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Public local notes in Unicorn

With the addition of the item level PUBLIC field in Unicorn 2003, there are three places in a Unicorn record where a "local" note intended for public viewing can be recorded. They are:

· the 590 field of the bibliographic record
· the 852 |z of the MARC holdings record
· the PUBLIC field of the item record

This document states policy on the usage of these three fields for recording public notes.

1. The item level PUBLIC field.
Use this field to note:


· imperfection of the item.

Example: p.167-172 missing

· gaps in holdings within an item.

Example: 1997, issue 4 missing



Format of field: no need to state library, location, or copy number as the field is linked to an item record.

2. MARC holdings 852 |z.

Use this field for:


· notes about serial runs that are split between two or more libraries.

Example:

Latest yr. (or vol.) in CURRENT PERIODICALS; earlier in STACKS; earliest volumes in SAL3

· notes related to the cataloging treatment of a serial or terminal set, and the location of individual parts if considered necessary (e.g. the individual parts are cataloged on separate records)

Examples:

v.1-3 cataloged separately and shelved under individual call number

Vol. for 1998 shelved at ...

Individual volumes of this title also cataloged separately

Book and CD-ROM shelved separately

Accompanying CD in Green/Media-Mtxt under call number ...

Guide for this set located at ...

See the MARC21 holdings guidelines for additional examples.



Format of field: all MARC holdings records should have the Unicorn location in 852 |c and copy number in 852 |t. The library is hard-linked when the record is created and therefore does not need to be keyed in manually. When a record that has a MARC holdings record is transferred to a new library/location, the MARC holdings record is also transferred, and the copy number remains unchanged.

3. The 590 field.

Use this field for:

· Notes that are considered part of the bibliographic description even though the note is related to a specific item. In some cases, the same note may appear in both the 590 and the item level PUBLIC field.

Examples:
Stanford Auxiliary Library, SAL3 copy 2: Photocopy.  (photocopy of an original as added copy)


Green Library copy 1: Library's copy is no. 79.


Special Collections & University Archives copy 3 (Felton): Binding: black illustrated wrappers.


Special Collections & University Archives copy 2 (Rare Books Collection): Inscribed by the author.


· Bound with notes (for locally bound items, not the same as the 501 with note).

Example:
Copy 1 bound with no. 190.|c1673765 (parent record's ckey)
Note: when using the 590, one should keep in mind that if the item being described is transferred to another library (e.g. SAL3), the library information in the note will NOT be updated automatically as there is no internal linkage between the note and the item record. This is not a problem for Special Collections & University Archives materials as they are rarely transferred to another library. Even when a Special Collections & University Archives item is stored in SAL3, the record still says that it is in Special Collections & University Archives . But for other libraries, the 590 will contain out of date information once the item is transferred unless there is manual intervention.

Format of field:
Old Format: In the past local policy, 590 notes began with "Stanford copy (library or location code)", e.g.

Stanford copy 1 (BRAN)
Stanford copy 1 (FELT)


Current format: With the issuance of this document, local policy format of the 590 is changed to:

[Full library name] copy [number] [home location (as required for multiple copy titles)]:


Library name should be the full library name as displayed in Socrates, not the coded form. Include a location only if there are multiple copies in the same library with the same copy number.

Examples:

Green Library copy 1:

Special Collections & University Archives copy 3 (Rare Books Collection):

Special Collections & University Archives copy 3 (Gunst Collection):

See the online Special Collections Cataloging Notebook for additional examples.

Exception: "Bound with" 590's should begin with just the copy number, as a high percentage of these are being added in the preparation phase of transfer projects, and therefore the library is likely to change. Refer to the Bound with procedures for clarification.

Last modified: November 14, 2007