ2 rbgenr  || Use for medieval religious plays based on scriptural incidents. ||RBMS || ||
|-
| Myths and legends || ǂ2 rbgenr  || Stories handed down by tradition from earlier times, usually concerned with a real person, place, or event, and popularly regarded as historical although not entirely verifiable. ||AAT (Legends (folk tales))|| UF ''Legends''.||
|-
| ''Neo-Latin plays'' use ''Plays''
|-
| Neo-Latin poems || ǂ2 rbgenr || Use for poems written in Latin since ca. 1300. ||RBMS || ||
|-
|Newsbooks||ǂ2 rbgenr ||Use for forerunners of newspapers, consisting of more than one leaf, published in the 16th and 17th centuries. For similar items consisting of one leaf, use ''Corantos''||RBMS|| ||
|-
| Newsletters || ǂ2 rbgenr || In the 16th and 17th centuries, manuscript reports produced for special subscribers and issued irregularly or weekly; from the 20th century to the present, periodic reports on the activities of a business or organization. ||AAT || ||
|-
| Notebooks|| ǂ2 rbgenr || || || Use for books in which notes of memorandums are recorded, or notes taken during a class, lecture, or meeting. ||
|-
| Obituaries|| ǂ2 rbgenr || Published notices of a death, usually with a brief biography of the deceased.  ||AAT|| ||
|-
| ''Ordinaries of arms'' use ''Armorials''
|-
| Operas|| ǂ2 rbgenr|| Here are entered musical compositions. General works about opera are entered under the heading Opera. || LC || Use for dramas set to music to be sung with instrumental accompaniment by singers usually in costume. Defintion: A dramatic musical work in which singing forms an essential part, chiefly consisting of recitatives, arias, and choruses, with orchestral accompaniment; a performance of such a work; a libretto or musical score for such a work. ||
|-
| Oratorios|| ǂ2 lcgft || Here are entered musical compositions. Works about the oratorio are entered under the heading Oratorio. || LC || Use for a musical settings of a religious libretti for solo singers, chorus, and orchestra, in dramatic form but usually performed without scenery or costumes in concert-hall-or church. Defintion: A large-scale, usually narrative musical work for orchestra and voices, typically on a sacred theme and performed with little or no costume, scenery, or action. Also: this as a musical genre. Formerly also (U.S.): a concert of sacred music of any sort (obs.). ||
|-
| Overtures|| ǂ2 lcgft|| Here are entered overtures for orchestra. Overtures for other mediums of performance are entered under this heading followed by the medium, e.g. Overtures (Chamber orchestra). Works about the overture are entered under the heading Overture. || LC || Use for instrumental music composed as an introduction to an opera, oratorio, ballet, or other dramatic work, or intended for independent concert performance. Defintion: Music. An orchestral piece of varying form and dimensions, forming the opening or introduction to an opera, oratorio, or other extended composition, and often containing themes from the body of the work or otherwise indicating the character of it. Also: a similar orchestral piece, usually of descriptive or programmatic character, intended for independent performance; = concert overture n. at CONCERT n. Compounds 2.  ||
|-
| Paintings || ǂ2 gmgpc || || || Use for all paintings except miniatures and watercolors, ''q.v.'' ||
|-
| Pamphlets || ǂ2 aat ||  Independent publications consisting of a few leaves of printed matter folded or fastened together but not bound, often with no cover or a paper cover. || AAT||Use for items 50 pages or less (see Merriam-Webster for definition)
|-
| Pardons || ǂ2 aat || Official documents declaring the exemption of a convicted person from the penalties of an offense or crime by the power of the executor of laws. || AAT || ||
