Section II, Chapter B
Creating a Provisional Record
For items with no OCLC copy or class sep for Class Sep dummy records, a provisional record should be created.
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FORMATS: Use MARC for monographs and monographic sets, including atlases
Use SERIAL for serials, analytics, and class sep series
Use MAP for maps or atlases
Use MUSIC for scores and sound recordings
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For example, the FORMAT ‘MARC’ will provide a screen with the following fields:
ISBN: 020 020 __ [blank field]
ISSN: 022 022 __ [blank field]
Personal author: 100 1_ [blank field]
Uniform title: 240 240 __ [blank field]
Title: 245 245 __ [*required field*]
Publication info: 260 __ [blank field]
Physical description: 300 __ [blank field]
Series :440 __ [blank field]
Series :Series: 490 __ [blank field]
Dissertation note :502 note: 502 __ [blank field]
General note :500 note: 500 __ [blank field]
Contents Note :505 note: 505 __ [blank field]
As is obvious, only Only the ‘Title’ field is of absolute necessity when creating a provisional record, and in some instances a title will be all the information available.
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Fixed Fields: Date 1 Lang
Descriptive Fields: 020 (ISBN)
022 022 (ISSN) – for serials
024 024 (ISMN) – for music
028 028 (publisher’s number) – for music
100 (personal author)
245 (title)
250 (edition statement)
260 (place of publication/date)
300 (physical description)
4XX 490 (series)
500 (as needed, if helpful descriptive material is available from an order form, vendor slip, etc.)
700 (editors or additional authors)
1.3 Non-print information
For videos, computer disks, microfilm, etc., add |h[GMD] immediately following the |a portion of title in the 245 field.Example: 245 00 Notorious Welsh women|h[videorecording]use 300 field. or alternately, a 500 field to indicate format.
Examples: 1 online resource ; 5 reels of microfilm
Later, when the record is cataloged, the 336, 337, and 338 fields will make it clear to the cataloger what format the item is.
1.4 Status notes and control number
If the item for which the provisional record has been created is in hand, make a print-out of the record and note the date of the last OCLC search in the upper right-hand corner. If item is an approval title write the control number on the portion of the vendor slip which remains visible. Note that all provisional records, regardless of format, receive an automatic control number which begins with the small letter ‘a’.
Prepared by: Robert Estep
Updated on: 5/24/2007
Index Terms: Provisional record, record formats, fixed fields, descriptive fields, GMD