My interpretation of the "Receipt or Acquisitions Status" codes in the _USMARC
 Format for Holdings_ is:

 Code 2: ALL PARTS of the item have been RECEIVED by the reporting institution
 (i.e., no gaps in holdings) and, therefore, the title must have ceased.

 Code 5: ALL PARTS of the item have NOT been RECEIVED. The title may have
 ceased, but the institution's holdings are not complete (i.e., there are gaps
 in the holdings). [Z39.44-1986 states "If the reporting institution is NOT
 currently receiving issues of the reported serial, whatever the reason, a
 value of"5" or the statement "Not currently received" shall be entered in this
 data element."

 Combine the Acquisitions status code with the Completeness code and Encoding
 Level and we get a clearer picture of whether or not there are gaps in the
 institution's holdings report when it is a summary (not a detailed) report.

 Completeness codes:

 Comp 1 = Complete--title has ceased and the reporting institutions has all
 published issues (i.e. no gaps)

 Comp 2 = Incomplete--active titles OR ceased titles with incomplete holdings

 Encoding level 3: summary enumeration and chronology; report may or may not
 include gaps in holdings

 Encoding level 4: detailed enumeration and chronology; report actual holdings

 I find it helpful to keep in mind when interpreting the holdings format that
 we are reporting, first, our institution's holdings and second, whether the
 title is active or not.

 Let me know if you agree/disagree. I'm glad you raised this issue so we can
 discuss it and come to an agreement about how to interpret the holdings format
 and how to interpret each other's holdings records.

 Gail McMillan, Serials Team Leader Cataloging Dept./University Libraries
 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University [gmcmilla@vtvm1.cc.vt.edu]