|-
| ''Parish registers'' use ''Parochial records''
|-
| Parochial records|| ǂ2 aat  || ||  || Use for records established and kept by an ecclesiastical parish, recording chronologically baptisms, marriages, burials, and other information. UF ''Parish registers''. ||
|-
| Parodies|| ǂ2 rbgenr || Use for humorous, sometimes satiric, imitations of other works. ||RBMS|| ||
|-
| Part books|| ǂ2 rbgenr  || || || Use for copies of one or more (but not all) parts for the use of participating voices or instruments in a musical work ||
|-
| Pasquinades|| ǂ2 rbgenr || Use for satires or lampoons intended to be posted in a public place.  || RBMS || ||
|-
| Pattern books|| ǂ2 rbgenr || Use for books of actual patterns. ||RBMS || ||
|-
| ''Pedigrees'' use ''Genealogies''
|-
| ''Pen and ink drawings'' use BT ''Drawings''
|-
| Periodical illustrations|| ǂ2 gmgpc || Detached illustrations are included as well as original drawings, photographs, and prints intended for publication or actually published as illustrations in periodicals.  ||TGM || ||
|-
| Periodicals || ǂ2 rbgenr || Publications issued at regular intervals of more than one day. || AAT|| ||
|-
| Perpetual calendars|| ǂ2 rbgenr || Use for tables that allow determination of the correct day of the week for any given date over a wide range of years. ||RBMS|| Use only when cataloging a stand-alone perpetual calendar. ||
|-
| Petitions || ǂ2 rbgenr ||Includes any written requests and lists of signatures submitted to an authority to appeal for the performance of specific action.||AAT|| ||
|-
| Photographs|| ǂ2 gmgpc || Refers to still images produced from radiation-sensitive materials (sensitive to light, electron beams, or nuclear radiation), generally by means of the chemical action of light on a sensitive film, paper, glass, or metal. ||AAT|| Photographs reproducing paintings or other artworks should NOT be traced in a [[MARC 655|655]]. ||
|-
| Photomechanical prints|| ǂ2 gmgpc || Prints made from photographically prepared printing surfaces. Most have a distinctive dot or screen pattern, but some are continuous tone. Usually planographic. UF ''Process prints'' ||TGM|| ||
|-
| Pictorial bindings (Binding)|| ǂ2 rbbin || ||  || ||
|-
| Plans || ǂ2 gmgpc|| Graphic delineations of a site, structure, or object in a horizontal projection. Projection lines are parallel to the picture plane rather than in perspective. ||TGM || ||
|-
| Playbills || ǂ2 rbgenr  || Use for single-sheet items advertising plays, usually announcing the cast. || RBMS|| Assume printed unless manuscript is specified. ||
|-
| Players' parts|| ǂ2 local || || || Use for actors' individual scripts, containing only their own dialogue and cue lines. ||
|-
| Playing cards || ǂ2 gmgpc|| Cards made in sets of a designated number of cards and marked for use in playing one or more games or telling fortunes. ||TGM || ||
|-
| Plays (performing arts compositions) || ǂ2 aat || Use for dramatic compositions, arranged for enactment, as by actors on a stage. ||  || ||
|-
| ''Plots'' use ''Scenarios''
|-
| Poems || ǂ2 rbgenr|| Written or oral compositions characterized by condensed language chosen for sound and suggestive power as well as meaning, and by the use of such literary techniques as structured meter, natural cadences, rhyme, or metaphor.  || AAT || ||
|-
| Poetical miscellanies || ǂ2 rbgenr|| Use for collections of contemporary poems by different authors, usually dealing with various topics and primarily published from the 16th through the 18th centuries. ||RBMS ||Use also for manuscript collections. ||
|-
