Home → Cataloging in NC Cardinal → Cataloging Overview → Important Updates and Changes Log
Last Updated 04/10/2025
*Last updated 04/10/2025
This page provides a log of any changes in policies or procedures that have been decided upon and implemented by the NC Cardinal Cataloging Committee. It will be updated as new policies are created and instituted, along with the dates of their implementation and links to associated pages elsewhere in the Knowledge Books and other helpful resources such as Basecamp threads, for ease of reference.
04/10/2025
Based on a discussion during a Cataloging Interest Group meeting, a request was made for more concrete guidelines regarding how to catalog audio-enabled books such as Wonderbooks and VOX Books. It was felt that the existing record template in the Knowledge Book may not be enough on its own to assist catalogers when questions arise while cataloging these types of materials. Collecting input from both the Cataloging Interest Group and the broader Cardinal cataloging community, a new Knowledge Book page was created with instructions specifically for cataloging these items. Additionally, it was decided that records for audio-enabled books should have both a Book format icon and a Preloaded Audio format icon, as it was felt none of the existing format icons on their own accurately represented the items.
The new Knowledge Book page can be found here. The two format icons, as well as instructions for adding them to a MARC record, were added to the list of search and format icons in the Knowledge Book here.
The discussion thread in Basecamp can be found here.
04/09/2025
Based on a discussion during a Cataloging Interest Group meeting, a change in policy of how to handle rental versions of videos was proposed. Previously, rental versions were not allowed to be merged with standard versions, because rental versions typically did not have any bonus content or special features and had a different UPC than standard versions. It was noted that this policy seemed to conflict with other established merging policies for videos, and the decision was made to begin allowing rental versions to be merged with standard versions moving forward so long as the core content (i.e. the film itself) was the same.
The corresponding Knowledge Book pages were updated to reflect this new policy here and here.
The discussion thread in Basecamp can be found here.
03/18/2025
Based on a discussion during a Cataloging Interest Group meeting, a new Knowledge Book page was created that offers instructions on when best to use the subfield $z in a =020 field as opposed to the $a. The subfield $z helps prevent the accidental matching and merging of records that should not be merged when using the Z39.50 interface or MARC Batch Import functionality. Some of these instructions already appear in other sections of the Knowledge Book, but they have all been consolidated into a single page now for ease of use.
The new Knowledge Book page can be found here, while links to that page were added to the relevant Knowledge Book pages here, here, here, here, and here.
The discussion thread in Basecamp can be found here.
03/17/2025
A suggestion was made that when placing a hold on Monograph Parts, the phrase "All Parts" may not be clear enough for patrons and staff to fully understand precisely what it means. The phrase "Complete Set" was suggested as an alternative. This suggestion was brought to the Cataloging Committee and then the Cataloging Interest Group, and it was agreed that "Complete Set" made more sense. Approval was given to make this change. The change was made almost immediately in the patron OPAC, but it took some additional time for the change to be made in the staff client, because Mobius' assistance was required.
The relevant Knowledge Book pages were updated to reflect this new terminology here and here.
The announcement thread in Basecamp can be found here.
03/14/2025
Based on a discussion during a Cataloging Interest Group meeting, a clarification was made regarding which values to use in the LitF ("Literary form") fixed field of a MARC record and when. It was explained that for graphic novels and manga, only the values 0 ("Not fiction") and 1 ("Fiction") should be used, because the value "c" (for "Comic strips") is now obsolete, and there can be both fiction and nonfiction graphic novels and manga. However, for books, additional values can be used besides just 0 and 1, such as "f" (for "Novels"), "j" (for "Short stories"), or "p" (for "Poetry").
This clarifying language was added to the corresponding Knowledge Book pages here and here.
The discussion thread in Basecamp can be found here.
03/14/2025
As an additional measure for differentiating board books from regular picture books, the Cataloging Interest Group agreed to begin including an edition statement in =250 field of board book records designating the material as a "Board book edition."
