Calendars and almanacs

The Folger collection includes a variety of calendars, almanacs, and related items, from both the hand-press and mechanical-press eras. They range from perpetual calendars, star charts and ephemerides to page-a-day calendars and martyrologies. Although some almanacs and commemorative calendars may record past events ("On this day in 1564..."), they should not be confused with chronicles, yearbooks, or other chronologies. Almanacs and calendars are distinguished by their predictive aspects, even when they incorporate elements of the past.

Cataloging calendars

The majority of calendars in the Folger collection are cataloged as books, although some have been cataloged as art (e.g. single-sheet calendars where illustrative content is prominent). When cataloging in Connexion, use the Books or Visual Materials workforms as appropriate.

• Code the Content field 5 for Calendars. (This is only an option in the Books workform.)
• In the absence of a publication statement, assume the year of publication is the year previous to the one that the calendar is meant for. Add the year to the 260 or 264 field in brackets.
• Do not add a subject heading for Calendars, and delete locally if found. This is only appropriate if cataloging an item about calendars. However, adding a form subdivision for Calendars may be appropriate

600 10 Shakespeare, William, ‡d 1564-1616 ‡x Quotations ‡v Calendars

• Add a genre term for Calendars. Add narrower terms as appropriate (list to come). As with all other genre terms, do not subdivide.

655 7 Calendars. ‡2 rbgenr