Correspondence Guidelines

Guidelines to create metadata for letters and other correspondence.

Reminders:

  • These instructions are a sub-set of the full metadata guidelines but may not cover all options; be sure to look at help guides for individual fields to see additional examples and formatting guidelines

  • Occasionally, items may have project-specific exceptions to these rules

  • Institution and collection values will always be determined by administrators

  • Placeholder information is denoted by {{{3 brackets}}} which should be removed; other punctuation is intentional (examples show final formatting)

Title

  • Every letter should have one main title that describes known recipient(s)/sender(s) and date

  • Only include information that is known (e.g., some letters may not have a date, or may not use proper names)

Main Title

Guideline

Examples

Personal letter: [Letter from {{{{name}}} to {{{name}}} - {{{date}}}]

  • Leave out any unknown information

  • Do not include salutations or nicknames (e.g., “My Dearest Mother”)

  • A relationship may be used in place of a name

  • Names may be abbreviated as initials, especially if the title is very long or the name is irregular

  • Dates may be set off with a comma or dash, depending on which is clearer
[Letter from McCarty Moore to John E. Surratt - December 31, 1925]
[Letter from Samuel B. Foster - December 18, 1865]
[Letter from Paul Ossterhout to his Grandmother - October 24, 1874]
[Letter from Sterling Houston to San Antonio Light Editor - August 15, 1990]
[Letter fom T. L. James to D. W. Kempner - August 30, 1949]

  • When very little or no information is known, the title may include a reference to the content instead

  • This also applies if no names are listed
[Letter from Raymond Cheung Regarding Internship]
[Letter to Jesse Grimes About Personal Topics]
[Letter Regarding Personal Updates, 1940s]

Business letters to a group: [Letter from {{{organization}}}, {{{date}}}]

  • This generally applies to letters addressed to “members” or “stockholders” or similar rather than an individual

[Letter from Galveston Artillery Club - May 24, 1955]

Multiple letters: [Correspondence Between {{{name}}} and {{{name}}}, {{{date-date}}}] (or title adjusted to “Letters”)

  • This applies when multiple letters are grouped together (e.g., because they are physically connected an cannot be separated, or a respondent answered on the same page)

  • The title should reflect the whole content of the item (e.g., a date range/month covering all correspondence)

  • In some cases, it may be more appropriate to describe the content
[Letters from Meyer Bodansky to J. Leont’ev, March 1936-September 1938]
[Correspondence Between Alex Bradford & Kent Cooper - May 1944]
[80 Letters in Support of Cannon Air Force Base]

Typed versions of handwritten letters: [Transcript of Letter from {{{{name}}} to {{{name}}} - {{{date}}}]

  • When we have a handwritten and typed version of the same letter, the titles will match, but the printed version should start with “Transcript of”

[Transcript of letter from Paul Osterhout to his Grandmother - October 24, 1874]

Other types of correspondence

  • Adjust title descriptors for specific types of items as appropriate, e.g.:

    • E-mails

    • Telegrams

    • Postcards

    • Memos/memoranda

    • Invitations
[Telegram from Fred Chandler, Jr., to R. I . Mehan, December 8, 1956]
[Air Force E-mails Regarding BRAC Analysis]
[Postcard of Davis Home Sent to James Chambers]
[Invitation to Groundbreaking Ceremony, 1987]

  • If the correspondence is primarily a solicitation rather than a “letter,” the title may be changed to something descriptive (but other fields may still reflect that it was mailed correspondence when relevant)
[Telecord Advertisement]
[Flyer Advertising the Institute of International Relations - June 1946]

Added Title

Guideline

Examples

Most letters will not have added titles; here are some specific times when they might:

  • When there are (few) multiple letters, adding a normalized title for each letter will make that version searchable (optional)
[Letter from Alex Bradford to Kent Cooper - May 24, 1944]
[Letter from Kent Cooper to Alex Bradford - May 25, 1944]

  • When a letter/e-mail includes a subject line (e.g., labeled “Re: “ or “Subject: “) include that text as a title

B-1 Bottling Company of Houston, Inc.