| Portraits || ǂ2 gmgpc|| Graphic representations, especially of the face, of real persons, usually posed, living or dead. Pictures whose purpose is the portrayal of an individual or several people, not pictures that merely include people as part of an event or scene. ||TGM || Subdivide by gender ''(ǂx [Female or Male])'' as well as century. ||
|-
| Postcards|| ǂ2 gmgpc || Cards on which a message may be written or printed for mailing without an envelope; often include a pictorial, comic, or other scene on one side.  ||TGM|| ||
|-
| Posters || ǂ2 rbgenr || Single or multi-sheet notices made to attract attention to events, activities, causes, goods, or services; also, purely decorative posters. For posting, usually in a public place; chiefly pictorial. Intended to make an immediate impression from a distance. ||TGM|| ||
|-
| Prayer books  || ǂ2 rbgenr || Use for books of personal prayer; they may include selections from liturgical books.||RBMS|| ||
|-
| Prayers || ǂ2 rbgenr || Use for individually issued prayers, not in book form. ||
|-
| Presentation copies (Provenance) || ǂ2 rbprov|| || || Use for materials that have been formally presented as a gift to a person or body. Use in conjunction with the [[Relationship designators|relationship designators]] ''inscriber'' and ''former owner'' as appropriate. Note: in 2011-01-14: added because "inscriber" doesn't necessarily work well with manuscripts, but "presentation copies" works for both books and manuscripts. Update: in 2019-02-28 we reiterated that we want to keep "Presentation copies (Provenance) limited to very special unique objects, typically presentation manuscripts (the Esther Inglis sort of thing) or printed books with special bindings or title pages. Do not use for books that simply have a "For my dear friend..." handwritten on the endleaf.||
|-
| Press kits || ǂ2 aat || Packets of promotional materials for distribution to the press, as at a press conference. For official or authoritative statements distributed to the press typically by a public relations firm or government agency, use "press releases." ||AAT|| ||
|-
| Pressbooks (theatre manuals) || ǂ2 aat|| Manuals provided to theater owners, especially in the 1930s and 1940s, advising them on how to promote a particular motion picture being shown in their theater. ||AAT || Use for exhibitors' campaign books.  ||
|-
| Prices (Provenance) || ǂ2 rbprov|| Use for prices in materials indicating purchase cost information by a previous owner or relating to secondary selling, e.g., second-hand dealer prices, auction prices. ||RBMS || Use for pre-19th century manuscript prices, especially auction prices.  || 
|-
| Printed waste (Binding) || ǂ2 rbbin || || || Use for the presence of printed waste paper in bindings. ||
|-
| Printers' advertisements|| ǂ2 rbgenr || || ||Use for advertisements for books &c. printed by an entity who is clearly not the bookseller or publisher  ||
|-
| Printers' devices (Printing)|| ǂ2 rbpri  || Emblematic designs or devices of a printer or publisher. The printer's mark as an identifying device was used in typographic books with the invention of printing in the 15th century; printers gradually added a blank piece of paper at the front of a book to protect the first page from soiling. The identifying device, monogram, or emblem was applied to this page or with a brief sentence at the rear of the book; when the printer's mark was incorporated into the colophon, it is sometimes itself known as a "colophon." ||AAT||Use only for printers' devices cataloged as individual items. For printers' devices in the Folger rare book collection, search for "printer's device" as a phrase. || 
|-
