VHS Videocassettes

Determine the video standard. Check the item itself or refer to the 538 note (System requirements) in the bibliographic record. There are three standards for VHS videocassettes:

• NTSC (National Television Standards Committee) – the standard used in North and South America
• PAL (Phase Alternation by Line) – the standard used in much of Western Europe, Asia, throughout the Pacific and Southern Africa
• SECAM (Sequentiel Couleur A Memoire) – the standard used in France and its territories, much of Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa

NTSC videocassettes do not require an additional label. If the item is other than NTSC, affix a "Non-US format" label in the lower left corner on the front of the plastic case and write the appropriate format in ink in the space provided.

Check the item record for the correct location and item type. The item type for stand-alone videos should be media. This material will circulate for one week. If there is accompanying textual material (user guides, pamphlets, inserts, etc.) that will get a separate item record, apply the item type media to this material as well. Enter the item type format code Suppl in the CHRON field for the accompanying material, and apply the Item Statistical Category Suppl.

NOTE: For call number formatting instructions for stand-alone VHS tapes, see Call Numbers for Videos (Videocassettes, DVDs, etc.) and Related Works [1].

Videos cataloged as accompanying material circulate with the same loan conditions as books or serials (note the exception above for reference materials [2]). If accompanying books, apply the item type circ and enter the item type format code (VHS) in the CHRON field of the item record.

If accompanying a serial, apply the same item type as the serial (jour01, jour02, etc) and enter the item type format code (VHS) in the CHRON field. Record the item type format code in CHRON after the chronological data.

If there are multiple videos accompanying a book or serial, enter the item type format code plus a digit to distinguish each piece (VHS 1, VHS 2, etc.) in the CHRON field of the item record.

See item record examples [3] or Enum/Chron Fields in Voyager Item Records for Serials [4].

Add an Item Statistical Category for all videocassettes (stand-alone or accompanying):

• Open the item record.
• Click on the middle box (the one with the pie chart icon on it) in the lower left corner of the item record, or press Ctrl-T, to open the Item Statistical Categories dialog box.
• Choose VHS from the Statistical Categories List [5] in the lower portion of the box.
• Click on the blue arrow in the middle of the box to apply the Statistical Category, and click OK.
• Save the item record.

Charge the items to Preparations and place on the shelf prep truck.