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LC ‘Maps’ Policy Change

Monday, October 11th, 2010

LC has recently made changes to the way that Maps will be handled in subject headings. As such, many people wondered how we were going to handle the changes and allow you the freedom and flexibility to do whats best for you library. Our expert librarian, Karen, drew up this explanation of the changes and how we can help you:

Proposals for handling the new LC policy for map form subdivisions (more…)

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Posted in Automated Authority Control, Bibliographic Records | Comments Closed

Russian Ligatures in MARC

Monday, September 13th, 2010

We have had a few other libraries ask about the Russian ligatures since there seems to be several inconsistencies with how these diacritics are coded in LC’s authority records.  A couple of months ago, one of our programmers was looking into this issue.  Here is the information that he found: (more…)

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Posted in Authority Records, Automated Authority Control, Bibliographic Records, MARC | 4 Comments »

Adding to Authorities

Monday, August 16th, 2010

Sometimes a national authority record just lacks some of the key information that your library needs. Maybe it’s an important cross-reference, a note, or some sort of field identifier. If you just receive the latest Library of Congress authority, for example, you could lose all that hard work that you and your staff have gone through to find the information and add it to your authorities. (more…)

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RDA Changes in MARC Records

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

Karen, our RDA Librarian, provided me with a fascinating report on recent changes to MARC, in many instances to accommodate the additional information in RDA. Here’s what she had to say.

Now that MARC21 Update 11 has been published, I’ve done through both the Bibliographic format standards and the Authority format standards and made a list of all the changes made to them from 2008 to the present.  They are listed by tag, with the Bibliographic format changes first, then the Authority format changes listed.  I have included the link to the tag description in the MARC21 Standards.  Also, after each change I’ve given the link to the MARBI proposal for that change in case you would like to see the reasoning behind it.  These will have the word marbi in the link and are directly after the actual change

Changes made to directly or indirectly accommodate RDA are marked with an *.  For more information on how RDA is affecting MARC21 see the document “RDA in MARC” found on the MARC21 Standards home page:  http://www.loc.gov/marc/RDAinMARC29.html

I hope you find this helpful.  Please feel free to point out any that I have missed.

Bibliographic format changes by field as of Mar. 2010

*Leader/18 – Descriptive cataloging form   http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bdleader.html

Note: will be coded i with RDA

http://www.loc.gov/marc/RDAinMARC29.html

*007/01 – Electronic Resource (007/00=c)  http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd007g.html

New codes defined [2009]

d – disc, type unspecified

e – disc cartridge, type unspecified

k – computer card

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-01-2.html

*007/01 – Projected Graphic (007/00=g)  http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd007g.html

Redefined code: [2009]

f – other or unspecified type of filmstrip (changed from Other type of filmstrip)

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-01-2.html

*007/01 – Microform (007/00=h)  http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd007h.html

New codes defined: [2009]

j – microfilm roll

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-06-3.html

h – microfilm slip

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-01-2.html

*007/01 – Nonprojected Graphic (007/00=k)  http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd007k.html

New codes defined: [2009]

a – activity card

k – poster

p – postcard

q – icon

r – radiograph

s – study print

v – photograph, type unspecified

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-01-2.html

*007/01 – Motion Picture (007/00=m)  http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd007m.html

New code defined: [2009]

o – film roll

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-06-3.html

*007/04 – Map (007/00=a)  http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd007a.html

*007/04 – Globe (007/00=d)  http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd007d.html

*007/04 – Nonprojected Graphic (007/00=k)  http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd007k.html

New codes defined: [2009]

i – plastic

l – vinyl

n – vellum

v – leather

w – parchment

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-01-2.html

007/04 – Videorecording (007/00=v)  http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd007v.html

New code defined: [2008]

s – Blu-ray disc

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2008/2008-09.html

*007/05 – Nonprojected Graphic (007/00=k)  http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd007k.html

