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University Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Cataloging Services: Holding Records

Acquisitions & Cataloging Services

MFHD policies


Copy-specific notes

Information describing unique aspects of a specific copy should be added to the catalog in the item record for all general collections or holdings record (MFHD) for special collections rather than in the bibliographic record as below. Information that describes all copies will remain in a bibliographic general note in field 500.

The library's previous policy was to place all copy-specific notes in the 5XX field of the MFHD. If you are unsure of which field should be used for a particular note, please contact the CAPT Catalog and Metadata Working Group.

The following notes are the most commonly used at Illinois:

Note type Item Record Holdings Record
*Gift books (public note or private note) Item internal / public note 541
Replacement copies Item internal note  
Materials purchased with special funds (virtual bookplates) Item public note 541
Bound-withs   562
Illinois Promotion & Tenure bookplates Item public note  
Printing variations, missing pages, etc. Item public note  
Immediate Source of Acquisition Note Item internal note  
Ownership and Custodial History   561
Copy and Version Identification Note Item public note  
Binding Information   563
Restrictions on Access Note Item public note  
Action Note   583

*Gift note can be added in either Item record or holdings record depending the types of gift. 

For General Collections

Item Record Internal Note 

Used to note content for internal use by Library staff, such as non-public Gift, Replacement Copies, and Immediate Source of Acquisition Note.

Item Records Public Note

Used to note content for general public, such as Illinois Promotion & Tenure bookplates, Printing variations, missing pages, Copy and Version Identification Note, and Restrictions on Access Note. All information added to the Item Public Note fields will be appeared in Primo’s Get It/Details tab.

*Materials purchased with special funds (virtual bookplates) can be added either item records public note or holdings records 541 field depends on types of notes. Please contact the CAPT Catalog and Metadata Working Group.

Example: Promotion & Tenure Bookplates (physical bookplates)

University of Illinois Library bookplate: In honor of the Promotion of XXX, COLLEGE, to RANK, YEAR.

For Special Collections

541 - Immediate Source of Acquisition Note

Used to record information on the immediate source of acquisition for the described materials. 

Public gift notes should be used if the donor has worked with the library to request their name be included in the record; general gifts should use the private note. 

Indicators:

1st indicator (Privacy):

# – No information provided
0 – Private
1 – Not private

2nd indicator is undefined.

Subfields used:

$a – Source of acquisition
$c – Method of acquisition
$d – Date of acquisition

Examples showed below include both 541 fields and internal and public note in item records 

Examples: for public notes

541 1# $c Gift; $a Professor Joseph L. Love; $d 2017.

Examples: for private notes

541 0# $c Gift; $d 2017.

541 0# $c Replacement copy; $d 2017.

If a single volume of a multi-set volume is a gift, designate the volume in $3:

541 0# $3 v.5 $c Gift; $d 2017.

541 1# $3 v.2 $c Gift; $a Professor Joseph L. Love; $d 2017.

561 - Ownership and Custodial History

Used to record information concerning the ownership and custodial history of the described materials from the time of their creation to the time of their accessioning, including the time at which individual items or groups of items were first brought together in their current arrangement or collation. Not intended for recording source of acquisition, which should be recorded in field 541.

Field 561 should generally not be used for the Library’s general collections. If you have a project for which you think field 561 is appropriate, please contact the CAPT Catalog and Metadata Working Group.

562 - Copy and Version Identification Note

Used to record information that distinguishes the copy(s) or version(s) of materials held when more than one copy or version exists or could exist.

Examples of when such notes would be warranted include: information about the piece being a specified number of a limited edition; an autographed copy; or slight variations in printings, such as an offprint of a larger work, or missing pages.

Example: a specified number of a limited edition

Bibliographic record: 500 ## $a Limited edition of 300 copies.
MFHD: 562 ## $a Number 37 of 300 numbered copies.

Example: an autographed copy

562 ## $a Autographed by the author, dedicated to ...

Example: slight variations in printing, missing pages, etc.

562 ## $a Missing p. 33-36.

Example: Bound-withs (multiple titles bound together into a single physical item)

For volumes with 3 or fewer titles bound together, include the following note in the 562 field, with brief citations for each title:

562 ## $a Bound volume includes X titles: Author last name, Author first initial. Title proper 1. Place of Pub. : Publisher, Date -- Author last name, Author first initial. Title proper 2. Place of pub. : Publisher, Date -- Author last name, Author first initial. Title proper 3. Place of Pub. : Publisher, Date.

For volumes with 4 or more titles bound together, use note:

562 ## $a Bound volume includes X titles.

In each example, X should be replaced with the number of titles in the bound volume.

Field 562 is also used to record the collection title that the item is associated with. 

           562 ## $a Nathan Austin Weston Memorial Library.

563 - Binding Note

Binding information intended primarily for use with antiquarian materials, rare books, and other special collections. Not intended for serials bound together after publication for shelving and storage purposes. 

Field 563 should generally not be used for the Library’s general collections. If you have a project for which you think field 563 is appropriate, please contact the CAPT Catalog and Metadata Working Group.

583 - Action Note

Field 583 is being used to record notes of various retention initiatives in which the Library is participated. Questions about existing 583 notes should be directed to the CAPT Catalog and Metadata Working Group.

Multiple volumes

A single-volume bibliographic record should not be changed to a multi-volume record or vice versa (even if just in Alma). Either find an appropriate record in OCLC Connexion or send the piece to original cataloging.

Copy numbers

Copy numbers are associated with total number of holdings (items) not call numbers. (CAPT CMWG May 2020)

Added volumes & copies

When adding volumes, if a library with a holding record for the third copy has volumes 1 and 2 receives volume 4, it will be “cop.3” regardless of whether the holdings records for the first three copies have volume 4.

Missing copies

Each departmental library has its own missing location and the missing item will be moved to the missing location. 

Withdrawn copies

Change item location to a sub-library location 'Withdrawn' available under each departmental library.

For more information, see Withdraw Item page.

Also refer to the library's Retention Policies in the Digital Age.

Sources