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Questions for people who input level 4 volume holdings statements
in their online catalogs:  How do you treat captions (1) when they
appear on a serial item in language(s) other than English or (2)
when there are no captions?

An LC memo in:  Subject Cataloging Manual : Shelflisting (G 180, rev.
3/12/86) states that for not analyzed *multipart items* in languages
other than English, regardless of the vernacular terminology appearing
on the item, use the following prescribed English pattern: "vol."
for the first vernacular designation, "pt." for the second, and "no."
for the third.

For serials (#4 of the same G 180 memo), LC allows use of the vol.
designation/numbering determined  by the 362 field of the MARC
serial record (i.e., whatever appears on the item).

Why the discrepancy between multipart items and serials here?  Is
there a more recent revision to this memo that I've missed?

I realize I may be comparing apples & oranges between LC shelflisting
and MFHD possibilities (where there is a fixed field for language,
afterall), but I am looking for guidelines in an attempt to develop
some consistent policies with regard to inputting captions into
our volume holdings records.  I'd be interested in knowing what
other institutions are doing -- vernacular? or English designations?

Also, do you tend to add captions [in square brackets] when no
captions are present on the item?  Our IBM screens translate square
brackets in our vhld's literally into Greek characters in our OPAC,
(this is with NOTIS 4.6) so we've been using angled brackets...
So maybe we should ignore this and not put captions in where they
don't exist (like the 362 field) -- but then people think the vol.
holdings look strange...

Any insights or suggestions would be appreciated.

Birdie MacLennan
University of Vermont