New codes defined: [2009]

i – Plastic

l – Vinyl

n – Vellum

v – Leather

w – Parchment

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-01-2.html

008/18-19 & 006/01-02 – Music – Form of Composition (also valid in field 047 – Form of Musical Composition Code)  http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd008m.html

New codes defined: [2009]

za – Zarzuelas

fl – Flamenco

vi – Villancicos

tl – teatro lirico

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-09.html

*008/20 & 006/03 – Music – Format of Music http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd008m.html

New codes defined: [2009]

h – chorus score

i – condensed score

j – performer-conductor part

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-01-2.html

008/23 & 006/06 – Books – Form of item  http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd008b.html

New codes defined: [2010]

o – Online

q – Direct electronic

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2010/2010-01.html

008/22 & 006/05 – Continuing Resources – Form of original item http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd008s.html

New codes defined: [2010]

o – Online

q – Direct electronic

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2010/2010-01.html

008/23 & 006/06 – Continuing Resources – Form of item  http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd008s.html

New codes defined: [2010]

o – Online

q – Direct electronic

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2010/2010-01.html

008/23 & 006/06 – Computer File – Form of item http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd008c.html

New codes defined: [2010]

o – Online

q – Direct electronic

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2010/2010-01.html

008/22-23 & 006/05-06 – Maps format – Projection  http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd008p.html

New codes defined: [2009]

bk – Krovak

bl – Cassini-Soldner

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-04.html

008/23 & 006/06 – Music – Form of item  http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd008m.html

New codes defined: [2010]

o – Online

q – Direct electronic

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2010/2010-01.html

00823 & 006/06 – Mixed Materials – Form of item  http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd008x.html

New codes defined: [2010]

o – Online

q – Direct electronic

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2010/2010-01.html

008/24-27 & 006/07-10 – Books – Nature of content  http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd008b.html

New codes defined: [2008]

y – Yearbooks.  –  made obsolete in 1988, but is now being redefined

2 – Offprints

5 – Calendars

6 – Comics/graphic novels  – this replaces 008/33 and 006/16 code c (comic strip)

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2008/2008-04.html

008/24 & 006/07 – Continuing Resources – Nature of Entire Work  http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd008s.html

New codes defined: [2008]

y – Yearbooks – this code was made obsolete in 1988, but is now being redefined

5 – Calendars

6 – Comics/graphic

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2008/2008-04.html

008/25-27 & 006/08-10 – Continuing Resources – Nature of contents  http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd008s.html

New codes defined: [2008]

y – Yearbooks

5 – Calendars

6 – Comics/graphic novels

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2008/2008-04.html

008/29 & 006/12 – Map – Form of item  http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd008p.html

New codes defined: [2010]

o – Online

q – Direct electronic

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2010/2010-01.html

008/29 & 006/12 – Visual Materials – Form of item http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd008v.html

New codes defined: [2010]

o – Online

q – Direct electronic

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2010/2010-01.html

008/33 & 006/16 – Books format – Literary Form   http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd008b.html

Obsolete code: [2008]

c – Comic strips – made obsolete (replaced by a code 6 in 008/24-27 or 006/7-10 for Books format.)

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2008/2008-04.html .

017 – Copyright or Legal Deposit Number   http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd017.html

New subfield: [2008]

$z – Canceled/invalid copyright or legal deposit number (R)  [2008]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2008/2008-08.html

*033 – Date/Time and Place of an Event   http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd033.html

New subfields defined: [2010]

$p – Place of event

$0 – Record control number

$2 – Source of term

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2010/2010-03.html

034 – Coded Cartographic Mathematical Data http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd034.html

New subfield: [2010]

$3 – Materials specified

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2010/2010-05.html

*040 – Cataloging Source http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd040.html

Subfield made repeatable [2010]

$e – Description conventions

code “rda” added to the MARC code list for Descriptive Conventions to indicate the use of the RDA rules for description. Leader/18 will be coded i with RDA.

