DOCUMENTATION NOTE: PREPARING A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO COLLECTIONS OF MICROFORM MATERIALS

The Sterling C. Evans Library, Texas A & M University, holds over 3,000,000 microforms. As many of the Evans microform collections are not catalogued, access to them can be perplexing to patrons. To ease that problem, the microtext staff created Guide to the Microform Collections in the Sterling C. Evans Library, which describes the microform materials currently housed in six different departments of the Library. Entries are arranged alphabetically by title and are identified by format. The Guide allows patrons to examine a scope note for each set, to discover indexes which enable efficient use of various sets, and to search for microform materials by subject. Call numbers for microform materials, locations, indexes with appropriate call numbers, and subject headings are integral parts of each listing. In addition to describing the current collection, the Guide provides an effective means of assessing collection strengths or weaknesses. The article presents information on selecting materials for inclusion in the Guide, content and form of entries, and updating the guide.