PROCEDURE FOR CONTINUOUSLY UPDATED SUMMARY HOLDINGS FOR DIVINITY PERIODICALS
This procedure is a response to a request by Divinity Library staff, in particular Charlotte Lew.
They would like receivers to update the summary holdings information (866/867/868 fields in the holdings record) for Divinity periodicals each time a new issue is received. This way, the summary holdings should always show every current unbound issue. In the past, issues have only been added to the summary holdings when they were bound, and users had to search for item records for particular issues in order to determine they had been received and were available.
The first part of this procedure document will explain how to implement this change in approach, title by title, as a new issue comes in for each title. The second part of the procedure contains some rules for how to maintain this approach to summary holdings after the change is initially implemented.
FIRST PART: ADDING EXISTING CURRENT ISSUES TO THE SUMMARY HOLDINGS WHEN A NEW ISSUE ARRIVES
We will go through two different cases. In the first case, issues of the periodical in question are bound and retained, so there should already be at least one 866 containing information about what volumes are held. In the second case, only current issues of the periodical are held, so there won’t already be an 866 field. There’s not a huge difference between the two cases.
Section A. 866s already exist for bound volumes
We’re going to use “Christianity Today” as our example. (If you look at this record (MMS ID 991015409349703276) now, you will find that these steps have been completed. You may want to refer to this record if you have questions about what to do on other titles.)
First, receive the new issue in the same old way, using the dummy item record created by the prediction pattern.
Second, look at the last 866 field in the summary holdings record. This will show you what the last bound volume is. At the time of this writing, the last 866 looks like:
866:41: $$8 0 $$a v.46 (2002)-v.53 (2009),v.55 (2011)-v.63 (2019)
Thus the last issues which have been bound are those of v. 63, for 2019.
Now we want to add the issues after v. 63 that have been received and not yet bound.
We use two criteria to find those issues among the many item records attached to this holdings record. First, they do not have real barcodes. Second, they should say “Item in place” under Status, rather than “Item not in place,” which means that they are dummy item records for issues that have not yet been received.
There are five item records that fit these criteria. They are for v. 64, no. 1-5. Fortunately, these issues are all consecutive, with no gaps, and there is no gap between them and the last bound volume. (See the appendix below for some more complicated examples.) So we can just extend the last 866 to cover the last of those five issues:
v.46 (2002)-v.53 (2009),v.55 (2011)-v.64:no.5 (2020:July/Aug.)
We’ve made the initial change! The summary holdings for Christianity Today now show all issues currently held, not just the bound issues.
Section B. Only current issues are held, so there are no 866 fields yet
The procedure here is much the same, except that you will have to make an 866 field from scratch in this case.
First, receive the new issue in the same old way, using the dummy item record created by the prediction pattern.
Second, find all the item records that represent currently available issues (including the new one). These item records do not have real barcodes and have a status of “Item in place,” rather than “Item not in place” (which would mean they are dummy item records for issues that have not yet been received).
In the case of “Presbyterians Today,” on the day I write this, there are four item records for the Jan./Feb.-July/Aug. 2020 issues. There are also two item records for the Sept./Oct.-Nov./Dec. 2020 issues, but those issues have not been received yet, so the Status is “Items not in place,” and we ignore those. We summarize the information for the four received issues in an 866 like this:
866:41: $$8 0 $$a v.110:no.1 (2020:Jan./Feb.)-v.110:no.4 (2020:July/Aug.)
If one or more current issues had not yet been received while later issues had, then you would show that gap this way (you would probably want to make two 866 fields rather than one long one):
866:41: $$8 0 $$a v.110:no.1 (2020:Jan./Feb.)-v.110:no.2 (2020:Mar./Apr.),
866:41: $$8 0 $$a v.110:no.4 (2020:July/Aug.)
This, of course, is the same way we always show gaps in summary holdings, whether for bound volumes or unbound issues. More help with cases of gaps can be found below in the Appendix. Although the examples cited use the holdings of Christianity Today, a title for which bound volumes are kept, the gist is the same when working with a current-issues-only title.
SECOND PART: RULES FOR MAINTAINING THIS SETUP
First, continue to add each new issue received to the summary holdings. If there is a gap because one issue has not yet been received, show that gap in the summary holdings (in this case v. 64, no. 7 gets received before v. 64, no. 6):
v.46 (2002)-v.53 (2009),v.55 (2011)-v.64:no.5 (2020:July/Aug.),
v.64:no.7 (2020:Oct.)
Second, when you start a new volume, just add the new issue to the end of the 866. There is no need to separate the old and new volume. For example, say you receive the first issue of v. 65. Before you do it, the 866 looks like this:
v.46 (2002)-v.53 (2009),v.55 (2011)-v.64:no.10 (2020:Dec.)
You change it to this:
v.46 (2002)-v.53 (2009),v.55 (2011)-v.65:no.1 (2021:Jan./Feb.)
Third, under this approach, there should ordinarily be no reason to update the summary holdings when a volume is bound. Bound and unbound volumes are treated the same in the summary holdings statement. The item records will show which volumes are bound. If, in the binding process, an issue is found to be lost, then of course the summary holdings will need to be updated to reflect that.
Fourth, supplements may be a problem. If you receive a supplement, and you find that supplements for this title have traditionally been added to an 867 field, go ahead and add it there. If you need more guidance, ask Pete and/or someone at Divinity. This part of the procedure is subject to change.
Fifth, in the case of current-issues-only titles, Divinity will be responsible for removing issues from the summary holdings as they are withdrawn. If a Divinity worker needs more guidance, ask Pete.
APPENDIX ON MISSING ISSUES
What if the situations with Christianity Today had been more complicated? Here are some possible problems we might have discovered:
First, what if one current issue hadn’t yet been received? Say that the May/June 2020 issue hasn’t yet come in, though the July/Aug. had. This is how the end of the summary holdings should look:
v.46 (2002)-v.53 (2009),v.55 (2011)-v.64:no.3 (2020:Apr.),v.64:no.5 (2020:July/Aug.)
Second, what if there is a gap between the last bound volume and the first bound issue? Say that the January/February 2020 issue hasn’t yet come in. This is how the end of the summary holdings should look:
v.46 (2002)-v.53 (2009),v.55 (2011)-v.63 (2019),
v.64:no.2 (2020:Mar.)-v.64:no.5 (2020:July/Aug.)
Third, what if, while v. 63 is bound, issues of v. 62 are not yet bound because one is missing? This gets a little more complicated, but you should add those older unbound issues to the summary holdings just as you do the newer ones. Say that this is how the last 866 looks when you start:
v.46 (2002)-v.53 (2009),v.55 (2011)-v.61 (2017),
v.63 (2019)
All of v. 62 is held, unbound, except no. 2. So, after adding the v. 62 issues and the current v. 64 issues, you end up with this:
v.46 (2002)-v.53 (2009),v.55 (2011)-v.62:no.1 (2018:Jan./Feb.),
v.62:no.3 (2018:Apr.)-v.64:no.5 (2020:July/Aug.)
— P. Wilson 8/18/2020