Notes on Series Treatment in Cataloguing

Introduction

These informal notes are designed as an introductory guide to analyzed series encountered when cataloguing monographs, or as an aid to review about series.  Written in general terms, they are intended to be used in copy cataloguing training, in conjunction with actual examples as they come up.  For more specific instructions on procedures for checking and verifying series in copy cataloguing, see also:

• Guidelines for Series Checking Procedures for DLC Cataloguing
• Guidelines for Series Checking and Verification Procedures for non-DLC Copy Cataloguing

If you have any questions about series, please ask your trainer.

Please note:  For DLC cataloguing, the first three sections of this document -- "Definitions," "Decisions," and especially "Bib record MARC tagging" --are generally sufficient, since authority records only need to be consulted in the event of problems.  The sections on definitions and decisions provide general background, while the sections on the bib record and series authority record address more specific mechanics of handling series in your records.

While a number of examples below are real series, others are imaginary.

Definitions

The following are working definitions, for searchers and copy cataloguers.

Series title:  A distinctive collective title, applied to multiple items that also have their own separate titles, each catalogued individually using a separate bib record.  The separate titles can stand on their own as individual works; they are simply related by the common series.  The term analyzed series is also used, with “analysis” referring to the provision of a separate bib record for each individual title.

E.g.

Title of work:	Varieties of daffodils found in North Carolina : a survey / by Flora Giardini.	[in 245 title field]
Series title:	Know your daffodils	[in 4xx series field]

E.g.

Title of work:	Teatime for murder / by Earl Grey.	[in 245 title field]
Series title:	The teashop mysteries	[in 4xx series field]

This second example, The teashop mysteries, is treated as an analyzed series to provide access to each individual title; there are already more than three titles (including Teatime for murder, Poisoned Pekoe, 4:00 appointment with death, Deadly Darjeeling, and Who stole the tea biscuits?)

1. Multi-volume monograph:  A multi-volume monograph also has a collective title for different pieces, but taken as a whole, it is considered a single bibliographic entity in multiple physical volumes, catalogued using one monographic-level bib record.  The titles of individual volumes are not considered distinctive enough to stand on their own, or for other reasons access at the level of the collective title is considered adequate.

   Without getting into the niceties of monographic as opposed to serial treatment here, broadly, for now:  If a title seems to be intended as a finite group of volumes, treat it as a monograph.

   The contents of each volume may or may not be included in the bib record.

   E.g.

   Title:	Encyclopedia of bulbs
   	4 volumes, arranged alphabetically

   E.g.

   Title in first volume:	History of the Southern Daffodil Appreciation Society, 1956-1999
   	Volume 1:      1956-1965
   Title in second volume:	History of the Southern Daffodil Appreciation Society, 1956-1999
   	Volume 2:      1966-1984
   Title in third volume:	History of the Southern Daffodil Appreciation Society, 1956-1999
   	Volume 3:      1985-1999
   Bib record:
   	245 10  History of the Southern Daffodil Appreciation Society, 1956-1999.
   	505 0  v. 1. 1956-1965 -- v. 2. 1966-1984 -- v. 3. 1985-1999.

2. Serial:  A serial also has a collective title for different pieces, but taken as a whole, it is considered a single bibliographic entity in multiple physical volumes, catalogued using one serial bib record.  The individual volumes either do not have a separate, distinctive title, or for other reasons access at the level of the collective title is considered adequate.

   Broadly speaking:  If a title seems to be intended as an indefinitely continuing title, in a succession of volumes or issues, treat it as a serial.

   The contents of each issue or volume would generally not be included in a bib record.

   E.g.	Crocus lovers’ journal	[in 245 field]
   E.g.	Annual report of the Southern Daffodil Appreciation Society	[in 245 field]

3. Series-like phrase:  A series-like phrase also may appear in multiple different items, but the decision has been made that it would not be useful to present it or index it as a distinctive series.  It generally appears as a 500 quoted note or in the 260 field as an imprint.

