Series Added Entry – MARC field 830

Q:  MARC field 830 mentions “series added entry.”  Is this field required if the series is an added entry? A:  830 is required if the established heading in the AF is different from what you find on the source. Transcribe the series title as found on the source in the 490 tag. Then search the [...]

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Abbreviation for cm?

Q:  I know we don’t use abbreviations, but cm is retained, right, because it’s a symbol? Is it followed by a period or not?  A:  Yes, retain cm. It is one of the few and because it is recognized internationally. The period after the cm is debated. It is part of the punctuation of MARC [...]

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Anonymous Author

Q:  For the TOC, if a book is written by Anonymous, do we write it the same way we would any other author’s name? A:  Yes, this is the practice if it is written on the t.p as such.

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Bibliographical References Spread Out

Q:  With regard to the bibliographical references: Given that they’re spread through the book should we list page numbers for all the references, just for the ones at the end of the book, or simply leave the page numbers out of the note? A:  No, do not give page numbers if they are scattered throughout. [...]

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“End of Chapter Readings” in a Note?

Q:  I am still confused about the ‘End of Chapter Suggested Readings’. Would it be in a note or would we leave it out? A:  End of chapter readings are references. Any reference used in writing the book deserves a note.

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Chapter Numbers in TOC Note

Q:  Is there a rule about including chapter numbers in the TOC note? In AACR2, the partial example excludes the chapter numbers but the second example includes them. Is this cataloger preference? A:  You can include chapter number if you want, not necessary though. It is a cataloger preference issue.

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What Goes in a 500 Note?

Q:  Is it totally up to the cataloger what goes in a 500 note? Relatively arbitrarily, or whatever we find important? For example, do we include dedication or translators? A:  More or less. The notes are flexible in wording and use. The common ones are the ones I require. LC will always include these notes. [...]

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Deleting Unused Fields

Q:  Can we delete fields that we don’t use for a record? A:  Yes, that is the best method and leaves for a much shorter record (fits one page) and better for me to print out. Since the MARC template is a word doc, it is easy to delete and add rows.

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Official Heading

Q.  Which tag tells us the official heading? A.  It is always the 1XX tag in the AF. Q.  What is the difference between established personal heading and official heading? A.  The official heading is for heads of states, popes, etc.

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Authority File Uncertainty

Q.  If we are not absolutely certain it’s the right person in the authority file, would it be better just to do the last name, first name middle name/initial instead? A.  Yes. But read the scope notes, perhaps you can determine from them if it is the person. Sometimes you need to do a bit [...]

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Designation of Function Optional

Q.  To clarify, designation of function here isn’t necessary? Is there a circumstance when a cataloger must put this in? A.  Designation of function is optional. It is only used for your added entries. If you want to add it that is fine.  Most optional rules mean it is up to the cataloger. It also [...]

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“See Reference” Tag

Q.  Which tag would the “see reference” be? A.  See references in the AF are in 4XX fields. They are invalid headings. You can ignore them for our purposes.  There will be a time (in part 2 of Exercise 4) when I ask for it so I know that you know what they are, but [...]

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830 Tag Necessary?

Q.  So an 830 tag would not be necessary to include, or would it? A.  You include the 830 tag if the series title was different in the 130 tag, not the 530 tag.

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Added or Main Entries – 245 and 490 Fields

Q.  We are supposed to be indicating if a field is added or main… So we would need to add this also to the title 245 field and the 490 field as well, correct? A.  Yes, exactly, these fields are also access points. Title can be main or added, depending. And the series is always [...]

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Full Stops for Access Points

Q.  I had a question about punctuation for Exercise 4. When doing the access points for personal names, if the date for the name is open- ended (1904-), is the full stop still necessary?  I remember that it isn’t if we have an end parenthesis, but I don’t know about the hyphen. A.  No full [...]

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RDA Examples

Q.  The problem I had was finding actual examples of records done using RDA. Are there actual records anywhere? A.  You will not find any in OCLC yet. There is a major test going on right now and people are just now trying to produce records using RDA. Examples can be found in the Toolkit [...]

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Price Listed, But No ISBN

Q.  If you don’t have an ISBN, but you do have a price, do you put just the price in the 020 tag? A.  If there is no ISBN, just skip the field. You can delete the 020 or leave it blank.

