Choice of Entry (Monograph/Serial)

Choice of entry (Monograph/Serial)

Definitions

Serial: A serial as defined by AACR2 is “a publication in any medium issued in successive parts bearing numeric or chronological designations and intended to be continued indefinitely.” Periodicals are serials that are issued at regular intervals, such as journals, magazines and newspapers. Other serials include annuals, yearbooks, conference proceedings, etc. Serials may be very irregular. Serials can constantly change: cease publication, change title, split into 2 titles, 2 titles can merge into 1, etc.

Monograph: A monograph may be in a single part or multiple parts. A single monograph is complete (or intended to be complete) in one part. A multipart monograph is complete (or intended to be complete) in a finite number of separate parts. A multipart monograph may be open entry if it is issued over time. This means that future volumes may be added to the same bibliographic record. It does not make it a serial. A multipart monograph, even if issued over time, is still intended to be complete in a finite number of parts—not intended to be continued indefinitely like a serial.

Monographic series: From AACR2, “A group of separate items related to one another by the fact that each item bears, in addition to its own title proper, a collective title applying to the group as a whole. The individual items may or may not be numbered.” Items in a monographic series are usually cataloged individually because each item has a distinctive title in addition to the series title. Items in a series may be classified together to sit in a group on the shelf or they may be classified according to the individual subject.

Guidelines

The guidelines that follow are not intended to be hard-and-fast rules but general principles that can aid your decision-making. Consult the cataloger when in doubt.

For some items, both serial and monograph records exist in OCLC. Some common examples include: travel guides and examination guides (GRE, SAT, etc.). Often, items that include a year or years or a numbered designation such as 2, 3, etc. (not an edition statement) may also be entered more than one way in OCLC. These cases should be considered on an individual basis, but some general guidelines can help in making the choice between a monograph and a serial record.

Please note that an ISBN search will usually not retrieve a serial record. If you suspect that an item should be cataloged on a serial record, try searching OCLC by title, leaving off any years/numbers etc.

Should you look for a serial record?

• Can you find an ISSN on the item? If so, search by ISSN in OCLC.

• Is there a statement of frequency or a numeric or chronological designation in the title? Is there a year or number included in the title, e.g. World resources 2005 orAdvances in analytical chemistry 5? If so, search the title (do not include the year or number designation) in OCLC.

• Is it a travel guide, examination guide?

• Look for the words such as yearbook, annual, etc.

If you have a choice between a serial and a monograph record for an item, you need to determine if a local precedent has been set. Check the catalog by title (leave off any year or number designations). If we have cataloged previous volumes as monographs, but it might make more sense to catalog as a serial—if the collective title stays the same, if individual vols. do not also have distinctive titles, etc.—check OCLC to see if a good serial record exists. If so, check with the cataloger to determine if we want to recatalog as a serial.

If we have cataloged previous volumes on a serial record, the volume can usually be added, unless the title has changed or the serial record has been closed. Search the OCLC number of our Voyager record in OCLC to see if it has been closed out or any changes have been made. You can tell if a record has been closed by looking at the dates in the fixed fields. The second date is “9999” for items that are still open. If a date such as “2004” or “199u” is there, the record has been closed out; either the serial has ceased or changed title. If the record has been closed, look for a 785 field, which will refer you to the new title and its OCLC record. (Don’t rely on our copy of the record in Voyager—another library may have changed the master record since we exported it.)

If no local precedent has been set, examine the item and the available records. Consider:

• How many other libraries are using each type of record? Sometimes there will be a clear difference in the preferred type of record. For example, hundreds of other libraries may be using a serial record while only a few use monographic records. Generally, prefer the choice of entry that more libraries are using unless there is a strong reason to do otherwise.

• Which type of record is DLC authenticated, if any? Generally, if the serial record is DLC authenticated and monographic records are not, prefer the serial record. If the monograph record is DLC authenticated and the serial record is not, prefer the monograph record.

• Does the item have a distinctive title or merely a collective title? If each item has a distinctive title, generally prefer the monograph record. If not, generally prefer the serial record.

• Are changes between volumes/issues merely of year or number designation? If so, generally prefer the serial record. If not, the monograph record may be better.

• Travel guides: generally, prefer serial record if available unless you can determine that it is very irregular or not intended to be updated in future.

• Examination guides: (SAT, GRE, etc.): generally, prefer monograph record unless the title appears regularly (annually or biennially) and does not change title between editions.

• Yearbooks or annuals: generally, prefer serial record unless each annual or yearbook has a distinctive title. Usually, when each issue has a distinctive title, a monographic record is preferred.

• Conference proceedings: will depend on whether the conference is a one-time event or occurs at regular intervals and whether each proceedings bear a distinctive title. Conference proceedings are often the most difficult to choose between serial and monograph records.

When in doubt, always ask. Serial vs. monograph decisions can be very tricky and often subjective, depending heavily on local precedent and individual catalogers’ preferences.