Dear Libraries,
Happy Fall! It’s hard to believe this is the last newsletter of the year. I would like to point out a few housecleaning things that have caught our attention lately, this way we transition smoothly into 2023.
1) Vendor records missing the 590 tag:
This usually happens when items are ordered using a regular book cart, rather than large print or audiobook, for example, so the wrong template is applied. Just something to watch out for when placing orders!
If it continues happening, you may have to contact the vendor to make sure all the necessary tags are included in the grid.
2) Serials cleanup project:
Bibliographic Services has been running reports to identify serials items prior to 01/01/2020 and emailing libraries to verify which titles they want to keep and their policy retention regarding serials. Once we hear back from libraries, we have been checking items out to the appropriate DISCARD users.
Speaking of serials, the Weeklies 2023 list has already been posted to the support site. Remember to transfer your serial controls only after receiving all the 2022 issues OR create new controls for 2023.
3) RDA 33X tags:
These tags represent how a work is expressed, and there has been a proliferation of OCLC records missing subfield ‘b’ from the 336, 337, and 338 tags. Subfield ‘b’ is the code for the term in subfield ‘a’ and it works in conjunction with the fixed field to determine the record format.
For cataloging libraries, we ask you to continue adding subfield ‘b’ and encourage you to use Text Strings and Constant Data in OCLC, so those fields are easily added. If you need assistance with setting up Text Strings and Constant Data, please let us know and we will be glad to help!
Thank you for working with the Bibliographic Services team in 2022!