| Printing privileges (Publishing)|| ǂ2 rbpub || || || Use for printed works containing a statement granting an exclusive right to print a work or a class work of works. UF ''Imprimaturs'': works containing an official endorsement of the content, usually by the Roman Catholic church. || 
|-
| Prints || ǂ2 gmgpc|| Images formed by transfer from one surface or source to another. Usually created with ink(s) and produced in multiple impressions. ||TGM ||Do not use narrower terms, e.g., ''Mezzotints'', ''Etchings'', ''Lithographs'', etc.  ||
|-
| Private press books (Publishing)|| ǂ2 rbpub || || || ||
|-
| Prize books (Provenance) || ǂ2 rbprov || || || ||
|-
| Proclamations || ǂ2 rbgenr|| Documents that are publicly announced or officially declared; especially a public notice by an official of some order, intended action, or state of facts. ||AAT || ||
|-
| Programs || ǂ2 rbgenr || Use for lists of the events, pieces, performers, speakers, etc., of an entertainment, ceremony, or the like. ||RBMS|| ||
|-
| Prologues and epilogues || ǂ2 local || || || Use for poems, speeches, or other literary works written to be spoken or performed before or after a play. ||
|-
| Promissory notes || ǂ2 aat || Unconditional written promises to pay on demand, or at a fixed or determined future time, a certain sum of money to, or to the order of, a specified person or to the bearer. ||AAT || ||
|-
| Promptbooks || ǂ2 rbgenr || Use for plays with manuscript production annotations. ||RBMS || ||
|-
| Proofs (Printing) || ǂ2 rbpri|| Refers to trial sheets of printed matter that are checked against original manuscripts and on which errors can be corrected and alterations made. || AAT (Proofs (printed matter)) || For proofs of graphic materials, use ''Proofs (printed matter)''. ||
|-
| Proofs (printed matter) || ǂ2 gmgpc || In printmaking, impressions taken at any stage from a plate, block, or stone, but not considered part of the edition. In photography, photographic prints made as quick records of a negative or for clients to choose from, as with studio portraits. ||TGM || Use a more specific term when appropriate: ''Trial proofs'', ''Counterproofs'', ''Proofs before letters''. For proofs of textual material, use ''Proofs (Printing)''. || 
|-
| Proofs before letters || ǂ2 gmgpc || In printmaking, impressions complete except for a title or publication statement to be printed outside of the image area. ||TGM || ||
|-
| Prophecies || ǂ2 lcgft  || || || Use for written utterances declaring divine will and purpose, or predicting things to come. ||
|-
| ''Props'' use ''Stage props''
|-
| Prospectuses|| ǂ2 rbgenr  || Use for formal summaries of proposed commercial, literary, or other ventures to solicit investment, purchase, or participation. ||RBMS|| ||
|-
| Proverbs || ǂ2 rbgenr || Refers to short, concise sayings repeated colloquially expressing a general truth or observation about human life or behavior, often embodying the folk wisdom of a group or nation. Distinguished from ''Aphorisms'' which are statements of principle or precepts, often of known authorship. ||AAT|| ||
|-
| Psalters ||ǂ2 rbgenr|| Use for books containing only the Psalms. ||RBMS|| ||
|-
| Publishers' advertisements||ǂ2 rbgenr  || Use ''Booksellers' advertisements'' rather than this term for examples appearing before the roles of bookseller and publisher were clearly differentiated. ||RBMS|| ||
|-
| Publishers' catalogs||ǂ2 rbgenr  || Use ''Booksellers' catalogs'' rather than this term for examples appearing before the roles of bookseller and publisher were clearly differentiated. ||RBMS|| ||
|-
| ''Puzzles'' use ''Games''
|-
| Radio plays  || ǂ2 rbgenr || || || Use for scripts of radio plays ||
|-
| ''Receipt books'' use ''Cookbooks'' and/or ''Medical formularies''. || [Most Folger receipt books will require both ''use'' terms.]
