Technical Services Procedures
Maintaining the Online Catalog - Authorities: Series and Series Authorities (General Information)
Page Author: Jim Latchney
Page Editor: Janet Baldwin
Last Updated:
January 12, 2007
Series are a special type of serial publication: Each volume in a series has its own unique monograph title in addition to the series title, and often, each volume will also have a different author(s) or editor(s). Series can be considered to be collections of monographs. Each volume in a series has its own unique author/title information, as well as having one or more series titles that are common to all of the volumes in that particular series.
There are a number of different ways that the individual monographs that comprise the series can be handled:
- treatment of individual volumes (analysis practice)
- pulling all volumes together by series title (tracing practice)
- pulling all volumes together by call number (classification practice)
Series authority records (SAR's) record the local decisions that have been made by an institution ("the Library") regarding these three sets of practices for any specific series.
Coded in the fixed fields at the top of each series authority record is information relating to whether the series is numbered or unnumbered, whether or not the "series" is truly a series or not, etc. Some of the fixed fields determine how the series authority record will index, i.e., in a series title only search that some systems have programmed.
The 130 field (usually) gives the proper form of the series to be used in bibliographic records. It records the authoritative form of the series title.
The 4XX fields give different, alternative forms of the series that might be found in other sources or in less-authoritative sources on any particular volume in the series. Some series will have short forms, or abbreviated forms that they will use in different places (the spine, etc.), and these will be recorded in 430 fields. Cross-references for any personal authors or corporate bodies will be recorded as 400 or 410 fields, respectively. The 4XX fields generate "see" references in the catalog, referring catalog users from the form of the series they've chosen to search to the "correct" form of the series (i.e., the series as it has been established) so that they can then search the established form of the series and retrieve ALL of the monographic volumes in the series that are held by the Library.
The 5XX fields give earlier or later series titles that are related to the series given in the 130. Series will sometimes change their titles over time, like any serial, and this information is recorded in the 5XX field/s. The |w subfield tells you whether the series in the 5XX is an earlier or a later title. If the |w is coded "a", then the series was an earlier title; if "b", then a later title. The 5XX fields generate "see also" references in the catalog, referring catalog users from the series they've chosen to earlier or later series that are also held by the Library.
The 641-643 fields provide information concerning numbering and publisher information about the series.
- 641 field: If some items in a numbered series are unnumbered, there should be a 641 field in the local series authority record with the note "Some items unnumbered".
- 642 field: Records the series numbering used on the pieces. If the volumes of the series are numbered and the series is traced, there should be a 642 field, giving an example of the volume numbering to be used in the series tracing locally. (If the series is unnumbered, there should not be a 642 field in the SAR.)
- 643 field: Records the place of publication (in the |a), the publisher (in the |b), and sometimes the dates to which the particular place and publisher apply (in the |d)
The 644-646 fields give information concerning the local processing decisions made by the Library about the series.
- 644 field: records our local analysis practice (i.e., whether or not, or to what extent, the Library provides access to individual monographs in the series)
- "f (fully analyzed)":
Each volume in the series gets "analyzed", i.e., has its own bibliographic description/catalog record made, gets its own subject headings based on the content of the book, and may or may not have a specific classification number assigned based on the subject analysis - "p (partially analyzed)":
Not all volumes that are analyzable are actually analyzed; this decision can be made for a variety of local reasons, but requires that a selector examine each volume and make an analysis decision independent of the decisions for other volumes in the series. We avoid this treatment practice these days, if at all possible. - "n (not analyzed)":
The volumes in the series are not analyzed
- 645 field: records our local series tracing practice (i.e., whether or not the library provides access to each monograph in the series by means of the series statement {series as "title"})
- "t (traced)":
Volumes can be retrieved by searching the series title - "n (not traced)":
Volumes cannot (generally) be retrieved by searching the series title. Locally, however, volumes in series that are not traced CAN be retrieved by means of a KEYWORD search in the catalog public mode
. - 646 field: records our local classification treatment practice (i.e., whether or not all of the volumes in the series will be found together on the shelves under one call number)
- "c (classed set)":
Volumes will be found together as a set under one call number - "s (classed sep)":
Volumes will not be found together, generally, but are assigned whatever classification number reflects best the subject of the particular volume. This tends to disperse the volumes throughout the collection (depending upon the broadness (or narrowness) of the scope of the series) - "m (open entry analytic)":
Some volumes in the series are also issues of a larger serial, and will be found dispersed throughout that larger serial in accord with the volume of the serial in which they were issued
667 field: Records additional information about the series that does not fit into any of the specific fixed or variable fields mentioned so far. Examples of this additional information might be:
- additional local processing information
- the fact that the series should not be treated as a series, but as "quoted note" information
- series subtitle and/or series editor information
- the fact that the series is a document series and how to handle document numbers found on the piece
- any other vagaries of the series that exist
670 field: Records the specific monograph or serial item(s) used to justify and generate the series authority record, and the specific sources in the publication where the information was found, the form of that information, etc.
The combination of the following decisions:
644 n (not analyzed)
645 n (not traced)
646 c (classed set)
results in the series being treated as a SERIAL. A serial, therefore, is similar to a very circumscribed series. If volumes in a series do not have unique authors/titles but designations, then they are basically serials.
Unusual 1XX Situations:
Sometimes when searching series and retrieiving what appears to be an appropriate SAR, you'll note that the 1XX is NOT a 130. There are a number of instances when the 1XX will be something other than a 130:
- 100:
The series is a PERSONAL AUTHOR SERIES. All of the volumes in the series are authored by the same person, or are composed of works authored by the same person, so the series is established under personal author main entry.
- 110:
The series is established under CORPORATE BODY main entry. This will usually occur only with catalogs from art galleries, or sale/auction catalogs, for instance. If the series is numbered, however, it will be processed by Serials Cataloging, like any other numbered series.
Refer to AACR2r 21.1B2 for the appropriate situations to establish a heading by corporate body main entry.