UCSD Libraries Heading Verification Policy and Procedures

Written by Ryan Finnerty, October 11, 2004
Approved by Cataloging Committee, November 8, 2004
Last revised June 30, 2005
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Policy

We will send all our newly cataloged bibliographic records to an authority control vendor for authorities processing . This includes records for all materials (both copy and original) cataloged in the Metadata Services Department (MSD) and the Mandeville Special Collections Library (MSCL). This will not include slides records cataloged by the Art & Architecture Library.

The authority control vendor will check for the correct form, correct the form if necessary, and provide us with authority records for all name, uniform title, series, and subject headings. We will load all corrected bibliographic records and all authority records back into our local system, overlaying the bibliographic and most of the authority records. The authorities vendor might also provide us with reports of possible additional corrections we need to make to our records. Database Management staff will work on these reports.

Authority records (with the exception of series and title) returned from the authority control vendor will be loaded so that they overlay existing authority records without review. We acknowledge that a few local references that are not coded for protection may be lost, but we will gain so much more in getting current records with updated references. Series and title authority records will still be manually reviewed so we won't lose any local treatment decisions we made.

All batch-loaded records (e.g. Marcive, WorldCat Collection Sets, etc.) for UCSD will be sent out for authorities processing. We will send out Shared Cataloging Program records for authorities processing as resources, both human and financial, permit.

MSD will accept all 655 fields found on copy according to our editing guidelines but will not verify them; MSCL will add or delete 655 fields as necessary and verify the form of all those that are kept. MSD will add available authority records for genre headings when we have a separate genre index. For headings that conflict across thesauri, we will either change the see references to see-also references, or switch the term from the less preferred thesaurus to the term from the more preferred thesaurus.

We will not add authority records for subject and form/genre subdivisions at this time. We will revisit this decision when our system is capable of properly making use of these.

Procedures for All Catalogers

• We will still be responsible for formulating the correct form of heading for new headings and creating authority records where none exist.
  
• Catalogers will need to verify the correct form of a heading if they are adding or modifying an access point to existing copy or an existing UCSD record.
  
• Catalogers will need to verify all local headings against local authorized thesauri.
  
• Fields needing to be changed or added to authority records can either be submitted through NACO or added to the local record, as appropriate. We will protect local fields from overlay as follows:
  • Local 430 and 530 fields will have a first indicator of 9.
  • Local 400,410,411,450,451,500,510,511,550, and 551 fields will have a second indicator of 9.
  • All local 64X fields will have a second indicator of 9.
  • All free-text local note fields (e.g. 66X & 67X) will be entered as 690s.
    

Procedures for Original Catalogers and all MSCL Catalogers

• Original and MSCL catalogers will still verify all controlled headings at the time of cataloging because of our quality commitment to OCLC and our institutional commitment to authority control, however, they will not need to export most categories of authority records from the LCAF into our local system. Only authority records for uniform title headings containing the word "Selections" will need to be exported at the cataloger's discretion. We will still send originally created and MSCL bibliographic records out for processing in order to get current authority records, identify miscodings, and cleanup other possible errors.
  
• Original catalogers will create NACO records in accordance with the NACO Policy and Procedure.

Procedures for Copy Catalogers in MSD

NOTE: Regardless of the type of copy, all series headings need to be verified against the local catalog for proper form and treatment. If no record exists in the local catalog, then follow the practice in the LCAF record but do not export the record. If there is no LCAF record, then give item to an original cataloger for series establishment. See the Series Verification procedure for full instructions.

Copy Whose Headings Do Not Need To Be Verified

Copy catalogers in MSD will not verify the form of headings in copy nor download the associated authority records for most AACR2 records. The following chart details the types of copy included in this category. These charts are meant to include all materials except musical materials.

AACR2 records are indicated by byte "a" in the Desc: fixed field in OCLC, or the CAT FORM in the leader field in MilCat.

Copy Whose Headings Need to Be Checked

Some headings on certain types of copy will still need to be verified by the cataloger. The following chart details which headings still need to be verified. Note that some materials may fit into multiple categories. In such instances, err on the side of verifying the heading.

Items that do not fit into any category on the above charts should be bounced to the unit supervisor.