|-
| Receipts (financial records) || ǂ2 aat || Written acknowledgment of the receiving or taking of goods or money delivered or paid. ||AAT || ||
|-
| Regulations || ǂ2 rbgenr|| BT ''Legal works''. Regulations issued by a governmental agency, having the force of law, to interpret or implement the provisions of a statute. ||AAT (Administrative regulations) || ||
|-
| ''Riddles'' use ''Games''
|-
| Romances || ǂ2 rbgenr|| Use for medieval and Renaissance tales in prose or verse celebrating the adventures, in love and war, of some hero of chivalry. Do not use for modern romance novels. ||RBMS || ||
|-
| Sammelbands (Provenance) || ǂ2 rbprov|| Use for separately-produced works bound together for the owner during the medieval or early modern period. ''Note'': this scope note is in the process of being revised, partly to remove the period limitation. ||RBMS || ||
|-
| Satires|| ǂ2 rbgenr ||Literary compositions in verse or prose in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule. || AAT (Satires (document genre)) || Folger practice: use for both literary and visual satires. ||
|-
| Scenarios || ǂ2 rbgenr || Use for plot outlines of dramatic works.||RBMS|| ||
|-
| Scores || ǂ2 rbgenr|| Original and entire drafts or transcripts of musical compositions or arrangements, with the parts of all the different instruments or voices written on staffs one above another, so that they can be read at a glance. ||AAT || ||
|-
| Scrapbooks || ǂ2 rbgenr|| Use for albums containing a variety of items, especially when those items serve as memorabilia. ||AAT|| ||
|-
| ''Screenplays'' use ''Film scripts''
|-
| Seals (Impressions) || ǂ2 gmgpc || Wax or embossed impressions; chiefly used to certify a signature or authenticate a document. ||TGM || Use for personal or unofficial seals ||
|-
| Seals (Impressions) ǂx Official || ǂ2 gmgpc || Wax or embossed impressions; chiefly used to certify a signature or authenticate a document. || TGM || Use for official seals; subdivide by country and century. ||
|-
| Sermons || ǂ2 rbgenr || Religious discourses delivered as part of a church service. ||AAT || ||
|-
| Set design drawings|| ǂ2 gmgpc || Graphic delineations made for the design and production (or documentation of design and production) of stage settings for theatrical, movie, broadcast, or other performing arts productions. || TGM || ||
|-
| Ships' logs|| ǂ2 aat || Daily records of the progress of a ship at sea, with notes on the weather and important incidents of the voyage.  ||AAT || ||
|-
| Ships' manifests|| ǂ2 aat  || Lists or invoices of cargo on a ship, usually containing marks or indication of contents or commodity, consignee, and other pertinent information for use at terminals or customhouses. ||AAT || ||
|-
| Short films ||ǂ2 lcgft || This heading is used as a genre/form heading for films usually limited to a running time of less than 40 minutes || LC|| ||
|-
| Shorthand || ǂ2 aat || Use for methods of handwriting that use simplified strokes, abbreviations, or symbols to facilitate rapid writing. || AAT||
|-
| ''Signatures'' use ''Autographs''
|-
| Signing patterns (Printing)|| ǂ2  rbpri || Use for signatures with patterns such as alternating 12's and 6's. ||RBMS|| Use only in extremely unusual signing pattern situations. ||
|-
|Silent films||ǂ2 lcgft || This heading is used as a genre/form heading for films produced in the early days of the motion picture industry before the advent of talking films ||LC || ||
|-
| Silhouettes || ǂ2 gmgpc || Images shown in profile in a single hue against a contrasting background; cut, drawn, painted, printed, or photographic; often portraits. ||TGM || ||
|-
| Slides|| ǂ2 gmgpc || Transparent materials on which there is a drawn image or a positive photographic image; intended to be bound or held in a mount and usually designed for use in a projector or viewer.  ||TGM || ||
|-
|Slurs (Printing) || ǂ2 rbpri|| Use for blurred or doubled ink impressions caused by the sliding of the paper on the printing surface. ||RBMS || ||
|-
| Songs || ǂ2 rbgenr || || || Use for written poems that include musical notation, specify a tune, and/or call themselves a song. ||
|-
| Souvenir programs||ǂ2 rbgenr || Use for programs distributed to commemorate a specific event, e.g., the dedication of a monument. ||RBMS || Use for published souvenirs, even if a specific date or occasion is not mentioned. ||