Instructions for entering this field in a MARC record were added to the corresponding Knowledge Book page here.
The discussion thread in Basecamp can be found here.
01/27/2025
Based on a discussion during a Cataloging Interest Group meeting, a new Knowledge Book page was created that offers field by field guidance for how to enter information into different MARC fields. At this stage it includes all of the fields that are kept in MARC records. To further distinguish it from the existing "Keep It or Delete It?" page, clarifying language was added to that page to provide instructions for why a specific field may be kept or deleted and when.
The new Knowledge Book page can be found here, while the new clarifying language was added to the corresponding Knowledge Book page here.
The announcement thread in Basecamp can be found here.
01/27/2025
A suggestion was made during a Cataloging Interest Group meeting for catalogers to begin adding additional =082 fields to a MARC record instead of overwriting an existing =082 field that was imported from OCLC. A cataloger may at times have evidence that a different classification number is more accurate for a particular material, but instead of deleting or changing the existing classification number in the MARC record, it was decided by the Cataloging Interest Group that catalogers should instead add an additional =082 field with the different classification number. A second indicator of 0 would be used for classification numbers assigned by Library of Congress, while a second indicator of 4 would be used for other, in-house created classification numbers.
A new Knowledge Book page that outlined the instructions for such situations was created here, and the =082 section of the relevant Knowledge Book page was updated with this new information here.
The announcement thread in Basecamp can be found here.
04/01/2024
A request was made by a member library to include genre headings (i.e. those terms or phrases that appear in the =655 field of a MARC record) in Subject searches. Members of the Cataloging Committee, along with a few other interested parties, met with Mobius to discuss and test this possibility. Mobius set up such searches in the Next environment, and a number of tests were performed to confirm that these searches were resulting in the desired behavior. Once the tests were deemed successful, the change was implemented in the Production environment.
The relevant Knowledge Book pages were updated to include this new search information here and here.
The announcement threads in Basecamp can be found here and here.
03/12/2024
In an effort to clarify guidance on deleting items with an Item Status of "Missing," the relevant Knowledge Book page is updated to include the "Missing" Item Status, along with "In process" and "Repair," in a list of items with item statuses that may be deleted (that is, these items do not need to be checked in to a status of "Available" or "Reshelving" first before they can be deleted safely). The language is further updated to instruct catalogers on what to do when they wish to delete an item in an item status that is not included in either of the lists on said page.
The aforementioned Knowledge Book page can be found here.
The relevant discussion thread in Basecamp can be found here.
02/05/2024
To address concerns regarding Claims Returned items remaining OPAC visible and holdable in the public catalog because their default Item Status remains "Checked Out," the Cataloging Committee approves the creation of a new Item Status called "Claimed Returned." This new Item Status is created and applied to the Claims Returned stop fine reason, so that when an item is marked Claims Returned in a patron account, the item in question is no longer OPAC visible nor holdable.
The corresponding Knowledge Book pages were updated with this information here and here.
The announcement thread in Basecamp can be found here.
01/05/2024
As more libraries circulate video games as part of their collections, the Cataloging Committee adopts the use of the OLAC Video Game Genre Vocabulary to provide catalogers with genre headings more directly related to video games. Catalogers are advised to begin using these terms when cataloging video games and to not delete any existing terms in a MARC record when encountered.
Instructions regarding the use of these genre headings was added to the corresponding Knowledge Book page here.
The announcement thread in Basecamp can be found here.
12/14/2023
In an effort to clarify language for users, the Cataloging Committee suggests using the terminology "1 volume (unnumbered pages)" in the subfield $a of the =300 field instead of the standard "1 volume (unpaged)" when cataloging books with pages that are not numbered. This suggestion is shared with the wider cataloging community of NC Cardinal for additional input. With the approval of the broader cataloging community, the Cataloging Committee implements this change.
This guideline was added to the corresponding Knowledge Book pages here, here, here, here, here, and here.
The relevant discussion thread in Basecamp can be found here.
