Related records: background on unlinked related records

Cataloging treatment

In Gladis (~1983-Feb. 2009), cataloging practice was to note various cataloging treatments in a holdings field (SLF, or shelf list, note). A Gladis bib's SLF note migrated to a Millennium bib 990 along with the associated location and call#: 

990 -- |a MAIN; |b AS262.S8 v.203; |c SLF: anal.

Mill. bib 990 migrated to Alma bib 990.

 

For the common types of related record, the various treatment notes in Gladis were as follows:

  • Analytics (children):
    • anal. [for an SVM]
    • SERIAL anal.
    • MVM anal.
    • MVM analyzed anal.
  • Parent sets:
    • MVM analyzed
    • MVM analyzed anal.
    • (Treatment for a serial parent with an order was recorded in a different holdings field, the UPI, in subfield-s (*sfa and other codes; see AskTico document: Analytic Cataloging Procedures). Gladis UPI > Mill. holdings UPI > Alma holdings 952|x UPI: )
  • Bound-with:
    • first [first title in a bound-with volume]
    • anal. [subsequent title in a bound-with volume]
  • Serial title changes:
    • [treatment not recorded beyond bib fields 780/785 and similar]
  • U.S. Congressional hearings:
    • [treatment not recorded; linking via call#]
  • In-analytics:
    • [linking via bib field 773; primarily used by ITSL, which did not use Gladis as their catalog; therefore, no SLF fields existed for migration to Millennium]

While these notes can be used to identify the treatment given to the title at hand, as with any cataloging practice, application of the practice was not 100%.

In Millennium, for titles with active orders, parent sets were to have their treatment notes updated and added to a Check Note, e.g.: SERIAL ANALYZED FULL, MVM ANALYZED. The item record was to have an Internal Note with "analytic". (See AskTico documents: Analytic Cataloging Procedures, as well as Analytic Cataloging Procedures for Multi-Volume Monographs.)

System linking, or lack thereof

In Gladis, the records for these various types of related resources were linked by entering the same barcode into the distinct item fields that were attached to the respective bib records, that is, more than one instance of the barcode was entered, but the system linked the instances and treated them as one.

At migration to Millennium such multiply occurring barcodes were handled in the following way: The first instance of the barcode loaded had its item record attached to its bib record. Item fields with subsequent instances of the barcode had relevant record information logged and were then discarded. The information that had been logged was then used to link that first Millennium item record (with the barcode) to the Millennium bib record that loaded subsequently (and had had its own item field, with that same barcode, discarded).

Schematics of migration

Properly linked records

Gladis:
Bib1 - ItemInfo1+barcodeA(1)
Bib2 - ItemInfo2+barcodeA(2)
--->
Millennium:
Bib1 - ItemInfo1+barcodeA(1)
Bib2 << ItemInfo1+barcodeA(1)
[first-loaded item record linked additionally to Bib2]
--->
Alma:
Bib1 ~ Related [to Host bib]
Bib2 ~ Related [to Host bib]
Host bib - ItemInfo1+barcodeA(1)

Unlinked records

Gladis:
Bib1 - ItemInfo1+barcodeA
Bib2 - ItemInfo2+{no_barcode or barcodeB}
--->
Millennium:
Bib1 - ItemInfo1+barcodeA
Bib2 - ItemInfo2+{no_barcode or barcodeB}
--->
Alma:
Bib1 - ItemInfo1+barcodeA
Bib2 - ItemInfo2+{no_barcode or barcodeB}
[Bib2 with no barcode probably suppressed; Bib2 with BarcodeB or volume designation of date probably not suppressed]

Many Gladis records for older resources were provided through retrospective conversion ("recon") projects without items in hand. The barcoding process often resulted in only one of the two or more bibs for the titles of one physical volume receiving a barcode in its item field, and so the item fields on many bibs for analytics, bound-withs, and U.S. Congressional hearings had no barcodes. While there were cataloging relationships between these types of bib records (e.g., parent title and child series title; bound-with notes; call#, including volume), there was no system-supported link between them, as with a multiply-entered barcode in Gladis or with an item record linked to more than one bib in Millennium. Without this system-supported link, multiple bib records describing one physical volume migrated to Millennium (and thence to Alma), along with their distinct item records, one typically containing a barcode and the other(s) containing no barcode.

Because analytics formed the most numerous category of these related records unlinked in the system, cases with this sort of problem came to be known as "unlinked analytics", particularly in the Millennium era (Mar. 2009-July 2021).