Other Titles

  • When in doubt, do not include additional titles (see other title documentation for more information)

  • For certain collections, records for letters may include appropriate series titles, e.g.:

    • archival series titles

    • fiscal year titles

    • legislative session titles

  • If names include organizational acronyms, it may be appropriate to include an alternate title (though generally the name should just be written out elsewhere in the record)

Creator/Contributor

  • For original letters: creator = letter writer; contributor = letter recipient

  • Entries may only include a single name; for multiple names (e.g., two senders), you will need a separate entry for each name

  • Remember that a name can only be a creator or contributor (not both) so for multiple letters, all parties may be listed only as authors/creators

Guideline

Examples

Individual names (type = personal)

  • Format a personal name as: last, first middle

  • Personal names must have a surname and should not be included when unavailable (e.g., signed “Aunt Jennie” with no additional information)

  • Do not include titles (e.g., Rev.), degrees (e.g., Ph.D.), etc. unless necessary to distinguish the person; for married women, use the woman’s name, if known

  • Use an authorized form of the name if available/relevant

  • Other forms (e.g., abbreviations) can be added to “info”

Bouldin, H. M.

Foster, Samuel B.

Bodansky, Meyer, 1896-1941

Carmean, E. A., Jr.

Hunt, Mrs. Andrew

Name: James, Thomas Leroy

Info: Thos. L. James

Agency/organization names (type = organization)

  • Use an authorized form of the name if available/relevant

  • Write out the name as it is written (e.g., in signature line or letterhead)

  • For organizations with divisions, list each part largest to smallest, separated with periods

United States. Army.

Galveston Artillery Club

Committee for a National Trade Policy (U.S.)

Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States

Colombia. Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores.

Creator/Contributor Roles

  • Note that any creator/contributor entry must have a name, type (person/organization), and role

  • Choose roles based on who made the specific item:

Creator is:

Creator role:

Contributor is:

Contributor role:

Original letter (may be handwritten or typed)

Person/organization that wrote the letter

author

Recipient of letter (person or organization)

correspondent

Transcribed letter

Person/organization that created the transcription

transcriber

Writer of original/source letter

author

Optionally, include recipient

correspondent

Telegram / card / invitation / etc.

Sender (person/organization)

author

Recipient, if named

correspondent

Postcards (with correspondence)

Person/organization that wrote the message

author

Recipient, if named

correspondent

Person/organization responsible for the image, if named

photographer, illustrator, or artist

Postcard printer, if named

printer

Creation Date

  • Check the date guidelines if you need more formatting options or examples

Guideline

Examples

Use the date written on letter in the form YYYY-MM-DD

1944-03-12

For multiple dates/letters, you can use a range (date/ date)

1936-03-01/1938-09-21

If there is no date on the item, leave this out, or add a date based on other known information (when relevant):

  • Add a tilde (~) to denote an approximate/”circa” date

1913-12~

  • Add a question mark (?) if the date is not completely certain

1868?

  • Use a less specific known date (e.g., YYYY only)
1833-04
1945

If part of the date is illegible, a missing digit may be replaced with “X”

184X-10-10

For transcriptions/translation, the creation date is when the transcript or translation was written

  • If this is unknown, leave the creation date blank

2012-11-12

Language

  • Choose the appropriate language from the list that matches the text

  • Add multiple languages if needed

Content Description

  • Start the content description with “Letter … “ or other relevant descriptor (“E-mail …” / “Telegram … “ / etc.)

  • When important, other descriptive elements can be included at the start, e.g., “Photocopy of a letter …” or “Transcript of a letter …”

  • Most descriptions will be around 1-2 sentences

  • Adjust the description based on known information and type of content

  • Always mention/describe enclosures (when applicable)

Guideline

Examples

Personal letters

  • Use the rough format: Letter from {{{name}}} to {{{name}}} discussing … (((brief details summarizing whole letter and highlighting anything of importance}}}

Letter to Dr. Knickerbocker from Dr. Meyer Bodansky offering the position of chairman of the Texas Committee for Medical Refugees to Dr. Knickerbocker.

Letter from the Congressional Delegation of California to Commissioner Sue Ellen Turner regarding Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar and Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) San Diego.

