Go-live and beyond) Best practices for holdings and item records

Legend: not started IN PROGRESS STALLED decided

Recommendation

RMFG does not have any decisions to standardize holdings or item records at this time. 

Some very basic best practices:

• Holdings:

  • Holdings should conform to MARC standards: https://www.loc.gov/marc/holdings/

  • Campuses can use a NISO standard in conjunction with RDA guidance for numbering serials, but are not required to

  • Campuses are encouraged to explore the use of local fields in holdings records as time/needs permit to lay a foundation for future harmonization

    • One exception: avoid using 999 for your local data because the MarcEdit API uses that field as linking

• Items:

  • Barring any decisions from other functional areas, item information standards are local for at least the remainder of Phase 4

Reasoning

Campus data is migrating from a variety of systems and standards as it is, few of which can be adjusted prior to migration. In addition, there is a strong sense that some groups like the Special Collections CKG and Archives and Special Collections Escalation Leaders will have areas that they wish to standardize after a period of review. Instead of trying to predict those needs now, RMFG would prefer to allow campuses to get comfortable in the new system and provide time for various groups to surface issues for discussion.

Background

SILS is the first time that all 10 UC campuses will be using MARC21 holdings.

Item records in Alma are unlike item records in many other ILSes and will require non-Alma campuses to decide which fields to use and how to do so.

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