   E.g.	500    “A Karen & Michael Braziller book.”
   E.g.	500    “A labor notes book.”
   E.g.	260    $a … : $b Gardening Boots Books, $c …
   	[on t.p. verso: “Gardening Boots Books is an imprint of the Southern Daffodil Appreciation Society”]

Location:  A series title may be located in a variety of places in or on a piece.  With books, they may be found on:

• Series title page:  A separate page that includes the series title and sometimes additional information about the series, such as number, editor names, a list of titles in that series, and publisher information.  To count as a series title page, it must precede the regular book title page.

• Book title page

• Cover -- front or back

• Spine

• Title page verso

• Colophon

• Preface

• or elsewhere

The series number is usually located near the series title.  Sometimes, however, it may appear only in a separate location, such as the spine, or it may appear with the title in a less prominent location but not in a more prominent one (for example, only in the colophon, not on the book title page).

Decisions about each series

Series present several potential challenges for searchers and cataloguers, because there are a number of questions that need to be answered for each one.  If you are lucky, some one has already made those decisions for a particular series and recorded them in an authority record.  For DLC cataloguing, most of the decisions reflected in a bib record may be accepted unless obvious discrepancies occur, the exception being that we always index series in DLC records (for more information, see the guidelines).  It is still useful to be aware of the questions involved when establishing series, to help you interpret what you find in the record.

1. Level of treatment:  Should this collective title be handled as:
   • Analyzed series?
   • Multi-volume monograph?
   • Serial?
   • Series-like phrase?

   In searching, you have no doubt already learned to be alert to possible different treatments of the same title, in OCLC and in Voyager.  In some cases, the most appropriate treatment is clear, but in other cases it is less obvious (particularly, for example, for groups of works by the same personal author).  Many complex factors go into the decision, and different libraries sometimes make different decisions based on their understanding of their users’ needs.  As a copy cataloguer beginning to catalogue books with series, all you need to be concerned about is that, while initially there may not be a right or wrong way to treat a particular collective title, it is important to be consistent once a decision has been made.

   We try hard to be consistent within our own database.  We also generally aim to be consistent with LC’s treatment (when its treatment is consistent, that is) except in certain cases where our bibliographers believe that our users - - particularly Latin American Library researchers -- will be better served by more detailed, individual treatment than LC has decided to provide for its own collection.

   If the decision has been to treat the collective title as an analyzed series:

   In the bib record for the individual title, there should be a 4xx series statement, reflecting the way that the series title appears in your piece.

   In the authority record for the series:  see 644 field

   Then the next question:

2. Whether to index:  Should this title be indexed?  In other words, should it be tagged in an indexed field so that people can search on the title in the catalogue?  (Please note:  this idea is also expressed in terms left over from catalogue card days, when an indexed series was called a “traced series.”)

   Historically, there has been a development of indexing more and more series titles.  Between November 1989 and June 2006, LC had a policy of indexing all series that it was currently establishing.  The Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) and we locally have continued this policy.  However, there are still a number of series that are not indexed, based on earlier decisions.  These unindexed series are also called untraced or form series.

   • If the decision has been to index the series:

     In the bib record for the individual title, there should be a series tracing, in a 440 field or 8xx field, reflecting the way that the series heading appears in each record for every title in the series.

     In the authority record for the series:  see 645 field.

   • If the decision has been not to index the series:

     In the bib record for the individual title, there should be only a 490 0 series statement.

     In the authority record for the series:  see 645 field.

   If the decision has been to index the series, then the next question:

3. Indexed form of title:  What form of series title should be used in the indexed heading?  Can the series be indexed in the same form in which it appears in the piece (and thus in the series statement)?  Or will this result in ambiguity, resulting in its filing with and being confused with a different series with the same title or even with a corporate body author heading?