Letter from J. Bouldin to her sister, Bettie Wade, discussing her health, an upcoming Sunday school celebration, and other news. She says that she has still been sick with the chills and Pa has a toothache. The recent rain made the rivers rise so high that the stages could not come in for about a week.

Letter from Dr. Felix P. Miller to Dr. Chauncey D. Leake discussing the exhibition of an X-ray machine at a conference and the purchase of an electron microscope for University of Texas. A newspaper clipping from the El Paso Times is enclosed, featuring a piece on Dr. Miller and his work developing X-ray technology.

Business letters to a group

  • Use the rough format: Letter from {{{organization or person at organization}}} discussing … (((brief details summarizing whole letter and highlighting anything of importance}}}

Letter from the Committee for a National Trade Policy’s executive director referencing the political platform statements, which the Committee is sending to members, describing Republican and Democratic candidates’ positions in relation to trade.

Physical Description

Guideline

Examples

General format: # p. ; h cm.

  • List the number of pages and height rounded up to next whole centimeter (cm.)

  • If pages are unnumbered, list the pages of content in [brackets]

[1] p. ; 28 cm.

For odd page sizes or folded pages: … ; h x w cm. OR … ; h x w cm., folded to h x w cm.

  • Add height x width rounded up to next whole centimeter (cm.) when size is disproportionate or important to item

  • Include total (open) height x width and folded height x width when relevant
[2] p. ; 5 x 20 cm.
6 p. : ill. ; 40 x 22 cm., folded to 26 x 22 cm.

If there are illustrations (e.g., letterhead or doodles): # p. : ill. ; h cm.

  • When the content has illustrations, add a note between pages and dimensions, preceded by colon

  • For color illustrations, use “col. ill.”
[1] p. : col. ill. ; 29 x 20 cm.
5 p. : ill. ; 18 x 11 cm.

If the letter includes an envelope or an enclosure: … + {{{# item type}}} (ill., h x w cm.)

  • For any items that “accompany” the main content, after the letter description add “+” and for each type of item list number and type of item, with details and dimensions in parentheses
2 p. ; 28 cm. + 1 envelope (11 x 24 cm.)
[1] p. ; 28 cm. + 1 clipping (ill. ; 31 x 16 cm.)
12 p. ; 20 x 13 cm. + 1 envelope (9 x 14 cm.)

For cards: 1 {{{item}}} : {{{b&w or col.}}} ; h x w cm.

  • For postcards or greeting cards, change # p. to the item type: 1 postcard or 1 card

  • Note whether the illustrations are black-and-white or color (rarely, a postcard is text-only and the middle segment would be omitted: 1 postcard ; h x w cm.)

  • Dimensions should be h x w rounded up to next whole centimeter (cm.), but may include folded sizes for greeting cards (same as above)
1 postcard : col. ; 9 x 14 cm.
1 card : col. ill. ; 12 x 17 cm., folded to 12 x 9 cm.
1 card ; 8 x 11 cm.

Subject

  • 2 subject values (any type) are required for every record

  • 1 UNTL-BS term is required for all Portal records

  • Ideally, at least one subject should be added that is “more specific” to the individual item content

Guideline

Examples

University of North Texas Libraries Browse Subjects (UNTL-BS)

  • There is a “correspondence” term that applies for these

Social Life and Customs - Correspondence

  • Depending on the content, it may be appropriate to add one or two additional UNTL-BS terms
Education - Colleges and Universities
Agriculture - Farming
Social Life and Customs - Customs - Holidays - Christmas
Business, Economics and Finance - Advertising

Keywords (KWD)

  • Depending on the content, add one or two keywords that are specific to the item

  • Keywords should be lowercase and plural, unless they are proper names
medical research
anecdotes
Kiwanis Club

Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms (LCGFT)

  • When applicable, choose a more specific content type description

  • Do not add terms that duplicate resource type (e.g., “Postcards”)
Business correspondence
Personal correspondence
Greeting cards

Named Person (named_person)

  • When the sender/recipient are individual people, add them as named persons (last, first)

  • This may apply to any individual person who is important to the content (i.e., it is “about” them not just every person mentioned in passing)

  • Named persons must have at least a surname

  • Personal names may be added as keywords, instead, if there is no full name or it is not “about” them
Spies, John W.
Turner, Susan Ellen
Phillips
Coker, Mrs.

Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH)

  • If authorized, relevant LCSH terms are available (e.g., business names or famous people) add them as subjects
King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968
Imperial Sugar Company

Primary Source

  • Original letters are considered primary sources

  • When in doubt, mark “N/A” (not applicable)

Coverage

  • Add information about the places/dates that the content is about

  • This may or may not match creation information

Guideline

Examples

Place Name

  • If relevant, add the place(s) that are discussed in the letter

  • Places may include the location of the sender (i.e., “what is happening here”) and/or the recipient (i.e., “what is happening there, with you”)
United States - Texas
India
United States - Illinois - Cook County - Chicago

Coverage Date

  • Add a single coverage date entry for the date or date range described in the content

  • Formatting follows the same rules as the date field

  • Occasionally this will be the same as creation (e.g., “what’s happening today”) but will often be a range of time, or a less specific date (e.g., a month instead of a day)

  • For transcripts, coverage date will represent the content of the original letter
1937/1970-01
2000-08-24
1866-12
1907-07~

Time Period

  • For Portal records, add relevant time period(s) that correspond to the date(s) covered
mod-tim (Modern Times (1939-Present)
new-sou (New South, Populism, Progressivism, and the Great Depression, 1877-1939)

Relation

  • Relationships only apply when we have multiple items in the Digital Collections that should be connected

  • If you are unsure whether this applies, look at the relation field guidelines for a description of the types of appropriate relations

  • For each entry, choose the appropriate relation type and add {{{title, ARK}}} for the related item

  • Relationships are reciprocal, so A >> B and B >> A

  • Here are examples of relations that may be applicable to correspondence:

Handwritten letter & typed transcript

Original letter

Has Transcription

(points to typed version)

[Transcript of Letter from Josephus Moore to Charles Moore - February 16, 1865], ark:/67531/metapth203126

Typed version

Is Transcription of

(points to original letter)

[Letter from Josephus Moore to Charles Moore - February 16, 1865], ark:/67531/metapth203348

Letter with separate enclosures (these are sometimes together and sometimes separate)

Letter

References

(points to enclosure/s)

[Photograph of Kathleen Marie Bleu as a Baby], ark:/67531/metapth1329515

Enclosure item

Is Referenced By

(points to letter)

[Letter from Charlotte to Jeane and D. W. Kempner - February 5, 1948], ark:/67531/metapth1339795

  • “References/Is Referenced By” relationships can also be used when letters refer to one another, or refer to other non-enclosure items (e.g., content in a report that both people have read)

  • This may not always be appropriate, depending on the collection scope, e.g., if there are many letters that all reference one another back-and-forth, it may not be as helpful to include every reference and users can still sort them chronologically

A letter & a translated version

Original letter

Has Translation

(points to English version)

[Translation of Letter from H. Fehr, September 19, 1928], ark:/67531/metapth624275

English version

Is Translation of

(points to original letter)

[Letter from H. Fehr, September 19, 1928], ark:/67531/metapth606680

Resource Type

  • Original letters and transcripts should be labeled as “Letter” (text_letter)

  • For other correspondence that is primarily text/solely communication (e.g., telegrams), also use “Letter”

  • For postcards (with or without correspondence) use “Postcard” (image_postcard)

  • For other types of materials that have been mailed, the type may vary depending on the primary content, e.g.:

    • flyers/advertising mailers: Pamphlet (text_pamphlet)

    • greeting cards that are primarily correspondence: Letter (text_letter)

    • greeting cards that are largely blank: Artwork (image_artwork)

Format

  • Generally “text” but will match type prefix (e.g., “image” for postcards)

Identifier

  • Correspondence may have partner-assigned identifiers (to match physical and digital items)

  • These are added (or left in records) as Local Control Numbers (LOCAL-CONT-NO), e.g.:

    • DSMA_91-004-00008

    • UTSA_MS218-01-02-027