041 – Language Code   http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd041.html

New first indicator [2008]

# – No information provided – Formerly undefined

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2008/2008-03.html

080 – Universal Decimal Classification Number http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd080.html

Redefined Indicator 1 – Type of edition – Prior to 2009 undefined
# – No information provided
0 – Full
1 – Abridged

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-03.html

082 – Dewey Decimal Classification Number   http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd082.html

New subfields defined:  [2008]

$m – Standard or optional designation (NR)  code values:

a  – Standard

b – Optional

$q – Assigning agency (NR)

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2008/2008-01.html

083 – Additional Dewey Decimal Classification Number  http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd083.html

New field: [2008]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2008/2008-01.html

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2008/2008-01.html#proposal01-5

085 – Synthesized Classification Number Components   http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd085.html

New field: [2008]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2008/2008-01.html

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2008/2008-01.html#proposal01-6

257 – Country of Producing Entity   http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd257.html

Removed ‘for Archival Films’ from title.  Made tag repeatable.

Subfield redefined: [2009]

$a – Country of producing entity – subfield renamed & made repeatable

New subfield defined: [2009]

$2 –  Source

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-08.html

*336 – Content Type   http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd336.html

New field: [2009]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-01-2.html

*337 – Media Type   http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd337.html

New field: [2009]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-01-2.html

*338 – Carrier Type   http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd338.html

New field: [2009]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-01-2.html

New code under $b

ur – object

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-06-3.html

*380 – Form of Work  http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd380.html

New field: [2010]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2010/2010-04.html

*381 – Other Distinguishing Characteristics of Work or Expression   http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd381.html

New field: [2010]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2010/2010-04.html

*382 – Medium of Performance   http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd382.html

New field: [2010]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2010/2010-04.html

*383 – Numeric Designation of a Musical Work  http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd383.html

New field: [2010]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2010/2010-04.html

*384 – Key    http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd384.html

New field: [2010]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2010/2010-04.html

440 – Series Statement/Added Entry – Title

Field made obsolete  http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd440.htm – this link contains instructions for conversion to appropriate 490/830 fields.

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2008/2008-07.html

490 – Series Statement   http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd490.html

1st indicator redefined – Series traced, formerly Series traced differently

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2008/2008-07.html

Subfield redefined:

$x – made repeatable

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-06-2.html

New subfield defined:

$3 – Materials specified

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2008/2008-06.html

502 – Dissertation Note   http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd502.html

New subfields defined: [2008]

$b – Degree type

$c – Name of granting institution

$c – Year degree granted

$g – Miscellaneous information

$o – Dissertation identifier

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2008/2008-05-4.html

510 – Citation/References Note   http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd510.html

New subfield defined:

$u – Uniform Resource Identifier (R)

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-05.html

*518 – Date/Time and Place of an Event Note http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd518.html

New subfields defined: [2010]

$d – Date of event

$o – Other event information

$p – Place of event

$0 – Record control number

$2 – Source of term

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2010/2010-03.html

534 – Original Version Note   http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd534.html

New subfields:

$o – Other resource identifier (R) [2008]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2008/2008-10.html

$3 – Materials specified [2009]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-10.html

542 – Information Relating to Copyright Status   http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd542.html

New field: [2008]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2008/2008-02.html

588 – Source of Description Note   http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd588.html

New field: [2009]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-07.html

*700, 710, 711, 730 –    http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd70x75x.html

New subfield: [2009] (see X00, X10, X11 sections for description)

$i – Relationship information

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-06-1.html

*760, 762, 765, 767, 770, 772, 773, 774, 775, 776, 777, 780, 785, 786, 787 – Linking Entries   http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd76x78x.html

Subfields redefined [2009]

$g – Related parts (R) – renamed from Relationship information text

$i – Relationship information (R) – renamed from Display text and made repeatable

New subfield defined [2009]

$4 – Relationship code (added for RDA Appendix J)

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-06-1.html

*787 – Other Relationship Entry   http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd787.html

Renamed from Nonspecific Relationship Entry [2009]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-06-1.html

800, 810, 811, 830 – Series Added Entries   http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd80x83x.html