   To answer these questions, there is actually a long set of rules that you won’t have to worry about for some time.  At this point, what you will need to be aware of is that, based on the indexed form, in searching for the series you may have to check under more than one possible form before giving up.  Typical forms include:

   • Title by itself, as it appears in the piece -- fortunately, very common, especially when the title includes enough specific terms to be distinctive.  In other words, the series statement and the indexed series form are the same ("what you see is what you get").

     E.g.    Studies in aboriginal rights

     • Unnumbered series:  If the series statement and the indexed series form -- the series heading -- are the same:  In the bib record, there should be a 440 series statement and heading field.

     • Numbered series: see below.

   Different possible ways in which the series statement and the indexed series form may be different:

   • Title in a different form from the one in which it appears in your piece.  For example, the series statement may be in the singular but the indexed form in the plural, or one may include an introductory generic term such as “Colección” or “Série” while the other omits it.  (Note:  The series title may also appear in more than one different form in your piece.  If you have to search for a series in the database, you’ll need to search every form until you find evidence of how the series should be treated, or until you have tried every form appearing.)

     E.g.    Studies in Jungian psychology

           [sometimes appears as A study in Jungian psychology]

     E.g.    Langues et langages

           [sometimes appears as Série Langues et langages or as Langues et langage]

   • Title plus parenthetical qualifier including a place name -- based on place of publication of the series

     E.g.    Collection Littérature (Sainte-Foy, Québec)

     E.g.    Studies in comparative religion (V¯ar¯anasi, India)

   • Title plus parenthetical qualifier including a corporate body name -- based on the publisher of the series or the body issuing it

     E.g.    Monographic series (Northern Michigan College)

   • Title plus parenthetical qualifier including a date -- based on the date when the series began to be published

     E.g.    Research in exasperating examples (1998)

   • Title as a $t subfield, entered under a personal name heading -- for a group of works by the same person that have separate bib records for each work.

     E.g.      Grey, Earl, $d 1956- $t Teashop mysteries

   • Title as a $t subfield, entered under a corporate body heading.  (Note:  This format is much less common than it used to be, but you will still see it in some recent records as well as in many old, pre-1981 records.)

     E.g.    Musée de Montagnac. $t Catalogue du Musée de Montagnac

   • Title plus parenthetical qualifier simply stating “(Series)” -- when the title might imply a corporate body or other non-series

     E.g.    English Heritage (Series)

           [there is also a corporate body with the heading English Heritage]

   The first four options are the most common:  title itself, different form of title, title qualified by place, and title qualified by corporate body.  Combinations are possible (e.g., corporate body plus date in a qualifier).

   E.g.    Collana di studi (Istituto dei laghi : 1966)

   Collana di studi (Istituto dei laghi : 2002)

   If the series statement and the indexed series form -- the series heading -- are different:  In the bib record, there should be a 490 1 series statement field and an 8xx heading field.

   In the authority record for the series:  See 1xx field.

4. Numbering:
   • Is the series numbered?  If so, the numbering needs to be included.

   • Does a designation such as “number” or “vol.” appear with the numbering?  If so, the designation should appear in the series statement, now generally using a standard abbreviation when available.  (Please note:  A record catalogued under earlier rules may use the form of abbreviation found in the piece.)

     E.g.

     without designation:	Biblioteca Armeniaca ; 1
     with designation:	Oxford studies in the history of philosophy ; v. 2
     with designation:	The Penguin classics ; L14
     without designation:	Border haunts collection ; 2002-4

   • If the series is indexed, what is the standard way to represent the numbering and designation?  A standard pattern should be used with the indexed heading.

     In the above examples:

     Biblioteca Armeniaca should be indexed without any designation (“no.,” “v.,” or any other) appearing with its number.

     Oxford studies in the history of philosophy should always be indexed with the designation “v.” appearing before the volume number number (even if it sometimes appeared with “number” or with no designation in a book).

     Penguin classics should always be indexed with the designation “L” appearing immediately before the number, without a period or space.

