8.3. Kits

Last Updated 02/06/2026

Cataloging Kits

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Bibliographic Catalogers may find records for commercially obtained kits from the vendoror via Z39.50. If a kit is created in-house, bibliographic catalogers should be careful to catalog the record appropriately to avoid it being merged with any individual items within the kit, and to ensure it isindexed correctly for searching by including metadata about all included pieces of the kit.

Kits are a collection of materials, sometimes created by a library and sometimes by a publisher or vendor. It is important that kits be easily identified and distinguished from the individual included titles, both by patrons and catalogers. Before adding a new volume or item record for a kit, Item Catalogers should search the catalog to determine whether there is a matching record for the kit (if commercially obtained) or request that a Bibliographic Cataloger create a specific record for a kit that includes information about all materials included in the kit.

Publisher Created Kits

For commercially obtained kits, a bibliographic record may be available through Z39.50 or from the vendor. When checking these records for accuracy and adherence to local standards, look for the GMD $h[kit] in the 245.

Library Created Kits

For kits that include multiple different items (not bundled by publisher/vendor), a Bibliographic Cataloger should create a bibliographic record that includes:

A unique title in the 245$a (not the title of any individual book in the kit).
The GMD $h[kit] in the 245.
The Kit format icon.

Also include appropriate information in the record about all the included materials:

ISBNs for the included materials should NOT be listed in the 020 $a, but instead in the $z.
All titles of included items should be listed in the 500 or 505.
Authors/creators should be listed in the 7XX fields, and a 100 should not be included unless all materials have a single author/creator.

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