Brief Cataloging
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Princeton University Cataloging Documentation

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Index
Serials

What goes where?

Brief cataloging

Current v in/next to current/current v only

"Current issues in" list

Holdings / Items

Early US newspapers

Geology field trip guides

Newspapers

Reprints

Call number decisions

Serial adding

See also
Print and computer file relations

Brief Cataloging

§ A brief cat serial is a serial which is not assigned a call or accession number. In the past, the cataloging of such titles was really brief, consisting only of the title proper and place of publication, but now the only reason that it is called brief cataloging is because it lacks a call or accession number.

§ The purpose of a brief cat serial is to provide a record for a serial that is either not to be permanently retained or that will be permanently retained in another format. It is exclusively used for unbound serials. The types of publications that are often given brief cat treatment are newsletters and newspapers.

§ Brief cat serials should come with a retention decision. The acquisition record will say "brief cat.", and indicate the unbound location and retention decision. It will usually be: Latest year only; current 2 years only, etc. Since bound holdings will never be added to a brief cat serial, the MFHD 866 ‡a is used to indicate the retention decision.

Location and "call number" treatment for nr and pr material:

   852 8_ |b nr |h Printed Newspapers

   852 8_ |b pr |h Printed Journals

Examples of 866 notes:

866 _0 ‡z LATEST YEAR ONLY RETAINED

866 _0 ‡z LATEST 2 YEARS ONLY RETAINED

Please note that the "CURRENT ISSUES IN:" note is not used for brief cat serials, but it is for newspapers retained in the newspaper rack:

866 _0 |z CURRENT ISSUE IN: (RACK-NR)

§ There is one case in which a brief cat title comes without a standard retention decision. That case is for newspapers for which the selector is looking for a microfilm or microfiche to retain permanently. In such cases the cataloger should add an 866 with this note:

866 _0 ‡z RETAINED UNTIL REPLACED BY MICROFORM

When the microfilm or microfiche is received, the cataloger will add the accession number, add the microfilm fixed fields and notes and update the holdings. The cataloger should then add an 866 with this note:

866 _0 ‡zCURRENT PAPER ISSUES IN: ( )

§ SPIA -- Duplicate serial subscriptions held by the SPIA library are often given brief cataloging treatment. They do not receive call numbers, and holdings consist only of a retention statement. In the case of SPIA, the retention period is often long (5 to 10 years).

Example:

866 _0 ‡zLATEST 10 YEARS ONLY RETAINED

Brief Cat Title Changes

If a title changes in a brief cat record, delete the record for the old title.