     Border haunts collection should always be indexed with the numbering format of the year followed by a hyphen and the number within the year.  In this case, it should be transcribed as well as indexed as "2002-4" even if it appears with "4-2002" in the piece.

   If the series is numbered:

   In the bib record, there should be a $v subfield.

   In the authority record for an indexed series, there should be a 642 field with a numbering example.

   If the title, numbering designation, and numbering format all appear in the piece the same way as they are indexed, then the series statement and the series heading are the same:  In the bib record, there should be a 440 series statement and heading field.

   If the numbering designation or format does not appear in the statement the same way as it is indexed, then the series statement and the series heading are not the same -- even if the title form matches.  In the bib record, there should be a 490 1 series statement field and an 8xx heading field.

   Please note, however, a streamlining shortcut:  For DLC cataloguing:  we accept the form of numbering designation in the series fields.  For other copy cataloguing:  different forms of the same designation (e.g., "v." and "vol.") may be edited in the 4xx field without changing the tag.

5. Classification

   Should all publications in the same series share the same basic call number and thus sit together in the library collection?  If so, they are distinguished in the call number only by numbering at the end.  This approach works particularly well for series with works all on the same topic or very similar topics, or for series of works by the same person or corporate body.  This type of series is referred to as classed collectively, classed together, or (locally) as an “all-in-one-call-number” series.

   E.g.    Expeditions to Greenland

         would work well as series classed together, because all of the individual works are about travel to the same place

   E.g.    Grey, Earl, $d 1956- $t Teashop mysteries

         would work well as a series classed together, because all of the individual works are by the same literary author

   E.g.    Musée de Montagnac. $t Catalogue du Musée de Montagnac

         would work well as a series classed together, because it focusses on the collection of one part of a single museum.

   Alternatively, should each publication in the series be assigned its own separate call number with a classification based on the main topic of that individual work?  This approach tends to work better for series that cover a variety of subjects.  This type of series is referred to as classed separately, or (locally) as a “CNV” -- “call-number-varies” -- series.

   E.g.    Taschenbuch der Künste [“paperback of the arts”]

         would work best as a CNV series, because works in it cover a broad range of different subjects relating to the arts

   E.g.    Oxford studies in the history of philosophy

         works well as a CNV series, because works in it deal with a wide variety of philosophical topics

   As with the decision about treating a collective title as an analyzed series, various factors may be considered when deciding whether to classify works in a series together or separately.  Again, it is important to be consistent once a decision has been made.

   In the bib record for the individual title, the call number in the 050 or 090 field should reflect the type of classification.

   In the authority record for the series: see 646 field.

MARC tagging in the bib record

Going through these concepts again, in MARC tagging terms:

1. Analyzed series:  Should be represented in a series statement, which should match the form of the series in the piece:

   4xx

2. Indexing and form:
   • Indexed series:
     • Indexed form same as series statement form:

       440 series statement and heading field:  the 440 field has a double function both for transcription and indexing -- description and access.

       E.g.      440  0  Studies in aboriginal rights

       E.g.      440  0  Oxford studies in the history of philosophy ; $v v. 2

     • Indexed form different from series statement form:

       series statement (description):		490 first indicator 1
       series heading (indexed access):		8xx

       E.g.    490 1    Studies in comparative religion

       830   0  Studies in comparative religion (V¯ar¯anasi, India)

       E.g.    490 1    Catalogue du Musée de Montagnac; $v 4

       810 2    Musée de Montagnac. $t Catalogue du Musée de Montagnac ; $v 4.

       E.g.    490 1    The teashop mysteries

       800 1    Grey, Earl, $d 1956- $t Teashop mysteries.

       E.g.    490 1    Biblioteca bravissima ; $v n. 8

       830   0  Biblioteca bravissima ; $v v. 8.

