1. What was decided upon? Items of large and very large size that were designated in the Sirsi system with item types OVERSIZE or FOLIO will henceforth be designated as material type “Book” (or other relevant category) in Alma. Item aspects such as Oversize and Folio should be relegated to location- or collection-level information.
2. Why was this decided? In Sirsi, the combination of item type and location was used to specify where a particular resource could be found in the collection. This combination of factors does not exist in Alma, as location alone is deemed sufficient. Furthermore, material type designations can only be viewed if item information is expanded in the Primo catalog record to its full view.
It was decided that material type, when divorced from a need for placement and circulation policy, should simply reflect the type of material. For example, we now consider “Oversize” a dimension rather than a material type.
As well, while “Oversize” and “Oversize Score” are out-of-the-box Alma material types in Alma, “Folio” and “Miniature Score” are not, and the overall number of material types in Alma is limited. Since it seemed irrational to use “Book” for items up to 30 cm in height, “Oversize” for items 30-40 cm in height, and “Book” again for items 40+ cm in height, the group opted for the decision above.
3. Who decided this? The Collegium of Catalogers
4. When was this decided? Meeting from September 19, 2018
5. Additional information or notes: Some divisional libraries do not have an Oversize location and have expressed their preference to keep the material type designation of “Oversize” to help students/staff with locating larger books. Further discussion is invited for these libraries to determine if this material type is still needed for their situations. Feel free to contact your cataloging liaisons for further information.