Contact: Laura Daniels
Unit: Cataloging
Date last updated: August 21, 2025
Date of next review: August 2026
All serials should have an accompanying printout of a preliminary record, or a note with the FOLIO instance hrid including information about what issue(s) are in hand, and the searcher's name or initials.
CUL catalogers are expected to follow national standards as found in the CONSER Editing Guide, the CONSER Cataloging Manual, and the latest CONSER standard record.
Cataloging should be done in OCLC Connexion following RDA. The CONSER Cataloging Manual and CONSER Editing Guide, along with the CONSER standard record, can be found in ClassWeb or on the CONSER website.
Constant data in OCLC Connexion: Serial-Basic
BLvl (Leader/07) (Bibliographic Level): must be s
S/L (008/34) (Entry Convention): must be 0 (Successive entry)
Dates should correspond to 362 (not necessarily to 26x)
050: Add an 050: 4: to a serial record if no other LC-style call number is present. Use the entire call number.
588: If making updates, add or update the "Latest issue consulted" note. We may now use the first indicator "1" rather than spelling out "Latest issue consulted" in the field.
856 fields should generally not be added or retained (locally) in records for print serials.
URLs on member copy should be deleted in FOLIO (using quickMARC) unless the online version has been selected by Cornell.
Do original cataloging in OCLC Connexion. Save the record in the Online Save File and give the the save file # to Laura to review and add the 010.
Holdings statements must be punctuated in a very particular way. Please review the punctuation standards for holdings statements. See the Holdings Statements Punctuation Table.
The caption used in the item record must match the caption used on the item. Captions should be in the language of the publication and abbreviated accordingly.
If both enumeration and chronology exist, put the chronology in parentheses. If there is no enumeration, use no parentheses around the chronology.
Do not leave a space between year no. and issue designation (Example: ano 5:no.2-5 (1995:apr.-sept.))
Use lower case (Example: issue 1-2).
Fiscal years: For items involving a fiscal year, especially government documents, the two-year designation is put in the Holdings Statement, for example 1979/1980-1996/1997. In these cases the 362 field will still reflect what is on the piece (such as FY 1980- or Fiscal year 1997- ). If the fiscal year cannot be determined, use the designation on the piece for holdings as well as the 362 field.
Finally, it's always a good idea to check the OPAC to see that things appear as you intend!
When creating an item record for a hardcover annual or less frequent issue, add the date to the enum/chron. using the following format:
Enum: v.12
Chron: 1994
If creating an item record for a piece that has chronology only (i.e., the chronology acts as the enumeration), leave the enumeration blank and record the chronology in the chronology field.
For the most part, follow instructions in Physical Marking of Periodicals and Serial Publications, LTS Procedure #39. Please note the following exceptions:
Titles for Olin Current Periodicals Room: apply current periodicals sticker to upper left corner of front cover. Do not write the call number on the piece.
Take all completed serials--hard- and softcover, disks, microfilm--(except Asia vernacular materials originating in Kroch) to the designated shelf ("Cataloged Serials Ready for End Processing").
Always include the printout of the record or some other indication of the instance hrid. If there is an original printout that has the searching information, include that as well.
Rush items or items for Reference collections should go directly to the Serials Unit supervisor.
Any new issues received while the serial is in process are kept on an in-process shelf in the Serials Receiving shelves in LTS Olin. Check that shelf to see if the new issues will help with cataloging. You may take them and return all issues to the post-cataloging shelf after cataloging is completed.
New serials resulting from a title change: This should be clearly indicated on the paperwork.
Serials formerly cataloged or received as monographs: In addition to the above, make sure that item records have been relinked to the serial record and that monograph records have been suppressed and marked for deletion.
RMC: Materials for RMC are cataloged in RMC.
If available, the last issue of the old title will accompany issue(s) of the new title. Otherwise, there should be a surrogate of the title page (and other preliminaries if needed) of the old title. When cataloging copy is found for old title that has been updated with the title change information, and/or LC cataloged record is found for the new title, surrogates are generally not requested from unit libraries by the serials searchers unless the searcher suspects a problem. If no surrogate is provided, the cataloger may request one from the serials searchers or directly from a unit library.
Follow CONSER guidelines as to what constitutes a major change (CCM 16.2.2), what is considered a minor change (CCM 16.2.3), and how to apply linking fields (CCM Module 14; CEG under Linking Entry Fields and fields 76X to 78X).
Old title:
New title:
Final steps: Follow the post-cataloging steps for new serials. Return the issue(s) along with a printout of the new title containing its call number.
The vast majority of new titles that come to LTS Olin looking like newspapers are cataloged as regular periodicals, with the fixed field Original item: e indicating that they are in the "newspaper format." LTS catalogers treat a title as a newspaper only when the selector or library specifically requests this treatment.
Read CONSER Cataloging Manual, Module 33, before cataloging a newspaper. This document mentions only the most prominent highlights of the newspaper bib.
Fixed Fields:
Type of serial: n
Regularity: n (normalized irregular) and other exotic codes are more frequently appropriate in newspapers than in periodicals.
Original item: e
Variable Fields :
651: See CCM Module 33.17 and SCM H1920. Expect to use a subject heading of Place |v Newspapers to give access to the newspaper's area of coverage.
655: 7: Old records gave access to the newspaper's area of coverage with this field. It is now seldom used.
710: Before tracing a body responsible for issuing a newspaper, read CCM 33.13.1. Newspapers rarely require a corporate body added entry.
752: Use this field to give access to the newspaper's place of publication. The usual form outside the United States is |a [Country] |d [City].
Holdings records:
Do not use a sublocation.
Call number type: Other scheme / Call number prefix: Newspaper / Call number: No call number
No Holdings statement
Annex Exception: At the discretion of the Annex staff, explicit holdings for newspapers may be captured and added to Annex Holdings records. This work is done by Annex staff, not LTS, for titles that are already held at the Annex, not for new titles.
Post-Cataloging:
Place newspapers on the newspaper shelf with the word "DONE" written on the accompanying printout.
Newspapers get no title change fliers.
Newly-received periodicals in newspaper format and newly-received genuine newspapers for the Asia collections are cataloged according to the above procedures. A finite number of Asian periodicals in newspaper format, however, have been retrospectively identified for expeditious handling.
When first cataloged, the newspaper-format periodical’s holdings looked like this:
Location: ech
Call number (including prefix and suffix: Oversize | AP95.V6 T5518 | ++
Holdings statement: 2009:so 1-53
The Holdings record is now “frozen” and its related holdings sent to the Annex:
Location: ech,anx
Call number: Oversize | AP95.V6 T5518 | ++
Holdings note: DO NOT CHK-IN HERE, SEND TO NEWSPAPER
Holdings statement: 2009:so 1-53
Create a new Holdings record without a call number, as if the title were a genuine newspaper (as described above):
Call number prefix: Newspapers Call number: No call number
No holdings statement
