Serial Call Numbers & Policies

Please note that SWAN highly recommends use of the Serial Control module to help track new issues and standardize volume information. For a more general discussion of call numbers, please see Call Numbers.

Base call number

The base call number (i.e. the portion before the analytic) can be anything your library chooses. In the past, SWAN had a policy that all serial base call numbers needed to be "PERIODICAL", but we have since relaxed that policy. Standardization across libraries proved unnecessary, and the length of the base was causing many call numbers to exceed SirsiDynix's 40-character limit.

Call number analytic

Terminology

We will use the following terms throughout this guide:

• Analytic - Commonly referred to as "volume information", the analytic is anything appearing after a subfield |z in a call number and distinguishes the different items attached to serial and multi-part records.
• Enumeration - Enumeration refers to the ordinal numbering portion of a call number, including volume, number, and issue information.
• Chronology - Chronology refers to the date portion of a call number, whether it is a single day, a range of dates, or simply a year.

Constructing the analytic

Starting with issues dated January 1, 2019 or later, SWAN has largely eliminated the practice of recording enumeration date in call number analytics. This change applies only to consumer magazines, newspapers, and trade journals. Please refer to the following table to determine what your call number requires based on the type of publication you are cataloging:

Determine what type of publication you have, and construct your call number elements according to the rules below.

Exceptions to the chronology-only rule may exist. If a consumer or trade magazine does not contain chronology, then enumeration will be necessary as the only way to identify the item. If there are other cases where you believe a title should diverge from the above table or if you are unsure what type of publication you have, send in a ticket to SWAN and we can discuss it. Clarification on publication type and exceptions will be recorded in the 591 field if a bibliographic record if necessary.

If including both enumeration and chronology, enumeration always comes first, followed by chronology when available. Include a space between the two and no additional punctuation:

Example (Chronology Only): J MAG|zMAY 2018
Example (Enumeration and Chronology): PERIODICAL|zV.5 NO.3 FEB 15, 2018

Constructing enumeration

When recording numbers, convert all Roman numerals to Arabic, remove preceding zeros, and retain any alphabetic distinctions with no space (i.e. "V.17B"). Represented enumeration elements in the order found on the item but abbreviated per the table below:

Note that for serials, there is no space between the abbreviated word and the numeral.

Examples:
V.83 NO.2
V.12 NO.2 ISS.1
NO.524

Constructing chronology

Enter chronology following the conventions the publisher uses, but abbreviated per the tables below.

This table lists abbreviations of months and seasons:

This table includes common date formats based on publication frequency and how those formats are converted to volume information in SWAN. Most situations should be represented in the table below. If you encounter a date format that appears unusual, please send a ticket to SWAN and we can discuss a standardized format for that title.

Date ranges

Certain titles such as The Economist, New York Magazine, Newsweek, and The Nation present their cover dates as ranges. SWAN used to support providing full ranges in call numbers, but we are discontinuing this practice.

Starting with issues dated January 1, 2021 and beyond, do not put date ranges in call numbers. Instead, record only the first date in the range. For example, if an issue has a cover date of “Jan 4-10, 2021”, representing the week of the 4th, your call number may look like:

PERIODICAL|zJAN 4, 2021

Bimonthly titles and double issue procedures remain unchanged. For an issue with cover date “January 4/11, 2021”, representing the week of the 4th and the week of the 11th, transcribe as:

PERIODICAL|zJAN 4/11, 2021

Of course, your base call number may vary.

We made this decision to simplify the process of setting up predictions and checking in issues via Serial Control. We also hope this will encourage consistency among serial call numbers by discontinuing a call number format that was open to variation and error.