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User:Nargoon/Description/Location System

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The Description/Location System or DLS, also known as the 'Batwing System' is a recently invented method for the citation of unpublished documents and other materials, often held in archives or libraries, using symbols available on standard roman (western) keyboards or, in one case, in the IBM Extended Character Set. As of February 2010 no such system had come into general use.

The main features of the DLS

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  1. the precise location of an archival item can be provided in a manner consistent with all other citations;
  2. wordage is minimized by using acronyms and a small set of symbols;
  3. a Description can be given as appropriate to the item and preferred by the author;
  4. the symbols used in Locations may be extended in the future, if necessary, by collective editing of this page;
  5. authors do not need to explain their archival citation systems individually; they need only refer readers to this page.

Rules which form the Description/Location System

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  1. Archival citations are provided in the form: Description |@| Location.
  2. Description and Location are clearly separated by the batwing symbol |@|
  3. The batwing symbol can also be written !@! (on smaller keyboards).
  4. The Description gives enough information to identify the item and may also give additional information.
  5. The Location gets narrower from left to right, for example: Archive, Series, Sub-series, Box or Drawer, Folder.
  6. The Location uses the system employed by the holding institution but may abbreviate or extend it with any appropriate DLS symbols as follows:
    1. Archive - usually an acronym listed elsewhere by the author.
    2. Series - Σ
    3. Sub-series - ss.
    4. Box or Drawer - [], square brackets enclosing a unique number or label.
    5. Piece - a unique identifier provided by the holding institution, often giving both a Series and a Box or Folder.
    6. Accession - like Piece, but usually for non-documentary items.
    7. Folder - \/, or on smaller keyboards //, single slashes enclosing a unique number or label, usually written on the folder by whoever created it.
    8. Folio/s - f. or ff., followed by a number, letter or other identifier, or range of them, placed on items within a Box or Folder when they were created or filed.

References

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