New subfields defined: [2008]

$x – International Standard Serial Number

$3 – Materials specified

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2008/2008-06.html

$5 – Institution to which field applies [2010]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2010/2010-02.html

*New Subfield – $0 – Authority Record Control Number

Added to the following fields

100, 110, 111, 130, 240, 600, 610, 611, 630, 648, 650, 651, 654, 655, 656, 657, 662, 700,                                     710, 711, 730, 752, 754, 800, 810, 811, 830

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2007/2007-06.html#p1

Authority format changes by field as of Mar. 2010

034 – Coded Cartographic Mathematical Data   http://www.loc.gov/marc/authority/ad034.html

New subfield codes: [2010]

$3 – Materials specified

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2010/2010-05.html

040 – Cataloging Source http://www.loc.gov/marc/authority/ad040.html

$e – Description conventions – made repeatable [2010]

code “rda” added to http://www.loc.gov/marc/relators/reladesc.html

see http://www.loc.gov/marc/RDAinMARC29.html

046 – Special Coded Dates    http://www.loc.gov/marc/authority/ad046.html

New field: [2009]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-01-1.html

New subfield codes [2010]

$k – Beginning or single date created

$l – Ending date created

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2010/2010-04.html

080 – Universal Decimal Classification Number http://www.loc.gov/marc/authority/ad080.html

New field: [2009]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-03.html

083 – Dewey Decimal Classification Number   http://www.loc.gov/marc/authority/ad083.html

New subfield: [2008]

$y – Table sequence number for internal subarrangement or add table

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2008/2008-01.html#proposal01-1

336 – Content Type    http://www.loc.gov/marc/authority/ad336.html

New field: [2009]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-01-2.html – proposal

370 – Associated Place   http://www.loc.gov/marc/authority/ad370.html

New field: [2009]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-01-1.html

371 – Address   http://www.loc.gov/marc/authority/ad371.html

New field [2009] (see Marc standards for description)

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-01-1.html

372 – Field of Activity   http://www.loc.gov/marc/authority/ad370.html

New field: [2009]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-01-1.html

373 – Affiliation   http://www.loc.gov/marc/authority/ad373.html

New field: [2009]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-01-1.html

374 – Occupation   http://www.loc.gov/marc/authority/ad374.html

New field: [2009]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-01-1.html

375 – Gender   http://www.loc.gov/marc/authority/ad375.html

New field: [2009]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-01-1.html

376 – Family Information   http://www.loc.gov/marc/authority/ad376.html

New field: ([2009]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-01-1.html

377 – Associated Language   http://www.loc.gov/marc/authority/ad377.html

New field: [2009]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-01-1.html

380 – Form of Work http://www.loc.gov/marc/authority/ad380.html

New field: [2010]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2010/2010-04.html

381 – Other Distinguishing Characteristics of Work or Expression http://www.loc.gov/marc/authority/ad381.html

New field: [2010]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2010/2010-04.html

382 – Medium of Performance http://www.loc.gov/marc/authority/ad382.html

New field: [2010]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2010/2010-04.html

383 – Numeric Designation of Musical Work http://www.loc.gov/marc/authority/ad383.html

New field: [2010]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2010/2010-04.html

384 – Key http://www.loc.gov/marc/authority/ad384.html

New field: [2010]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2010/2010-04.html

4XX, 5XX –

Subfield redefined (adjusted) [2009]

$i – Relationship information (done to accommodate RDA app. K and J)

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-06-1.html

New subfield

$4 – Relationship code [2009]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-06-1.html

New subfield codes

$w/0 – r – Relationship designation in $i or $4 [2009]

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-06-1.html

See Tracings and References–General Information –http://www.loc.gov/marc/authority/adtracing.html for instructions on using these subfields.

