I am curious about various local usages of the "receipt or acquisition
status" codes (position 6 of the 008 in the Marc Format for Holdings and
Locations).

Code 2 reads:

Completed.  Code 2 indicates that all parts of a multipart or serial item
have been received.  This code is also used with single-part items.

Code 5 reads:

Not currently received.  Code 5 indicates that the reporting orgaization has
holdings of the multipart or serial item but neither currently received nor
intends to acquire the item.  This code is used for serial titles that have
ceased or have been surerseded and for multipart items and items for which
updates are no longer being recieved.

The second sentence under code 5 doesn't seem to me to belong.  If a title
has ceased isn't it completed??

My present interpretation is as follows:

   Use Code 2 when a title is complete, is ceased or superceeded, or for
   whatever reason is no longer being published.  This indicates that the
   library is no longer subscribing because there is nothing being
   published.  Code 2 does not necessarily mean that the library holds all
   pieces of the title, only that it is no longer being published.

   Use Code 5 to indicate that the library does not presently subscribe to
   a title which is currently being published.  It indicates that the library
   at one point received some pieces but that newly issued parts are not
   being received.

I realize that this seems to be in conflict with sentence 2 of Code 5.  Is
there perhaps a "not" missing someplace in the Code 5 explaination?  (This
code is NOT used for serial titles that have ceased....)

This code was changed from the draft statement, where they read:

   Code "2" (Completed) is used when an institution has received all parts
   of a work.  This code is intended for use with MONOGRAPHS, works-in-part
   and other NON-SERIAL items.  [emphasis is mine]

   Code "5" (Not currently received) is used when the institution has
   holdings of the item but it is neither currently receiving the item nor
   has any intent of acquiring the item on a current basis.  This code is
   also used for titles which have ceased or have been superseded.

This makes it clear that at one point Code 2 was intended to be used only for
non-serials, everything else went into Code 5.  Sounds to me like Code 2 was
changed and the explaination for Code 5 wasn't fully brought into sync.

Thoughts??

James Mouw
Head of Serials
Univ. of Chicago Library

Bitnet:                 uclmouw@uchimvs1
Internet:       mouw@midway.uchicago.edu