Serials: The Volume Holdings Record (MFHD)

(Almost) Everything You Wanted to Know About Serials

But (Understandably) Have Been Afraid to Ask

1. Definitions

Monograph an item that is either complete in one part or complete, or intended to be complete, in a finite number of separate parts. 

Serial a publication in any medium that is issued in successive parts bearing numeric or chronological designations and intended to be continued indefinitely.  Serials include periodicals; newspapers; annuals (reports, yearbooks, etc.); the journals, memoirs, proceedings, transactions, etc. of societies; and numbered monographic series. 

Monographic series a group of separate items that are related to one another by the fact that each item bears, in addition to its own title proper, a collective title that applies to the group as a whole.  The individual items may or may not be numbered.  An analytical entry is an entry for a part of an item for which a comprehensive entry is also made. 

2. Cataloging

Successive-entry cataloging requires that a new (separate) bibliographic record be created each time the title or the issuing body (if it is used as the main entry) of the serial changes.  The associated holdings must be recorded accordingly, often across several bibliographic records. Latest-entry cataloging permits such changes (and therefore all holdings) to be recorded in a single bibliographic record.  Although successive-entry cataloging was incorporated into the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules in 1970, neither Yale nor the Library of Congress adopted the practice until approximately 1978. 

3.  Retrospective conversion

Given the complex nature of Yale’s holdings, which are often extensive though not always complete, our current retrospective conversion policy has been designed to accommodate both successive- and latest-entry cataloging.  In keeping with current national practice, successive-entry records are generally preferable to latest-entry records.  Successive-entry cataloging is required, however, only when all the records that are necessary to accommodate Yale’s holdings already exist and those records will accommodate Yale’s holdings without any gaps in coverage.  In other words, if the requisite successive-entry records are not readily available, latest-entry cataloging is appropriate. 

• If successive-entry records for all of the titles held by Yale are present in WorldCat, and those records will accommodate Yale’s holdings without any gaps in coverage (i.e., there are holdings associated with each successive-entry record), OCLC will claim the successive-entry records for Yale, even if a latest-entry record also exists in WorldCat.
• If successive-entry records for some but not all of the titles held by Yale are present in WorldCat, OCLC will create a latest-entry record based upon the information on Yale’s card.  OCLC will not create successive-entry records for the titles not already represented in WorldCat. 
• If the only record in WorldCat is a latest-entry record, and that record will accommodate Yale’s holdings, OCLC will claim the record for Yale.  OCLC will not create successive-entry records based solely upon the information on Yale’s card.

4. Examples

Successive-entry records (SLE 0): 
 
 

Latest entry record (SLE 1):

Title:  Universalist.