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Guidelines for MARC Holdings Records (MHLDs)

Table of Contents:

I. Introduction
     A. Summary of Major Changes
II. Glossary of Terms Used in the Guidelines
III. Punctuation "cheat sheet"
IV. MARC21 Tagging

General Guidelines (applies to both Level 3 and Level 4 statements)
V. When to create a MARC holdings record
     A. Monographic item with accompanying material
     B. Multipart item
     C. Serials
     D. Integrating resources
     E. Non-book resources with multiple items (kits)
VI. Data elements in a MARC holdings record (what data to give)
     A. Enumeration
     B. Chronology
     C. Extent of unit
     D. Name of unit
     E. Specific extent note
VII. Itemization and compression
VIII. Public notes given in a MARC holdings record

Specific Guidelines
IX. Guidelines for Recording Holdings at Level 4 (non-serials and serials)
     A. Basic bibliographic units
     B. Supplements, indexes, and accompanying material
X. Guidelines for Recording Holdings at Level 3 (serials only)
     A. Basic bibliographic units
     B. Supplements, indexes, and accompanying material
XI. Guidelines for Adding Holdings to Converted MARC Holdings Records (records converted in 1993)
XII. Examples of Coded MARC Holdings Records
     A. Monographic examples
     B. Serial examples

Section I. Introduction

Data is entered into MARC21 holdings records according to the ANSI/NISO Z39.71-1999 standard prepared by the American National Standards Institute. ANSI/NISO Z39.71-1999 replaces two older standards: ANSI Z39.44 for serial holdings, and ANSI/NISO Z39.57 for non-serial holdings.

The standard can be implemented at four different levels. The first two levels define very brief holdings that include a short bibliographic description and the name of the library that holds the title. Level 3 gives rules for summary holdings; that is, enumeration and chronology are recorded at the highest level only. Level 4 gives rules for detailed holdings; that is, all levels of enumeration and chronology are recorded. Open-ended holdings statements are allowed at Levels 3 and 4.

For an explanation of how the ANSI holdings standard corresponds to the MARC format see the MARC21 Format for Holdings Data, Appendix D. Apply the standard only to new holdings records created. Edit and close existing holdings statements according to the guidelines under which they were created.

Mixed levels can be recorded in one holdings statement. The encoding level fixed field (ENC_LVL) should be tagged as "m".

Whenever possible, the caption in the MARC holdings record and the caption in $z of the Unicorn item record should match. In some cases, when the item records have been created by staff outside of Technical Services, the $z information will not match exactly the MARC holdings data. In those cases, do not change the MARC holdings data or the item records to match.

A. Summary of Major Changes

• Captions are always entered before the numbering when recording enumeration.
  Examples:
  v.1   (on piece: "volume 1")
  v.1   (on piece: "first volume")
  Bd.3   (on piece: "3. Band")
  
  
• Accompanying material (except for supplements and indexes) is entered in the 866 field separated from the basic bibliographic unit by a space, plus sign (+), space.
  Examples:
  866 41 |81|a1 v. + 2 maps + 1 CD-ROM
  866 41 |81|av.1-4 + 4 computer disks
  866 41 |81|a2 v. + 25 plates
  
  Supplements are entered in the 867 field.
  Example:
  866 41 |81|a1 v. + 1 CD-ROM + "Keyboard shortcuts" 1 card
  867 41 |86|a"Version 7.0.1 updates"
  
  Indexes are entered in the 868 field.
  Example:
  866 41 |81|a1 v. + 30 maps
  868 41 |88|a"Topographical index" 2 v.
  
  
• The character limit for the 866 field is 9999 characters. Begin a new 866 only when the caption changes by adding a designation such as "new series" or its equivalent in other languages.
  Example:
  866 31 |81|ano.1(1925)-no.40(1939);
  866 31 |81|anew ser.:no.1(1940)-no.25(1951)
  
  

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Last modified: June 22, 2005