Serials Records Not Appropriate for Linking

WYLD Cataloging Technote : Identifying the appropriate serials record for attaching holdings

There are a number of serials records in the WYLD database which are not appropriate to use when linking barcodes or creating serials control records.

Closed records 

When a serials title ceases publication or undergoes a title change, the serials record is closed to reflect that no new issues will be published under that title or under that form of the title. There are some easy ways to identify these closed publications.

1. Fixed field 

***The properties on any Item Search and Display wizard should be set to display the Fixed Field of the bibliographic record. Right click on the wizard to get to the property settings. This setting is found within the Defaults tab.

a. Bib_Lvl: First verify that you are viewing a serials record by looking for the letter "s" as the Bib_Lvl (Bibliographic Level) in the first line of the fixed field.

b. Dat_Tp: In the second line, if the Dat_Tp (Date Type) is a "d" the serial is no longer being issued, has ceased publication, or has been superseded by a new title. Serials records that have a date type of "d" should not have current holdings linked to them.

c. Date1/Date2: For serials, Date1 in the second line of the fixed field represents the beginning date of the publication. Date2 in the third line represents the ending date for the publication. If a serial is still being published, Date2 will generally contain four 9s (9999) to indicate it is still current. If there is an actual year entered in Date2, the serial stopped publication during that year. Therefore, no issues more recent than the year indicated in Date2 should be linked to or checked-in on that serials record.

Fig. 1: fixed fields display, McCalls

2. Variable Fields

a. 260 tag: Often when a serial has ceased publication, subfield c of the 260 tag will display both the year the publication began and the year it ceased. Example, McCalls which underwent a title change: |c1921-2001. If just the ending date is known, only that year is displayed as: |c -1959. If the serial is still being published and a date appears in the 260 tag, that date generally is followed by a continuation dash, e.g. 1973- .

Fig. 2a: 260 field of the bibliographic serial record, McCalls

b. 300 tag: If a serial is no longer being published, sometimes the cataloger will fill in the number of physical units that cover the years the serial was published, e.g. 80 v.

Fig. 2b: 300 field of the bibliographic serial record, McCalls

c. 362 tag: Dates of publication are entered in this field so the true beginning and ending dates (years) that were entered in Date1 and Date2 of the fixed field are repeated here. If the serial is complete, this tag should contain designation for the first issue followed by the designation for the last issue, e.g. Vol. 48, no. 12 (Sept. 1921) - Vol. 128, no. no. 6 (Mar. 2001).

Fig. 2c: 362 field of the bibliographic serial record, McCalls

d. 515 tag: Sometimes when it may be unclear that a publication has ceased because there is no definite ending date, a 515 tag will be created to provide additional publication information about the numbering of the serial, e.g. No more published.

Fig. 2d: 515 field of the bibliographic serial record, McCalls.

e. 785 tag: In the case of a serial that has changed titles, there should be a 785 tag on the closed record that contains the title of the publication that continues the closed title. In the example of "McCalls", it was replaced by "Rosie" so the bibliographic record for McCalls has a 785 tag leading the cataloger to the bibliographic record for "Rosie". The ISSN for the newer title is shown below in the subfield x.

Fig. 2e: 785 field of the bibliographic serial record, McCalls 

Consider the fields outlined above before linking issues or creating a serials control record. If the bibliographic record being considered has any of these elements as described, don't use it for current issues. Consult the issue in hand to confirm dates and titles because sometimes the bibliographic record has not been updated yet to reflect the changes that are obvious on the physical item. If a title has changed or a publication has ceased and the bibliographic record does not reflect that information, contact the WYLD Office.

EBSCO records

EBSCO records will appear as duplicates of other serials titles in WYLD. There are some easy ways to identify these EBSCO records.

1. Bibliographic tab of the record 

a. Often these are briefer records with fewer tags to display.

b. 001 tag, 035 tag: The distinctive codes 'Ebs' or 'EbpS' display at the beginning of the EBSCO resource number.

c. 245 tag subfield h: The phrase [electronic resource] displays immediately after the title proper. This is the general material designation (GMD) for materials available online. 

d. 596 tag: The owning library is WYLD or WYLD-ER. 

e. 956 tag: This link connects directly to journal information and articles within EBSCO.

2. Control tab of the bibliographic record 

a. Title control number: The distinctive code 'ebs' displays at the beginning of the title control number.

3. Vol/Copy tab of the bibliographic record 

a. Call number: This is 'INTERNET'.

b. Class scheme: This is 'ASIS'.

c. Library: Only one holding should be attached to these records and that is the holding for WYLD or WYLD-ER.

d. Item type: This is 'ONLINEDOC'.

e. Home location: This is 'INTERNET'.

f. Item cat1: This is 'ERESOURCE'.

Do not link to these records and do not create serials control records on them. These records are removed from WYLD and reloaded quarterly. Any barcodes linked to these records and any serials control records attached to them will be lost when the records are removed.