The Places/Geographical Names authority is used in two ways—for "place names" geographical data in the Catalog level-4 forms and for address data in the Names authority.

Use of "Place" Names in Cataloging

Three place cataloging fields are provided in the level-4 forms, and any one alone or in combination can be used (and will be included in the online Finding Aid report and generated EAD files).

• Use the first, long-text field for descriptive statements about the coverage of the materials/item.
• Use the second, a controlled field, for countries/regions and states/provinces covered in the MARC authority standard and delivered in the Places... authority. The picklist for this field is organized first by Country and then by State.
  
  
  
  You can also enter the full name or, as a short cut, the MARC code. The MARC codes, although not visible in the cataloging form, are stored in the records and can be used in searching. They are also displayed in the Finding Aid report, e.g.:
  
  
• The third field is a Dublin Core "coverage" field, referred to in either Spatial or Temporal terms. It is not a controlled field, so you can enter non-authority names. The picklist includes all Places... terms: Country/region, State/Province, and your own defined Other values and, even though the data are not stored in the record, you can use the MARC codes as shortcuts for direct input.

Use of Place Names in Names Authority Addresses

If a place name will not be used as an Address authority term, only a few of the fields need to be filled in. The record below shown in the Edit form is an Other Record Type, illustrating the three fields to be filled in. The others are optional.

• In the first field, enter the place name and, if it does not "stand alone" (e.g., there are many Adams and Clark Counties in the U.S.), fill in the Official Term (TRANS) field with a modified version of the place that makes it unique.
• In the Location Type field, select from the listbox (or modify the list to add an appropriate value):
  
  

For geographical address data, use these additional fields:

• Use the Preferred code field for an abbreviation
• Use the in address, use: field to specify whether the full name or code is to be used
• For a City value, fill in the State and Country
• In the State form, fill in the Country
  
  

In any of the several "views," use the Input Value to enter shortcuts that will facilitate direct input. Your Official Term is added to this field automatically, after the record is updated. In the Edit "Other" form, we are now adding a new shortcut value.