----------------------------Original message----------------------------
In answer to Gerald Gordon's inquiries 4/23/92 re: changes to serial
bibliographic records subsequent to cataloging:

First, let me describe our organization:  the Serials Dept. is a separate
department made up of Serials Technical Services, the Periodicals Reading
Room, and Bindery Preparations/Repair.  Serials Technical Services is
responsible for serials order, payment, check-in, and claims plus on-line
records creation and maintenance.  Our in-house serials system currently has
modules for bibliographic records, holdings records, individual issue records,
claims, accounting, and source file (aka vendor file) records and is linked
(so to speak) to the monographic cataloging system, where the local authority
file resides.  Serials Cataloging is physically located in Serials
Technical Services but is administratively part of the Cataloging Dept.
The Acquisitions Dept. uses INNOVACQ for monographic ordering/payments, but
records for serials (or pseudo-serials) they purchase on approval or obtain
via exchange or gift agreements are cataloged by Serials Cataloging and are
resident on our serials system.  All pre-order searching, for monographs and
serials, is done in the Acquisitions Dept.

1.) When a new serial title is requested, the Acq. Dept. does the pre-order
searching and sets up a very preliminary record (bib + holdings) on the
serials system.  At this point, the bib record contains skeletal fixed- and
variable-field information:  an appearance flag set to "n" (denoting that the
record does *not* display in the on-line catalog), publn. status, beg. date,
freq./regularity, ISSN (022), the 1XX/245 (corp. body & title/uniform title),
and 260 (publisher).  Serials Tech staff place the order and then flesh out
the skeletal holdings record with appropriate order info., certain fixed field
codes, and the holdings location is changed from "Acq. Dept. - Pre-order Search
Unit" to "Serials Dept. - Serials Receiving", and the first expected issue
record is set up.

2.) When the first issue is received in Serials Receiving, the issue is checked
in, a note is added to the issue record saying the issue has been routed to the
on-order shelf. When a full-time person processes issues from the on-order
shelf,  changes or additions are made only to the holdings & issue records, and
the issues plus accompanying slips & any OCLC copy are forwarded to Serials
Cataloging.

3.) If there is no OCLC copy, the bib. record retains the local bib. number
that was system-assigned when the temporary record was created.

4.) Once cataloged, as subsequent issues are received and processed thru
the Serials Receiving unit, staff are expected (and have authorization) to do
certain bib. and holdings record updates:  e.g., full-time staff handle title
changes (creation of a temp record for the new title and linking fields in
the old-title records), and both full-time staff and student assistants do
frequency changes and records for supplements.  Frequency changes are broken
down into OCLC and non-OCLC:  holdings record updates for both types are
done by all check-in staff, as are local bib. record updates.  For titles
with OCLC numbers (i.e., those fully cataloged on OCLC which carry the OCLC
record number as the bib. record number), the bib. record updates are done
only by Serials Cataloging staff.  A very simple slip was devised which is
filled out by Serials Receiving staff and forwarded to Serials Cataloging.
Due to historical reasons too baroque to describe, there are many monographic
series and sets on the serials system.  Part of the check-in and processing
procedures for these include a link to the monographic cataloging online
authority file (OLAF):  Serials Cat. staff add the OLAF record number to a
note field in the holdings 852.  As Serials Receiving staff check-in pieces
of such monographic series and sets, they have to know what the current
cataloging treatment is in order to route them into the proper work-flow.
They can key over to the monographic cataloging system, and, using the OLAF
number, call up the proper authority file record which contains a note
delineating the current cataloging treatment for the series (usually
"classified as a collection" or "classified separately").  Adding the OLAF #
to the serials system holdings record, and our use of it in Serials Tech,
is just another example of how cataloging information is made available
to staff in Serials Receiving so that materials can be checked in and pro-
cessed immediately without having to bounce or reroute them. If there is
no OLAF # on the holdings record, we notify Serials Cataloging via a slip,
and they do the research and add it.  If the series looks like it's under-
gone a change, the piece is checked in, a note is added to the issue record
that it's been forwarded to Serials Cataloging for treatment review, a
completed "Serials Cataloging Review" flag is inserted in the piece, and it's
put on the review shelf in Ser. Cat.

5.)  Ideally, check-in staff in Serials Receiving are supposed to watch for
and verify information (frequency, ISSNs, title changes, special issues and/or
supplements, cumulation patterns, etc.) routinely as each issue is rec'd.,
especially for issues that aren't rec'd. frequently.  However, thre are *so*
many individual steps and pieces of information that must be accounted for in
order to accomplish basic check-in that some frequency changes and title
changes do slip through the unit.  Serials liaisons in the branch libraries
and public service units can do frequency changes according to the same
guidelines described above; title changes that slip through are supposed to
be sent back to Serials Receiving for proper record clean up.

6.) In our environment, policy and procedures are hammered out (convivially
speaking) between Serials Cataloging and Serials Tech, the end product
being a written procedure that can be easily followed by check-in staff, with
cataloging staff always willing and available for consulation.  Most of our
training is some variation of team training.  Since the "front end" of our
serials system is in Serials Receiving, most of the training is done
by the head of that unit using procedures as described above.  If a unit is
actually defined as a "cataloging agency", such as the East Asian Library,
then the catalogers train in all aspects of the bib. record.  Currently,
the head of Serials Receiving and I are training staff in the Government
Documents/Map Library how to create temp. bib. records, full holdings records,
issue records, and check-in procedures for document serials.  As a direct
result of discussions in our Serials System Users' Group concerning how to
deal with supplements, the serials cataloger, the head of Serials Receiving,
and two branch library serial liaisons are doing team training on how to
identify, verify, and create records for supplements.

E. Gaele Gillespie / Asst. Head, Serials     University of Kansas Libraries
(913)864-3535   e-mail: GGILLESP@UKANVM. BITNET    Lawrence, KS   66045-2800