11/20/2023
In an effort to provide a definitive list of MARC tags (fields) for catalogers to reference when trying to determine if one should be retained or deleted when present in a record, the Cataloging Committee compiles a list of all of the MARC tags that were present across the various MARC records in the catalog and votes on each tag to decide whether it should be kept or discarded. The results of these votes are used to compile the aforementioned definitive list for catalogers.
A page listing which tags to keep and which to delete was added to the Knowledge Book here.
The announcement thread in Basecamp can be found here.
11/13/2023
As part of a larger shelving location consolidation project, the decision was made to use the term "Video" instead of "DVD" for shelving location names in order to include other formats besides DVDs, such as Blu-Rays and 4K Ultra HD Blu-Rays. During the November 2023 Evergreen upgrade, the shelving locations "Adult DVD Fiction" and "Adult DVD Nonfiction" are renamed to "Adult Video Fiction" and "Adult Video Nonfiction," respectively. Items that were attached to the shelving location "Adult DVD New" are transferred to the shelving location "Adult New Video" instead.
The list of shelving locations in the corresponding Knowledge Book page were updated to reflect this change and can be found here.
The announcement thread in Basecamp can be found here.
10/11/2023
As more libraries have begun to circulate 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray discs, the Cataloging Committee has received a number of requests regarding how best to catalog these materials. To that end, the Cataloging Committee creates new guidelines, including templates for reference, to help accommodate these new materials. In addition, two new format icons are created for use in the staff catalog and OPAC.
A page for this new template was added to the Knowledge Book here, and the new format icons were added to the list of search and format icons in the Knowledge Book here. Finally, additional edits were made to various Knowledge Book pages related to videos so as to take this new format into account. These updates can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
The announcement thread in Basecamp can be found here.
10/02/2023
The Cataloging Committee creates a new General Material Designation (GMD) specifically for board books. It is to appear as $h[board book] in the =245 title field of a MARC record, similar to how $h[large print] or $h[videorecording] would be used for a large print book or DVD, respectively.
This new GMD was added to the list of approved GMDs in the Knowledge Book here.
The announcement thread in Basecamp can be found here.
09/29/2023
Librarians from the State Library of North Carolina (SLNC) create a list of MARC fields that, while not necessary for most records, are nevertheless required for records of government documents owned by SLNC and should not be deleted when encountered. Catalogers are instructed to retain these MARC fields in such instances.
A list of these fields, along with explanations of what they are and why they should be retained, was added to the corresponding Knowledge Book page here.
The announcement thread in Basecamp can be found here.
09/26/2023
In an effort to prevent errored records being returned by Marcive after the Quarterly Authorities Updates in the future, the Cataloging Committee requests that catalogers make sure to use "Paste as Plain Text" instead of just "Paste" when copying and pasting text from the Internet directly into a MARC record. This is done as a means of preventing "junk" data from being included in the MARC record that will cause Marcive to flag the record as errored. These errored records cannot be processed by Marcive.
These instructions, along with a more detailed description of errored records and what causes them, were added to the corresponding Knowledge Book pages here and here.
The announcement thread in Basecamp can be found here.
09/25/2023
The Cataloging Committee implements new guidelines for merging records with the same content but different =035 fields (OCLC numbers) that instruct catalogers to append all =035 fields from both the lead and sub bibs onto the final, merged record. Previously, if two records matched in all other respects but had different =035 fields, catalogers were not allowed to merge the records.
These guidelines were added to the corresponding Knowledge Book pages and sections here and here.
The announcement thread in Basecamp can be found here.
09/25/2023
The Cataloging Committee implements new guidelines for merging video records that instruct catalogers to append all =024 fields (UPC numbers) from both the lead and sub bibs onto the final, merged bib when merging video records. This is also intended to clarify language in the Knowledge Book guidelines that, at the time, did not state specifically how different =024 fields should be handled (instead only stating that should the =024 fields differ, the items or records should be given to a bibliographic cataloger for further review, without actually providing instructions regarding what the bibliographic cataloger should do upon said review).
