25 Letter
Like our previous records, we also created this sample correspondence record as if we were creating a digital record for a letter our collection held in print. Thus, the format element is listed as “print.”
Because correspondence typically does not have a formal or given title, the brackets help indicate a title assigned by the record creator. In this case, we used the correspondent’s named, indicate who was sending and receiving the letter, and what date the letter was written as the title. Particularly because there are likely to be letter between several of the same people in archival collections, the date in the title helps the letter be more easily identifiable in the collection. And, while it is certainly possible that one person can write multiple letters to the same person in one day, it isn’t too likely. Therefore, adding the date, names, and indicating recipient and writer status can help ensure that you don’t have many records with the same title.
The description in the record was created by reading and summarizing the body of the letter. While for this letter we did not include any subject headings, there may have been instances where we decided to include a subject heading from a standard authority file like the Library of Congress Subject Headings. For example, Chesnutt frequently corresponded with Washington about legal, political, and historical matters. If there was a bill or historic event that they were discussing we might have included that subject heading, especially if it was a key topic of a series of several letters that a particular letter was a part of.
We included the type as “letter” because it indicates a more specific genre of print text.
While we didn’t include anything in the “relation” element, but this would be a great place to include the identifiers for a previous or following letter in a chain of letters between the correspondents. This could lead a user or patron not only to find related letters, but to provide more contextual information for the letter that they are initially viewing.
We included Booker T. Washington as the contributor because while he didn’t write this letter, he is a correspondent and Chesnutt is likely replying to a letter that Washington sent as part of their ongoing correspondence.
While we left coverage blank, this could possibly be a place where you record where the letter was written or sent. If there was a significant geographic region or timeframe discussed in the content of the letter, you could include that in this element as well.
Because this is a letter that was personal correspondence and not recorded as part of an organization, published publicly, and originally intended only for Washington and likely, his secretaries or administrative staff, we did not include anything in the “publisher” element for this record.
This letter was written in 1906 and is in the public domain and was listed as such in the “rights” element.
The date for this letter is the date that Chesnutt wrote the letter, not necessarily the day that it was sent. If you didn’t know the date a letter was written but knew what day it was sent you could include a sent date or an approximate date. Having previous or following letters in a chain of correspondence could be helpful for approximating or estimating the date for a letter. If a date is approximated or estimated it is important for the user to know that the date was approximated for the record. You might also leave this element blank if there is no date and no context clues for giving a date.
We included an identifier as corr.0001 to indicate that the item attached to this identifier is a piece of correspondence and it’s the first one we’ve processed for our hypothetical collection. There could be more sections added to indicate different levels of organization within the identifier. For example, the record for this letter at the Charles Chesnutt Archive is ccda.corr00024, where “ccda” indicates the item as part of the Charles Chesnutt [Digital] Archive, “corr” indicates that the item is a piece of correspondence rather than something like a manuscript or periodical, and “00024” to indicate that it is the 24th piece of correspondence added to the Archive’s correspondence catalog.
English is the only language this letter is written in, so it was indicated as the language for that element.