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Use of Brackets in MARC Fields

Q.  Should I put “edited by” in brackets, since it’s not on the title page, but on the cover, or should I just leave it off? Is this the correct protocol for something not found on the chief source? A.  It would be ok, but not necessary. Yes, you are correct. Anything taken outside the [...]

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Desc. Fixed Field in OCLC Record

Q.  Under the Desc. fixed field, would we put ‘a’ even if it’s left blank on the OCLC record, since our changes to the record would make it follow AACR2? A.  Yes.  The Cataloging Calculator can help with the country codes.

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504 Tag – Scans vs. OCLC Record

Q. Regarding 5xx tags, if the OCLC record doesn’t indicate an index, should I add that to the bibliographic materials 504 tag, or make it a separate 500 tag? A. If you find that the scans indicate an index, then go with what is on the scans. They are more accurate than the records. You [...]

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No LCCN on Item – Delete Tag

Q.  For one of the Exercise 2 titles, I could not find a LCCN with the book.  Does this mean I delete that tag, even though it is in the OCLC record? A.  If there is no LCCN in the book, then yes, you can delete the tag.

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What to Include in Partial Notes

Q.  I am confused about partial content notes. When we only do partial, is it completely up to us what we include? If we just pull a few of the contents, is that fine, or should we mention certain ones (for example, more famous ones, or the first one from each section)?  A.  Yes, if [...]

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Partial Contents vs. Complete Notes

Q.  If the TOC has main headings and chapters within those headings but you only transcribe the main headings, would you need to indicate that it’s a partial content field with the first indicator in the 505 tag? A.  No, this is still considered a complete note.

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Subfields in the Notes Tag

Q.  For Exercise 2, should we be putting subfields in the notes tag? A.  There are no subfields in the note tags unless you do an enhanced TOC note.  It is up to you if you want to include the subfields for an enhanced TOC note. You have to code it appropriately and use the [...]

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250 Tag – Edition Statement Not in Item

Q.  I had a question about the edition tag — if an item has wording that implies that a book is a first edition but doesn’t flat-out say, “First Edition,” would we include that in the record? Or would we leave it blank because no formal edition statement was made on the item? A.  Do [...]

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Is the 520 (Summary) Field Required?

Q.  Are the only 5XX tags we have to do are the 500, 504 and 505?  Is the 520 (summary) also required, or can we leave it off? A.  If you want to add a summary note, that is ok. Just be aware that LC generally adds summary notes to juvenile literature only.

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504 Field for Index and Bibliographical References

Q.  Under the 504 if we transcribe: 504 __ Includes bibliographical references and index, do we still do a 500__ Includes index ? A.  Yes, use a 504 for the combined note for index and bibliography. No need to add the 500 since it is covered in the 504. Catalogers are NEVER redundant.

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5XX Tags – What are General Notes?

Q.  I’m confused about what information goes in a 500 tag. I know it’s for general notes, but what is a general note? A.  500 tags contain notes. Mandatory notes for your records are any Content notes to include 500 __ Includes index. 504 __ Includes bibliographical references. 505 0_ Chapter title — Chapter title. [...]

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First Indicator for Exercise 2?

Q.   In Exercise 2, should we put “(first indicator is intentionally left blank)” in our 245 field, or is that understood, since you stated that?  A.  Just use an underscore to represent the indicator. You will be filling it in for Exercise 3. Or just use the space key, i.e., 245 _0 or 245 4 [...]

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What Does 5XX Mean?

Q.  If I understand it right, the 5xx could mean anything in the 500s, but why is that there when we already have a 500, 504, and 505? A.  Correct, 5XX can be any note tag beginning with a 5.  So that would include a 504, 505, etc.  5XX is just representative of these tags [...]

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TOC in the 505 Field

Q.  My question is on the TOC. 505 is a repeatable field, so if you had a multi-volume book, could you put 504 volume 1: and list all the TOC, then enter anther 505 volume 2: TOC? If you did this, do you have to put any special note at the end of the 1st [...]

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When the OCLC Record is Missing Information

Q.  If the OCLC record is missing information from some of the tags that are on the Exercise 2 template, do we look for that information in a different source?  A.  If there is an ISBD area in your book for that tag, for example, then yes, you can use the book as your source.  [...]

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Exercise 2 Template and AACR2

Q.  For Exercise 2, we are basically just filling out the template for each title and then editing the information to fit with AACR2, correct?  A.  Yes, basically. You will have to search OCLC for the record, I want the OCLC number. And you will have to edit the record according to the requirements on [...]