These guidelines and accompanying clarifying language were added to the corresponding Knowledge Book page here.
The announcement thread in Basecamp can be found here.
09/25/2023
The Cataloging Committee clarifies language in the Knowledge Book regarding merging records for videos with multiple discs. It is noted that a record for a single disc should only be merged with a record for multiple discs when the content on the additional disc/s is strictly bonus (e.g. "making-of" or "behind-the-scenes" featurettes, bloopers, trailers, etc.), or the movie is entirely contained on a single disc in one version, and spread across two discs in another.
This clarifying language was added to the corresponding Knowledge Book page here.
The announcement thread in Basecamp can be found here.
09/22/2023
After the Quarterly Authorities Update takes place with the new Homosaurus Thesaurus integration, it is discovered that a number of the terms in the Homosaurus Thesaurus are duplicates of (or otherwise very similar to) some Library of Congress terms. Taking this new information into consideration, the Cataloging Committee updates the guidelines for these terms, instructing catalogers to not delete these duplicate terms from a MARC record.
These guidelines were added to the corresponding Knowledge Book page here.
The announcement thread in Basecamp can be found here.
06/01/2023
In preparation for the implementation of Marcive's new Homosaurus Thesaurus integration with the Quarterly Authorities Update that was scheduled to occur in September of 2023, new guidelines are created advising catalogers to retain these Homosaurus Thesaurus-specific subject and genre headings (so designated by a $2homoit subfield in the =65X field) when catalogers encounter them in a MARC record.
These guidelines were added to the corresponding Knowledge Book page here.
The relevant discussion thread in Basecamp can be found here.
05/24/2023
In an effort to help alleviate confusion regarding the official policy for merging video records in the catalog, the Catalog Committee reiterates that catalogers should be merging records for videos with the same content, similar to how they merge records for books with the same content. An important note is made to remind catalogers to not merge a DVD record with a Blu-Ray record, or vice versa, and to not merge a record for a single DVD or a single Blu-Ray with a record for a DVD/Blu-Ray combo pack.
The relevant page in the Knowledge Book was shared here.
The announcement thread in Basecamp can be found here.
05/24/2023
The use of Library of Congress subject and genre headings for manga is adopted. Examples are provided:
=650 \0$aManga (comic books)
=655 \7$aManga.$2lcgft
These were added to the corresponding Knowledge Book page here.
The announcement thread in Basecamp can be found here.
05/24/2023
It is recommended that the subfield $v in duplicate =6XX fields be consolidated into a single =6XX field, as the $v is repeatable. For example, whereas previously you would have:
=650 \0 $aCowboys$vComic books, strips, etc.
=650 \0$aCowboys$vJuvenile fiction.
=600 10$aKing, Martin Luther,$cJr.,$d1929-1968$vComic books, strips, etc.
=600 10$aKing, Martin Luther,$cJr.,$d1929-1968$vJuvenile literature.
Now you would have:
=650 \0$aCowboys$vComic books, strips, etc.$vJuvenile fiction.
=600 10$aKing, Martin Luther,$cJr.,$d1929-1968$vComic books, strips, etc.$vJuvenile literature.
A more thorough explanation, along with additional examples, was added to the corresponding Knowledge Book page here.
The announcement thread in Basecamp can be found here.
05/24/2023
Because many graphic novels and manga include an age level or rating, a recommendation is made to include this information in the MARC record using the =521 field. It is noted that if the rating comes from a source other than the work itself, a subfield $b should be used to list the source information. Examples are provided:
04/14/2023
The Cataloging Committee creates a new General Material Designation (GMD) specifically for manga. It is to appear as $h[manga] in the =245 title field of a MARC record, similar to how $h[large print] or $h[videorecording] would be used for a large print book or DVD, respectively.
This new GMD was added to the list of approved GMDs in the Knowledge Book here.
The announcement thread in Basecamp can be found here.
