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Colleagues,

This message was prepared by Kay Guiles from our Cataloging Policy and
Support Office. This is the official statement on LC and CONSER use of the
newly-implemented changes to field 856.

Jean Hirons
CONSER Coordinator
Library of Congress
jhir@loc.gov
(202) 707-5947

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Effect of OCLC Changes Related to Field 856 in Records Issued from LC

     MARBI recently approved changes to field 856 (Electronic Location and
Access) as follows:

          Ind 1 (Access method)

          #    No information provided
          4    HTTP (new value)

          Ind 2 (Relationship) (newly defined indicator position)

          #    No information provided
          0    Resource
          1    Version of resource
          2    Related resource
          8    No display constant generated

On March 16, 1998 OCLC implemented these changes in its system.  LC will
implement these changes at a time yet to be determined.  The following
describes the effect of the OCLC implementation on records issued from LC.

MONOGRAPHS

     Newly created LC original cataloging records will not reflect these
changes.  The means of stating HTTP as the access method will continue to be
that used prior to the definition of value 4 in Indicator 1, namely, the use
of Indicator 1 value 7 and "http" in subfield $2.  Indicator position 2 will
continue to contain a blank.

     Records imported from OCLC by LC to be used for copy cataloging
containing field 856 with Indicator 1 new value 4 and any value in new
Indicator 2 will be handled as follows:

     1)   http access represented as new Indicator value 4 in the imported
          record will be changed to being represented by Indicator 1 value 7
          and subfield $2;

     2)   a blank will continue to be present in Indicator position 2; at
          OCLC the LC record will undergo standard OCLC merge/replace
          processing and the 856 field in the LC record will replace the
          field previously in the OCLC record.

The number of newly created LC original cataloging records containing field
856 and the number of records imported from OCLC containing this field is
expected to be relatively small.

SERIALS

     CONSER libraries working in OCLC, including LC will implement the
changes described above as appropriate.  Records for serials distributed
through LC will reflect these changes.  (Records for serials reside in a
read-only file at LC.  Since no input/update system is involved, as is the
case with monographs, these new data elements can be passed through LC and
distributed.)

Cataloging Policy and Support Office
March 24, 1998