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AACR2 Still Used in Exercise 2

Q. For Exercise 2, do we basically transcribe the records into MARC fields, with no AACR2 this time? A.  YES to AACR2. You have to bring the existing OCLC record up to the current standard or use the correct rules of transcription. You will lose a lot of points if you leave the OCLC records [...]

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What is the LCCN?

Q.  What’s the LCCN?   A.  Library of Congress Control Number.  It is a unique number for each record in the database. They have been assigning these numbers for more than 100 years.  See the 010 tag in MARC.

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Best Way to Search OCLC Connexion

Q.  What is the best way to search OCLC Connexion?  A. Searching by ISBN should come first.  But many of these titles do not have an ISBN, so then what?  The next best search is LCCN. Don’t forget about the LCCN. If you find one the book, you need to add it to your records.  [...]

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Exercise 2: How To Answer

Q.  How do we identify all the information needed for the answers to Exercise 2? A.  You are basically cataloging the book. So you need to walk through each ISBD area. The OCLC record will help, but it will need to be edited. Start with the variable field data and then fill in the fixed [...]

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Descriptions of Each MARC Field

Q.  Is there an explanation or description of each MARC field that one can read? A.  You can refer to the MARC tags tool, link is to the left. Or the summary documents I provided for both Variable and Fixed fields.  You should be paying close attention to the MARC associated with each ISBD area [...]

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500 MARC Field

Q.  In the 5xx field, 504 is Bibliography, etc. or bibliography and index.  500 is Index.  For index, how do you know what to put in 504 and what to put in 500? A.  504 can be used for the bibliography note alone or the combination of a bibliography and index.

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First Indicator on 246

Q. I don’t understand the first indicator in the 246 tag. A. The first indicator is a local library policy decision. Don’t worry about it. Just worry about the second indicator. The first indicator can be a 1 or a 3, but again it doesn’t matter.

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OCLC & MARC Records

Q. Can we use the OCLC records as a guide for our MARC records? A. Yes, but again, you will have to edit them. Be careful to check whether the OCLC record has the correct main entry.

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Second Part of Exercise 1 & MARC Tags

Q. With regard to the 2nd part of exercise 1, for no. 2 we’re supposed to look at the unformatted version of the record. Do you want us to include the MARC tags in our answers? A. I am just looking for the Area and what is found in it. You can include the MARC [...]

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5XX

Q. When it says 5xx you just mean the entire field of 500′s like 500, 504, etc. There shouldn’t be a field actually titled 5XX right? The “X” is just to be replaced with other numbers? A. 5XX refers to any 500 tag. There is no actual 5xx tag. You are right it is either [...]

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TOC Indicators – Partial vs Incomplete

Q. If we don’t include the Part headings in the 505 TOC, but we include all other chapter information, would the indicator be partial or complete? A. This would be complete. Partial is if you skip some chapters. Q. Follow up – if you don’t include the subsections within a chapter, but you include all [...]

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Editors, Designers, Illustrators

Q. Is it mandatory to include information on the editor, designer, illustrator, etc.? A. If those folks are in the 245 |c, then yes, you will need to trace. However, that is part of Ex. 4. If you are finding folks like the illustrator on other pages of the book, then no. They have to [...]

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Indicator Info

Q. I am still very confused with the 1st and 2nd indicators… is there a reference in the resource folder (or somewhere else) that has information on the indicators? A. Indicators vary by tag. The MARC Variable Summary document can help as well as the MARC Tags tool. The link is in Oncourse. I went [...]

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100 field

Q. Do we add the 100 field? A. For exercise 2, you do not need to add the 100 tag. That will be part of exercise 4.

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No edition statement?

Q. What if a record doesn’t have a 250? A. If there is no edition statement found then the record will not have a 250.  The Edition Statement is NOT mandatory. You just skip it or delete the field.  You must find an edition statement on the prescribed sources in order to add one to [...]

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Use of the 655/How to class fiction titles (LCSH)

Q. What if we have a 655 in one of our titles that we would prefer to use as a subject for DDC. Should we move it ahead of the 650? A. The 655 tag is for a genre heading and would be used in works of literature. You need to class in that genre. [...]

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LCCN MARC Tag Location

Q. You explained the differences between ISBN and LCCN in an e-mail….where do we add the LCCN? A. You add the LCCN to the MARC 010 tag

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