|-
| Stage props|| ǂ2 gmgpc || || || Use for movable physical objects used on a stage set that are not costume or structurally part of the set, such as furnishings, decorations, and objects held or touched by actors. ||
|-
| Subscription lists (Publishing)|| ǂ2 rbpub || Lists or records of subscriptions and subscribers. || AAT || ||
|-
| Surveys (documents) || ǂ2 aat || Documentation of examinations or inspections conducted in order to achieve a comprehensive view, as of a place, a group of related items, or to ascertain condition or value. For detailed lists of items on hand, or of items in a given category, use ''Inventories''. For sets of questions submitted to a number of persons to obtain information, use ''Questionnaires''. || AAT || ||
|-
| Telegrams|| ǂ2 aat || Messages sent by telegraph. UF ''Cablegrams'' ||AAT || ||
|-
| Textbooks  || ǂ2 rbgenr ||Books used as standard works for the formal study of a particular subject. UF ''Instruction books''||AAT || ||
|-
| '''Theses.'''|| ǂ2 aat || Discourses advancing an original point of view as a result of research, especially as a requirement for an academic degree. || AAT || ||
|-
| Tickets || ǂ2 gmgpc|| Slips of paper, cardboard, or other material used for admission or passage.  ||TGM || ||
|-
| Ties (Binding)|| ǂ2 rbbin|| Cords, bands, or similar flexible devices used for fastening, especially by interlacing, such as in a knot or bow. || AAT (Ties (fasteners)) || Use whenever there is evidence of original ties on bindings, even if now missing.  ||
|-
| Title pages|| ǂ2 gmgpc || Pages bearing the title and usually the names of author and publisher, and date and place of publication of a book, portfolio, or other material. ||TGM || Use when cataloging individual title pages in the art collection. ||
|-
| Toy theaters || ǂ2 aat || Toys comprising engravings in miniature of the characters, scenery, stage, and proscenium, either hand-colored or without color for the child to color him- or herself; they were designed to be cut out and mounted on stiff backing such as cardboard or wood.||AAT || ||
|-
| Tracts (documents) ||ǂ2 aat || Brief treatises or pamphlets for general distribution, usually on a religious or political topic. || AAT || ||
|-
| Translations || ǂ2 rbgenr  || Translated versions of a text. || AAT || ||
|-
| Treasure bindings|| ǂ2 rbbin || "Covered with gold and silver, ivories, enamelwork, and gems." -- Needham. UF ''Medieval treasure bindings''. || RBMS || Use for narrow terms ''Enamel bindings'', ''Ivory bindings'', ''Jewelled bindings'', and ''Silver bindings''. ||
|-
| Treaties || ǂ2 rbgenr || Agreements or contracts made between two or more states, formally signed by duly authorized representatives, and usually ratified by the lawmaking authority of the states, as treaties of peace or alliance, or commercial treaties. ||AAT || ||
|-
| Trial proceedings||ǂ2 rbgenr || || || Use for official or unofficial written accounts of judicial trials of any kind  ||
|-
| Trial proofs || ǂ2 gmgpc|| Prints made before the completion of the accepted impression. ||TGM || ||
|-
| Underscoring (Provenance)|| ǂ2 rbprov  || || || Use for resources that have been underlined in manuscripts ||
|-
| ''Verses'' use ''Poems''
|-
| Visiting cards || ǂ2 gmgpc || Small cards bearing a person's name and sometimes address; presented when making a formal social call. May have a portrait, scene, or decoration; may be accompanied by an envelope. || TGM || ||
|-
| Volvelles || ǂ2 rbgenr || Use for devices, whether individual or in books, consisting of one or more movable circles surrounded by other graduated or figured circles and intended for the calculation of astronomical or other data. ||RBMS || ||
|-
| Vues d'optique|| ǂ2 gmgpc || Prints intended for viewing through an optical system such as a zogroscope that enhances the effect of perspective. Because the viewing device included a mirror, the lettering and image are usually laterally reversed. Common in the late 1700s in Europe for peep shows.  ||TGM || ||
|-
| Warrants|| ǂ2 aat  ||Documents giving authority to do something; especially used in civil and criminal law for the arrest of persons or for their production in court as witnesses. || AAT || Most commonly used for documents authorizing payment ||
|-