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Posted in Bibliographic Records, MARC, RDA | 1 Comment »

Announcing: New 300 Field Validation

Friday, April 9th, 2010

We’re excited to announce that the 300 field validation that we’ve been working on is now in place and working.  We add this to the hundreds of other corrections and validations that we make to bibliographic records as we process them. Judy, one of our Project Managers, explains the new process:

In an effort to continue improving our bibliographic validation services, we’ve been writing some cleanup steps for the 300 field.  Nothing drastic of course — just some “straightening out” changes.  The cleanup takes place only on records marked with ‘a’ in leader byte 6 … non-print bibs such as media, electronic resources, microforms, etc. are left as-is.  Here’s a list of what the programming will do:

  • * 300 $a = ‘unp.’ [or] ‘n.p.’ is changed to ‘1 v. (unpaged)’
  • 300 $a = a comma is added to #### page numbers if missing (ex.: 5332 p. becomes 5,332 p.)
  • 300 $a = ‘l.’ is changed to ‘leaves’
  • 300 $a = ‘approx.’ is changed to ‘ca.’
  • 300 $a = preliminary leaves and it’s abbreviation (p.l.) are removed (ex.: 4 p.l., xv, 312 p. = xv, 312 p.)
  • 300 $a = ‘unnumbered’ is removed and brackets added (ex.: 48 unnumbered leaves = [48] leaves)
  • If the p. is up against the :$b or the illustrative matter is up against the ;$c we add a space to separate
  • 300 $a = Missing periods are added to ‘p’ (ex.: 135p. = 135 p. )
  • 300 $b = The illustrative matter is rearranged to be in correct order
  • 300 $b = Obsolete illustrative matter is replaced with ‘ill.’ (ex.: ‘tables’ or “fronts.’ = ‘ill.’)
  • 300 $b = If ‘ill.’ is followed by the parenthetical illustrative matter, ‘ill.’ is dropped and the parenthetical matter remains (example: $bill. (ports.) = $bports.)
  • 300 $b = illus. is changed to ill.
  • Adds missing semicolon before $c
  • Adds ;$ccm. if missing from 300 field
  • [various pagings] = changes brackets to parentheses
  • If there is no 300 and the record is a book, the default of $ap. ;$ccm. is added
  • If there is numbered plate info in the $b that is moved to the $a – if plate designation is not numbered, it’s deleted

As with any of validation rules, these are optional, and if necessary, we can work with you to develop exactly what you’d like. These rules are now being included by default in our processing. We hope you find them useful!

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Posted in Automated Authority Control, Bibliographic Records | 1 Comment »

What is Series Authority Control

Monday, March 29th, 2010

Last week we talked a little bit about the history of how series have been handled, but what is series authority control? Of all the types of Authority Control (Names, Subjects, Series) series is likely the most complex aspect and can be quite overwhelming for both newcomers and veterans of Authority Control. Our Authority Librarian, Karen, has once again come to our aid to help explain what a series is, and how Authority Control works with series.

A series is defined by AACR2 as a group of separate items related to one another by the fact that each bears, in addition to its own title proper, a collective title applying to the group as a whole.  A series under authority control uses a controlled or unique chosen access point for the collective title of a series in the analytic bibliographic records.

Series authority work is the process of controlling those collective titles through the use of authority records.  Series authority work is done for the same reasons as name authority work; that is first, to create a single form of the series title which will collocate records so that the user can find all the records related to that resource; and second to create a unique form of the series title which will distinguish records for one resource from those for a different resource.  Uniqueness is especially important since many series have the same or similar titles.

There are several decisions that need to be made to control a series.  These decisions should be based on a standard such as AACR2.

The first decision is to decide which form of the series title will be used as the authorized form.  A single, unique form of the title needs to be chosen often from among several variant forms.  Then that decision needs to be recorded.  Three possibilities for this include:

  • Use the bibliographic record for the resource used for the series data to record the authorized form.
  • Create an alphabetic listing of series in the library.
  • Use a Series Authority Record  (SAR)

The SAR provides the best method for access, and can also contain a lot of other valuable information about the series.  The authority record can be on a card, or most commonly now, a machine-readable record.  More on SAR’s below.

