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6.10. Deleting Bibliographic Records

Last Updated 02/04/2026

Deleting Title (MARC) Records

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Bibliographic records are deleted through a variety of automatic triggers. Catalogers rarely need to manually delete records, but if they do, they need to ensure the recordhasno holdings attached or e-resources linked.

Automatic Deletion

Within NC Cardinal, bibliographic records are automatically deleted when:

• The last item(s) and volume(s) associated with that record are deleted.
• Two bib records are merged (all items and volumes are moved to the "Lead Record" and the other record is deleted).
• A bib record is created but no items or volumes are ever attached and no electronic resources are linked (deletion occurs 4 months afer the record's create date).

Manual Deletion

Due to the automatic deletion processes, manual deletion is rare. 

Do not delete a bib record UNLESS:

• it is empty - no items attached for ANY branch (not just your system)
• it is not an electronic resource record – make sure there are no 856 field(s)
• it has a create date older than 4 months ago

Note: Evergreen does not let you delete a bibliographic record if any library has holdings. Check the Holdings View and be sure you are viewing all of Cardinal, not just your system:

Check the MARC record for 856 tags:

If they exist, do not delete the record. If there are problems with the record, fix or contact a bib cataloger at the library listed in the 856 $9.

To ensure you don't delete newly entered on-order or migration records, check the Last Edited On date in the upper right corner of the Record Summary header:

Do not delete if the record is less than 4 months old.

Item Cataloger Deletes Last Item

If an Item Cataloger deletes the last item on a bib record, the consortium library setting (to automatically delete the last bib record) triggers the automatic bib record deletion, even though the Item Cat does not have the permission to delete bib records. So, the Item Cat may see this message, but the bib record is still deleted and there is no cause for concern.

Undelete

When a bibliographic record is deleted, Evergreen automatically removes it from search tables. In order to retrieve a deleted record, you must know the Database ID. If you ever need to undelete a record, please put in a help ticket, as undeleting does not restore the record to search tables, and it will not be retrieved in search results until those connections are restored.