Editing Bibliographic Records

Editing Bibliographic Records
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Existing Records

Caution

Cataloguers should be cautious when editing existing bibliographic records in the Sitka catalogue. Changes to a bibliographic record affect ALL libraries with holdings attached. In our consortium, with over 100 libraries, a single change can have a significant effect.

Existing Records

Cataloguers with sufficient cataloguing knowledge can make edits which add to or improve existing bibliographic records. Cataloguers must ensure that the changes they make do not change the title being described. Information on what is considered a good MARC record in Sitka’s Evergreen can be found in the section called “A Good MARC Record”.

DO:

correct obvious typos
correct obviously incorrect coding in the leader and fixed fields
enhance records by adding additional fields such as notes (5XX) and subjects (6XX)
add library specific local information information into approved fields with a scoping subfield
add local subject headings as needed while following Sitka’s Local Subject Headings Policy
add additional fields to brief on order records created by other libraries to improve them as long as the original record contains enough information to be sure what title the purchasing library will be receiving
overlay brief records with full bibliographic records
merge duplicate bibliographic records together

DON’T:

remove fields/information
remove local information from other libraries (fields will include a $5 or $9 with the library code)
change fundamental information such as title, author, publisher, publication date, and/or physical description
add library specific local information without including a scoping subfield
add item specific information - this goes in your item record

Instructions for editing records can be found in Sitka’s Evergreen Documentation in the section called Editing MARC Records.

Leader and Fixed Fields

The fixed fields in the MARC record, also called control fields, contain coded information that is used by Evergreen’s search filters and format icons. It is important that these fields are coded correctly or your patrons will not be able to find the titles they are looking for when using search filters.

The values for the characters in these fields are found in MARC 21 Format for Bibliographic Data/ Normes MARC 21:

Note

All bibliographic records will have a leader and 008 field. Whether a 006 and/or 007 is required will depend on the type of material the record is for.

Incorrect or missing values in these fields are an ongoing issue as older records and some vendor records are not coded correctly. Co-op Support encourages cataloguers to correct the coding in these fields.

Instructions for editing the leader and 008 field can be found in Sitka’s Evergreen Documentation in the section called Leader and 008 Field Grid.

Instructions for editing the 007 field can be found in Sitka’s Evergreen Documentation in the section called Physical Characteristics Wizard.

Overlaying Bibliographic Records

Cataloguers with sufficient cataloguing knowledge can overlay brief and on order records with full records via Z39.50 or by batch loading full records. Before overlaying records cataloguers must ensure the records are a match.

Instructions for overlaying records via Z39.50 can be found in Sitka’s Evergreen Documentation in the section called Overlaying Records via Z39.50.

Merging Bibliographic Records

Cataloguers with sufficient cataloguing knowledge can merge duplicate bibliographic records together. Before merging records cataloguers must ensure the records are a match.

Instructions for merging bibliographic records can be found in Sitka’s Evergreen Documentation in the section called called Merging Bibliographic Records.

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