| Watch papers ||ǂ2 gmgpc|| Circular papers used to ensure a tight fit between inner and outer cases of a pocket watch. Often contain watchmaker's or watch owner's name. ||TGM || ||
|-
| Watercolors || ǂ2 gmgpc || Use for ''Watercolor drawings'' and ''Watercolor paintings''. ||TGM || ||
|-
| Watermarks (Paper)|| ǂ2  rbpap || Use for any pattern in the paper which appears when the paper is held up to the light, and light shines through because the paper is thinner where the pattern is formed. Terms listed here are general designations of types of watermarks, and do not indicate specific shapes or patterns, which can be described in notes in the cataloguing record. Libraries may wish to sub- divide the general term Watermarks by the images they portray. For example: 655 Watermarks (Paper) ǂx Lion. ||RBMS|| Use when the item being cataloged is a watermark. ||
|-
| Wedding books|| ǂ2 rbgenr  || Use for works which recount and depict nuptial festivities and events, chiefly of royalty, nobility, or famous persons, and which may also include literary works offered to the principals, such as epithalamia or the Italian "per le nozze." ||RBMS || ||
|-
| Wills || ǂ2 aat || Legal instruments in which a person declares the disposition of his/her property, to take effect after his/her death, and which is revocable during the lifetime of that person. ||AAT || ||
|-
| Writing books|| ǂ2 rbgenr  || Use for books which provide instruction in handwriting or penmanship. ||RBMS || ||
|-
| Writing tables (Paper)|| ǂ2 rbpap || Use for paper or vellum treated to enable erasure and intended for use with a metal stylus. ||RBMS|| ||
|}
[[Category:Cataloging]]
[[Category:Staff policies and procedures]]
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Latest revision as of 13:50, 30 September 2024

Genre/form terms in catalog records describe what an item is (or contains), not what it is about. Genre corresponds roughly to the intellectual content of what is being described: for example, almanacs, depositions, plays, and poems. Form corresponds with physical characteristics. For instance, this catalog record for two copies of a 1635 edition of Sternhold and Hopkins Whole booke of Psalmes has been assigned the genre terms Psalters, Adaptations, Miniature books, and Printing privileges, and the form term Embroidered bindings. In practice, "genres" and "forms" overlap, so the MARC cataloging standard uses the same field for both (the MARC 655 Genre/Form field).

Genre and form in library catalogs

Catalogers use controlled vocabularies to ensure that terminology is more or less the same between different institutions, or can be cross-walked to equivalent terms when sharing data. But as the saying goes, "the great thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from."

Guidance for Folger catalogers can be found in the Folgerpedia article "MARC 655 Index Term - Genre/Form"; the general order of vocabulary preference is:

Form subdivisions also appear at the end of a subject heading, though this practice has largely been replaced by separate Genre/Form terms. At the Folger, these include, for example:

  • -- Early works to 1800 (material about the named subject that is pre-1801)
  • -- Manuscripts (material about the named subject that is manuscript rather than printed)
  • -- Pictorial works (material about the named subject that is primarily pictorial rather than verbal)

Searching genre/form terms in the catalog

The Folger catalog has several built-in ways to search for items by their genre and form.

  • Begin a search then narrow your search results using the checkboxes in the Genre/form facet in the left-hand side bar (on a mobile device or narrow screen, use the “Options” button to reveal the facets).
  • Type genreform: immediately before a keyword search in the main search box (remember to use quotation marks around phrases). For example:
  • Follow the Advanced Search link near the bottom of the catalog's landing page and select "genre/form (what it is)" from the drop-down menus next to any of the three search boxes. You can search by genre/form alone, or combine it with other searches.
  • Follow the Browse records link near the bottom of the catalog's landing page and select "genre/form (what it is)" then hit the "Search" button to browse an alphabetical list.