04/14/2023
A recommendation is made to include a =500 note in the MARC record of a manga that states manga reads from right to left. An example is provided:
=500 \\$aManga - reads from right to left.
The corresponding Knowledge Book page was updated with this recommendation and can be found here.
The announcement thread in Basecamp can be found here.
04/14/2023
The Cataloging Committee approves the use of Item Tags to denote materials of special significance within a library collection, such as those donated by an individual or group in memory of a noteworthy person who recently passed. This was originally requested because Item Tags have the benefit of being searchable in the OPAC (by comparison, Item Notes are not).
The corresponding Knowledge Book page was updated with guidelines for the use of Item Tags and can be found here.
The announcement thread in Basecamp can be found here.
*Last updated Summer 2021
Changes have been made to the MARC Record Templates, and the new and updated templates can be found in the corresponding Knowledge Book section here.
The "First Cataloger" rule was established, which states that when a library system receives and catalogs a physical copy of an On Order item that is ready to circulate, it is their responsibility to update that item's brief bibliographic record to a full record that conforms to NC Cardinal cataloging best practices.
This rule was added to the list of Bibliographic Cataloger responsibilities in the corresponding Knowledge Book page here.
New guidance for the use of GMDs was established, and the existing list of approved GMDs was updated with new GMDs for catalogers to use.
This guidance, along with the updated list of approved GMDs, was added to Appendix B in the Cataloging Knowledge Book here.
Clarifying language regarding the =022, =024, and =027 fields explaining what each field represents and how Evergreen searches for them was added to the Knowledge Book. A reminder to catalogers to make sure that these values, if present in a MARC record, are in the correct field/s was included.
This information was added to the =02X section of the relevant Knowledge Book page here.
New instructions for catalogers regarding what to do with the OCLC number when a cataloger makes substantial changes in Evergreen to a bibliographic record that has an OCLC number (such as editing a regular print record to become a large print record or splitting a DVD/Blu-ray combo pack) were implemented. In such cases, catalogers have been instructed to delete the OCLC number from the record.
These instructions were added to the =035 section of the relevant Knowledge Book page here.
A new Knowledge Book page specifically for cataloging graphic novels and manga was created and can be found here.
A new controlled vocabulary and additional formatting requirements for Monograph Parts were added to the corresponding Knowledge Book page here.
New guidance on whether to keep or delete certain specific =9XX fields was established. This guidance covers the =901, =902, and =903 fields specifically, and all other =9XX fields more broadly.
This guidance was added to the =901, =902, =903, and =9XX sections, respectively, of the relevant Knowledge Book page here.
Additional guidance related to the =903 field specifically was added to Appendix R of the Cataloging Knowledge Book here.
A potential issue in Acquisitions was discovered related to naming a Purchase Order due to some vendors having a character limit on identifiers for Purchase Orders submitted via EDI.
Instructions on how to avoid and address this issue were added to the relevant Knowledge Book page here.
Specific guidelines and instructions for handling =856 fields, such as when to delete and when to keep, were established. Included in these instructions was a reminder to catalogers that bibliographic records for electronic resources that require authentication through another website should never have physical holdings attached.
These guidelines and instructions were added to the =856 sections of the relevant Knowledge Book pages here and here, as well as to the corresponding Knowledge Book pages here and here.
Catalogers were reminded that all subject headings and genre form/terms should match an appropriate controlled vocabulary.
This information, as well as various accepted controlled vocabularies, was added to the relevant Knowledge Book page here.
Catalogers were reminded that series statements should only be transcribed in the =490 field and, if applicable, =8XX field/s, not the =245 Title Statement field.
This information was added to the relevant Knowledge Book page here.
Clarifying language regarding validating =1XX and =7XX fields was added to the Knowledge Book instructing catalogers that they do not need to validate authority links in a record because NC Cardinal has an automated linking script that runs nightly to provide the links to existing authority records in Evergreen.
This information was added to the relevant Knowledge Book page here.