The second decision to make is how the series will be treated.  How will you handle the parts of the series that come in to your institution?  A couple of points to consider are:

  • Analyze or not
  • Class together or separately

The third decision is whether to trace the title or not.  This means deciding whether to use the access point in your database or catalog.

It is important that these decisions be recorded because not all series will be handled in the same way.  Actions taken for subsequent acquisitions need to be consistent.  The most common way to record series authority records is a MARC 21 record format.  Since MARC21 is a machine-readable format, the records can be updated at any stage in the workflow.  They are based on standards and can be easily shared with the greater library community.

A Series Authority Record (SAR) is the means to generate consistency in any database (or catalog) and allow the retrieval of all the series in a logical display.  The SAR should serve three functions:

  1. Provide a unique and authoritative heading.  The record reflects the chosen form that will be used as an access point for the series for all bibliographic records containing references to the series.  Uniqueness promotes consistency in the database and allows the retrieval of all analytics in a predictable display.  Several fields in a MARC format SAR provide the required information.  The 1xx field is used to record the chosen form of the series title.  This is the authorized heading.  Related to the function of the 1xx to record the chosen form, the 4xx fields are used to record variant forms of the heading (series title) that were not chosen as the authorized form.  The 642 field provides the style of numbering to be used with the series if it is numbered and also provides consistency.
  2. Provide identification – the record should provide enough information to identify the resource used in doing the authority work for a particular series, and distinguish this series from all others.  The 1xx and 4xx fields are also part of this function.  Other fields providing identification are:

643 –   contains the place and publisher of the series

670 –   contains the time period of publication

642 –   numbering example taken from the source listed in the first 670 field.

667 –   this is a note field that is used to record other information that is valuable,  but does not fit into other fields.

  1. Show the treatment – the SAR should be a record of the decisions regarding analysis, tracing, and classification.  It can have both local and other decisions.  Fields used for this function are:

050-090 –  These fields record the call number chosen for the series if the decision is to class holdings together.

644 –   this field records the analysis decision

645 –   this field records the tracing decision

646 –   this field records the classification decision (see fields 050-090)

One other type of SAR can actually be for something that is not a series.  Many resources have phrases or other character strings that will not be considered as a series.  Although a SAR is not required to record this conclusion, providing one with the documentation for the decision to not consider it a series will create consistency for questionable cases.  It will also save time in the future by avoiding having to make the same decision over and over again as other materials come in.

In a MARC21 bibliographic record the 490 field is used to record the transcription of the series from the item.  In this field, the series appears exactly like it does on the item.  A 500 note field may also be used for the series.  The 8xx fields (800, 810, 811, and 830) are used to provide a tracing for the series when needed.  These fields will contain the authorized form of the series title.  This demonstrates the need for the authority work to provide consistency.  The series on items do not always appear the same way so there could be different headings in the 490 fields for the same series.  But by having one authorized form, the 8xx fields for that series will always have the exact same heading.  Without this consistency, it could be very difficult to find all the parts of the same series in the catalog or database.

Series authority records can provide effective management for the bibliographic headings and can also provide physical control of series holdings in the library. By creating series authority records and maintaining a database of the records (an authority file) consistency will be maintained.  Time and effort will be saved in the future.  As new materials come in, the work on the series and the decisions regarding it will not have to be done over and over again.

For a detailed explanation of Series authority work see the excellent power point presentation by Judith A. Kuhagen of the Cataloging Policy & Support Office at the Library of Congress.  http://library.ust.hk/info/other/feb2005/series.html Although this presentation is from 2005 and some of the LC policies and MARC tags talked about have changed, the process of making the decisions needed for series authority work in gone into in great detail.

For more information on the changes to series policies and MARC tags see the article “A Brief History of Series Authority Work”

For more information on using the MARC21 standards, see the MARC21 Format for Authority Data http://www.loc.gov/marc/authority/ecadhome.html and the MARC 21 Format for Bibliographic Data http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/ecbdhome.html

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