Embedded Files
- Always search by ISBN AND Title
The quickest and most accurate way to find a record is to search by ISBN, always followed by a title search if your first search yields no results.
- Multiple versions, one bib
Unless there is a significant change in content for fiction books, all reprints, different editions, and different publishers of the same work/title can be combined into one bib record.
Any title that comes out serially or on a regular/sequenced publishing schedule (such as manga, travel guides, yearly test practices, etc.) should be on their own individual MARC record that reflects the title in hand.
Most nonfiction titles should be put on their own record when a new or updated edition comes out.
Some common examples are:
Can be combined:
-Books: Hardcover/paperback/new publisher/different introduction/new afterword
-Audiobooks: different # of discs, different distributors/publishers, etc.
-DVDs: Rental/widescreen/fullscreen
Should not be combined:
-Large print books, big books, board books
-Audiobooks with different narrators
-2 or 3 disc special editions of movies
-Blu-ray, DVD, 4K UHD
- Sets circulating as individual items
Your cataloging should reflect how you are circulating your item. Because both our patron catalog and app do not allow for item specific requesting, cataloging the item in hand becomes even more important. With this in mind, SELCO adheres to the following guidelines:
-Anything purchased as a set, but is circulating individually should be cataloged with an individual record for each piece (ex. : 3 books in a slipcover, but each with their own barcode should be added each to an individual record.
-A complete TV series that is being split up by discs should have an individual MARC record for each disc or set of discs (ex.: a record for discs 1+2, a record for disc 3, etc.).
-CD sets/Audiobooks/Multi-volume monograph sets should follow the same guidelines (volume 1/2/3, etc.)
-Combo packs (such as Bluray/DVD or 4K/Bluray) present their own complications under these rules. When you are cataloging a combo pack, you have two options for your MARC record.
-(Preferred) If you are choosing to circulate each disc in a separate case, you should have two MARC records with two item records - one for each format. Do not add the UPC/ISBN for the combo pack into the individual records as this leads to confusion and duplication for searching.
-If you are choosing to maintain the combo pack and circulate the discs together, you should have one MARC record for the combo pack with one item record attached for both discs.
-If you are circulating multiple volume items together, the items should be contained in a larger container (slipcase, bag, box, etc.) with a single barcode
- When provenance is questionable
Sometimes there are questions about the legality or availability of an item sent in for cataloging for broad use - this can include Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs), Region-locked DVD/Blu-rays, and illegal copies of movies/television shows not published by the owning company. If SELCO is aware of an issue with any item sent in for cataloging, it will not be added to the ILS, and returned with a note asking the owning library to check/confirm the legality of the item. If items are noticed in general cleanup or circulation tasks, the item will be flagged to the owning library to either be removed from the system or changed to a non-requestable circ mod.
- Local use only items
If you are adding a collection to your library of items of a similar nature (board games, puzzles, special collections, kits, various equipment pieces, etc.) that are not going to circulate to the greater region (either non-requestable, permanent local request, or non-circulating), SELCO will work with you to create a local materials record(s) that are either unique to your library or a collective record shared by the region. This helps to maintain these collections within the ILS, but helps to lead to less dead ends for patrons searching in the greater region. If you are working on adding a collection of this sort to your library, please contact the SELCO Help Desk so we can have a more nuanced conversation about what will best fit both your needs and the greater region.
- E-resources
E-resources such as ebooks, emagazines, or other online resources present a particular challenge to maintain continued access to these resources. Links can often change without warning, resources may be removed, and often resources are behind a log-in page or splash screen that greatly limits access and sets up false expectations in a shared region catalog. Getting resources to show up in the patron catalog is also an additional challenge as it requires the setup of a false item so the record will appear in searches. With these challenges in mind, SELCO’s policy is not to add any e-resources into the ILS. Native solutions in the patron catalog will be used where available. If no ERC connector is available for the particular resource or vendor, SELCO will offer to add a link to the resource’s site on the main page of a library’s profile.
- Outside vendor records
SELCO works with OCLC’s Cataloging Partners program to retrieve MARC records from vendors such as Baker & Taylor when orders are placed. SELCO has found that any records received from vendors outside of the Cataloging Partners program require extensive cleanup and updating to bring them to authorized standards and to make them searchable in both our online catalog and the statewide lending service. Because of these limitations, SELCO will not accept records obtained outside of OCLC or the Cataloging Partners program from public libraries.
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