   • Not indexed (unindexed, untraced, or form) series:

     490 first indicator 0 series statement field

     E.g.    490 0    Methuen’s twentieth century texts

3. Numbering:  Any numbering goes into a separate

   $v subfield (following a space-semi-colon-space)

   E.g.    440  0  Biblioteca Armeniaca ; $v 1

   E.g.    440  0  Oxford studies in the history of philosophy ; $v v. 2

4. Classification:  If the series is classed together, the call number in the 050 or 090 field should be based on the call number for the series, with the addition of a number and designation for the individual title.

   E.g.    DG736.5 $b .T686 1987 no. 6

         (for the 6th title in the series: Towns of Tuscany)

Information from the series authority record

First, you need to make sure that you have retrieved the correct matching authority record:

• Title:  The title in your series statement should be present in the authority record in either a 1xx field -- possibly with the addition of a qualifier -- or in a 4xx cross-reference field.

• 643:  At least one publisher in the authority record 643 publisher field(s) should match at least one publisher in the piece and the bib record 260 field.

If you find a matching series authority record, the following information should be checked:

1. Analyzed?

   644 f      fully analyzed

   You can treat it as an analyzed series, in the bib record 4xx field.

   644 n      not analyzed; show Olga or your trainer.

   If any other code, show your trainer.

   If there is more than one 644 in a Voyager authority record:

   • If there is a 644 “f” with $5 HT, follow this treatment as an analyzed series (it should be the first 644).

     If not:

   • If there is a 644 “f” with $5 DLC, follow this treatment as an analyzed series.

     If not:

   • Show Olga or your trainer.

2. Indexed?

   645 t      indexed ( t=“traced”)

   Bib record:  Series should appear in 440 field or 8xx field as an indexed series.

   645 n      not indexed

   Bib record:  Series should appear only in a 490 0 series statement field.

   If there is more than one 645 in a Voyager authority record, follow the one with $5 HT, if any (it should be the first 645).  Otherwise, follow the 645 with $5 DLC.

3. Indexed form?

   1xx      indexed heading form.    [if indexed]

   Bib record:

   • If the 1xx authority record field of an indexed series matches the bib record series statement, the series statement can be tagged as 440, as long as any numbering designation and format also match.

   • If the 1xx authority record field of an indexed series does not match the bib record series statement, the series statement must be tagged 490 1, with the indexed series heading in an 8xx heading.

   Please note:  If the series is not indexed, the bib record 490 0 series statement form does not have to match the 130 authority record form exactly.  For example, it would not include a parenthetical qualifier.

4. Numbering

   642      Numbering example

   The presence of a 642 field indicates that series numbering is at least sometimes present.  Any caption designation in the 642 should be used in the bib record in the $v subfield of an indexed series heading (440 or 8xx).

   NB:  If the numbering designation or format does not appear in the bib record series statement the same way as it appears in the authority record 642, then the series statement and the series heading are not the same -- even if the title form matches.  In the bib record, there should be a 490 1 series statement field and an 8xx heading field.

   Please note, however, a streamlining shortcut:  For DLC cataloguing:  we accept the form of numbering designation in the series fields.  For other copy cataloguing:  different forms of the same designation (e.g., "v." and "vol.") may be edited in the 4xx field without changing the tag.

   Another clue about numbering is in the fixed field:  Fixed field element:  “ser num” (OCLC) or “Numbered series” (Voyager):

   a	numbered
   b	unnumbered
   c	sometimes numbered

5. Classification:

   646 s      Classed separately.

   Each bib record is assigned its own call number based on the main topic of that work.  (Also locally called a “CNV” -- “call-number-varies” -- series.)

   646 c      Classed collectively.

   All bib records in the series share the same basic call number, with only distinctive numbering at the end, which is part of the call number.  (Also locally called an “all-in-one-call-number” series.)

   That basic call number should be present in the authority record in an 050 or 090 field.

   If there is more than one 646 in a Voyager authority record, follow the one with $5 HT, if any (it should be the first 646).  Otherwise, follow the 646 with $5 DLC.

HTML document last reviewed:  27 March 2007