Fiction / Nonfiction Facet

Besides manually entering appropriate fixed field data in pre-cats, the Fiction/Nonfiction Facet autopopulates itself by examining catalog records. If bibliographic records are accurately input according to standard practice, you should not have to do anything further. This article describes the behind-the-scenes workings of the Fiction/Nonfiction Facet.

Scope

The Fiction/Nonfiction facet allows for the filtering of most print and audiobook materials based on whether the content is primarily fiction or nonfiction. This facet will appear alongside other search delimiters accompanying public catalog search results:

The facet searches based upon Item Category 3, a field found in item records. This value is populated by a script that runs each evening on records added or updated on that day. In WorkFlows, the field can be found here:

Formats

Due to the available fields in catalog records across differing formats, the fiction/nonfiction facet will apply ONLY to the following formats:

• Books and other non-serial print materials
• Manuscript materials and government documents
• Audiobooks (including Playaways)
• Microform/microfiche

Note: When audiobooks and Playaways are overlaid by full records, the fiction/nonfiction facet is replaced by the Ltxt (literary text) field.     

See below for further information on how the 590 field interacts with the Fiction/Nonfiction facet script.

Fiction and nonfiction defined

Fiction refers to short stories, novels, and other prose formats describing imaginary events. For the purposes of this facet, poetry and drama are classified as nonfiction.

All other materials will fall under the nonfiction category. Note that this often includes collections of folklore and mythology, though certain settings are open to interpretation.

Item category 3

Item Category 3 is a customized field in item records that we have configured to hold data for the fiction/nonfiction facet.

There are 4 values that Item Category 3 can take:

• (blank)
• FICTION
• NONFICTION
• UNKNOWN

Note: The “UNKNOWN” value is for system purposes and should never be used.

Item Category 3 is automatically populated based upon a fixed field value in the bibliographic record. The value it is based upon varies according to the type of record:

Print materials and pre-cats

In records for books and all pre-cats regardless of format, the Item Category 3 is based upon the Fiction fixed field value in Symphony. Catalogers will know this as the Literary Form or LitF field.

This field is only present on record of Rec_Type 'a' or 't' AND Bib_Lvl 'a', 'c', 'd', or 'm'.

When the script encounters this field in a bibliographic record, it assigns or updates the Item Category 3 on all attached items based on the value as follows:

The Comics value 'c' was included only to accommodate existing records using this value. Do not use this value, as it is no longer supported. Please assign comics and graphic novels a '0' or '1' as appropriate to the content.

The value 'u' for "Unknown" also exists. Items with this value will not receive an Item Category 3 assignment. Cataloging Libraries, please avoid use of this value whenever possible.

Regarding pre-cat creation: When creating pre-cats, you only need to specify 0 for nonfiction or 1 for fiction.

Audiobooks and preloaded audio

In audiobook records that have received full cataloging (i.e. not pre-cats), the Item Category 3 is based upon the Literary Text, or LTxt fixed field value.

This field is present on records of Rec-Type 'i', 'j', and 'c', but the script that assigns Item Category 3 will only consider Rec_Type 'i' records.

When the script encounters this field in a bibliographic record, it assigns or updates the Item Category 3 on all attached items based on the value as follows:

The value 'n' for "Not applicable" also exists but is used only on records for printed music. If found on a sound recording record, items attached will not receive an Item Category 3 assignment. Cataloging Libraries, please avoid use of this value on sound recording records.

590 considerations

Due to the fact that all pre-cat records are made with the book template and the "Fiction" (LitF) fixed field value defaults to 0, many pre-cats have gotten assigned Item Category 3 values by previous versions of the Item Category 3 script even though they represent formats not compatible with the facet.

For example, a DVD pre-cat may have items with NONFICTION in their item category 3's due to the default fixed field value, but fully-cataloged DVD records imported through OCLC use the Visual Materials workform which does not contain the proper fixed field value. These records will appropriately be denied an Item Category 3.

To combat this inconsistency, the script has been updated to consider the 590 field when assigning Item Category 3. When the script runs, it first looks at the 590 and decides between one of two courses of action:

1. Update Item Category 3 according to the fixed field values outlined above, OR,
2. Clear the Item Category 3 from all attached items.

This decision is made as follows:

Any record containing an invalid 590 value will not have its Item Category 3 values updated until the 590 is replaced with a valid value.

Script outline

In plain English, here is an outline of how the Item Category 3 assignment script works:

Every bibliographic record added or edited throughout the day is flagged. This includes bibliographic records for which one or more items has been added or edited. All flagged records are written to a file.

Every evening, the script takes that file and for each bibliographic record, does the following:

1. Read the 590.
   1. If the 590 is invalid, abort and proceed to the next bibliographic record.
   2. If the 590 is in the "Cleared" list (above) set all Item Category 3s to their null value.
   3. If the 590 is in the "Assigned" list (above):
      1. Read the Rec_Type and B_Lvl values.
         1. If Rec_Type = a or t and B_Lvl = m
            1. Assign Item Category 3 based upon LitF criteria.
         2. If Rec_Type = i
            1. Assign Item Category 3 based upon LTxt criteria
         3. Otherwise, abort and proceed to the next bib record.

The script is written in Perl and incorporates commands unique to the SirsiDynix Symphony API. If you wish to view it, please submit a ticket to SWAN.

Troubleshooting

There are a number of factors playing into the Item Category 3 assignments, and diagnosing an error may be difficult. Here are some issues you may see and how to handle them:

Item Category 3 values for this book are all "FICTION", but they should be "NONFICTION" or vice versa.

This is probably due to an incorrect "Fiction" fixed field value. Check the bibliographic record. If the item is a pre-cat, you may update the "Fiction" fixed field to the appropriate value (0 or 1). If it is fully cataloged and you are not a cataloger at one of our Cataloging Libraries, please contact SWAN Support.

None of the items on this record have an Item Category 3.

Check the bibliographic record. It is possible the "Fiction" fixed field has been deleted. Or it is possible the 590 field is misspelled or of a type that does not receive an Item Category 3. If the item is a pre-cat, you may update the "Fiction" fixed field or correct any obvious typos in the 590. If it is fully cataloged or you believe the 590 should be changed entirely, please contact SWAN Support. Cataloging Libraries may update the fixed field and 590 values without restriction.

Item Category 3 on items attached to a bibliographic record are inconsistent.

This is probably a scripting issue. If you have edited or added an item record, the nightly reassignment may correct the problem. If not, please contact SWAN Support.