Missionary Collection
Missonary Collection
Shelf List of "Non-Book" Material,
18.6.1 to 18.6.3
Introduction
This part of the collection is very similar in type to the Congregational Collection, in that it is part of the library's holdings, yet is also part of the archives. This list of holdings includes mostly "non-book" material: published and unpublished pamphlets created by missionaries, missionary organizations, churches, and church organizations. One of the limitations of the project was that the cataloging and original order had to remain intact.
The guide is arranged by box number rather than author, topic, or country because there are too many records that do not have a consistent listing of any of these. There are three sections: 18.6.1: Foreign Missions, general; 18.6.2: Foreign Missions by country; 18.6.3: Home Missions. Each classification has its own box numbering. Researchers should be aware that the original cataloging relied on "Miscellaneous" as a viable descriptor. Researchers should employ the Find command for specific topic searches. Contact the Archivist if there are any questions about the guide.
Guide Field Labels
Catalog #
There is always a 3-part number. Example: 18.6.2 (foreign missions) or 18.6.3 (home missions). The fourth section is absent, either a 4-digit number, or sometimes a combination of letters and numbers. The archivist was unable to determine any meaning behind this last part of the catalog number. It was noted for the sake of continuity. The last several boxes in 18.6.3 were collected by a former library patron and were created for his personal reference. Therefore, they do not follow the cataloging rule about 18.6.3 equals home missions. These catalog numbers will not be visible in the guides on this web page, but are in the guides in the library.
Box
The archivist chose to leave the box-level original order. To expedite fast searches, the box numbers were established, and the guide is arraged by box number.
Notes
This field will frequently have the pamphlet's box label. Because of this, it will be used as a sub-heading under where box number is listed. Any duplications or unusual information is also noted here when applicable.
Author
Frequently these pamphlets had no discernable Author. Those items are by default listed first. Alternatively, with some records, institution was recognized as the author. If a researcher has a particular institution or author in mind, but it is not listed as the researcher expects, he or she may wish to check other fields for confirmation or consult the librarian or archivist.
Title
Upon the occasions when entire boxes of information were listed in one entry, the topic of that box is listed in the Title field.
CC
This field indicates Country Code. The more accurate label for this field is Region Code and those are the following:
AF-Africa | AS-Asia | CH- China | EU- Europe | HM- Home Mission | IN- India | JA- Japan | LA- Latin America | NE- Near East (Middle East) | NA- North America | PI- Pacific Islands | SA- South America
This is meant to be a quick reference for researchers and for the library staff. The code had pre-existed the guide, and it was expanded to include areas that were previously disregarded.
Country
When at all possible, the Country field is used if the item is about a specific region, particularly for Africa and Europe. In the case of Home Mission, state is used. For those items that fall under the categories of China, Japan, and India, a city or region was named if possible.
Date
The options for date include single date, multiple dates, or no date (n.d.). On some occasions, this field will be marked "multiple."