In 2013 (and possibly at other times) LIT undertook a project to identify unlinked analytics in the catalog. The criterion was a volume designation with a caption (v., no., pt., etc.) in the Mill. item-record 090. If a call# matched the criterion, a local note was added to the bib to which the item record was attached: 993 -- |a 2013mmdd |b Unlinked analytic  This job correctly identified many records with linking deficiencies, including the vast majority of unlinked analytics, but U.S. Congressional hearings were labeled as unlinked analytics although the bibliographic analytic (hierarchical) relationship was not involved, but from the perspective of the system the problem was the same. Also some categories were not identified because their unbarcoded item records did not contain a volume designation with a caption, for example, bound-with titles, and unlinked analytics where issues were differentiated by date. For both of these types the call#'s either were monographic (as with most bound-with titles) or resembled monographic call#'s (analyzed volumes differentiated by date).

In the mid-2010s a workaround was developed for unlinked analytics where the volume was stored in NRLF with the goal of improving access for these resources, since, in the typical case, a parent set volume would display as being shelved at NRLF, its true shelving location, but the unlinked analytic volume would display as still being shelved on campus. See AskTico document: Unlinked analytics at NRLF (workaround).

 

Counts

Properly linked related records

  • 229,657 host bib records created before 9/1/21 (as of 5/8/23)
  • located via search: All Titles-Title Starts With host bibliographic record + MMS Creation Date (Title) Before 2021-09-01

Unlinked related related records

  • 190,384 bib records with 993 "Unlinked analytic" (as of 5/8/23)
  • located via search: LIT marker Contains Keywords unlinked analytic
  • this count includes:
    • unlinked analytics
    • unlinked U.S. Congressional hearings (J6X)
    • undetermined small percentage of resolved unlinked analytics that didn't have their 993 removed in Millennium once resolved
    • undetermined small number of titles where caption in Mill. 090 was correct or at least intentional
    • other categories?

Characteristics of types of unlinked related records

Abbreviations:

HR = holdings record
IR = item record

Characteristics of unlinked analytics (records for individual child titles of an analyzed set that were not properly linked to the parent set in Gladis or Millennium)

suppressed holdings (and suppressed bib record if there is only this 1 holdings on the bib)

  • HR location 'ze' from either:
    • NRLF workaround performed in Mill. (location already 'ze' in Mill.) (Unlinked analytics at NRLF (workaround))
    • preparation for migration from Mill. to Alma (location changed to 'ze' for migration)
  • IR should have no UCB barcode
  • OCLC holdings still set (usually for CUY)
  • HR call# (HR 852) should have a volume designation and volume number
    • therefore should have a bib 993 "Unlinked analytic"
  • typically, should have bib 990 with information about analysis
  • if NRLF workaround performed, has 955 "Unlinked analytics workaround"
most common scenario:
  • parent set IR has a barcode
  • analytic IR has no barcode
rare or non-existent scenario:
  • In Millennium, parent and analytic item records had the same barcode. This situation would have to have been created in Mill. (barcode added to a different item record as a duplicate and then dup barcode warning ignored); these cases may have been resolved at migration via deduping of barcodes and creation of host bib records.

unsuppressed holdings and bib records

  • HR location of owning unit
  • barcodes:
    • no barcode in IR: typically, parent set volumes distinguished by date (rather than by volume designation (caption) and volume number)
    • barcode in IR: possibilities:
      • corresponding parent set IR has no barcode
      • corresponding parent set IR has a different barcode
      • corresponding parent set IR does not exist (but volume may be represented in the HR 866)
  • OCLC holdings still set (usually for CUY)
  • if HR call# (HR 852) has a volume designation and volume number, bib should have a bib 993 "Unlinked analytic"
  • typically, should have bib 990 with information about analysis
  • NRLF workaround probably not performed for the analytic

Characteristics of unlinked bound-withs (records for individual titles in a bound-with volume that were not properly linked to each other in Gladis or Millennium)

  • typically monographic
  • bib records typically unsuppressed
  • duplicate call#'s in the respective item records for the titles in the volume
  • 1 record for the titles in the volume will typically have an item record with a barcode
    • barcode often not in the record for the first title
  • records for the other titles in the volume will have item record(s) without barcode(s)
  • should have bib 990 with 'first' or 'anal.'
  • bound-with notes for older volumes found in bib 500 (possibly retained in MDE Original Version record) or bib local-extension 590, rather than in bib 501/591

Characteristics of unlinked U.S. Congressional hearings (J6X) (records for individual titles in a [bound-with] U.S. Congressional hearings volume that were not properly linked to each other in Gladis or Millennium)

  • usually monographic
  • duplicate call#'s in the respective item records for the titles in the volume
  • 1 record for the titles in the volume will typically have an item record with a barcode - this record should be unsuppressed
    • barcode often not in the record for the first title
  • records for the other titles in the volume will have item record(s) without barcode(s) - these records should be suppressed (by LIT criteria, but subject to verification)
  • bib record should have a 993 "Unlinked analytic"
  • no bound-with or other linking notes (the only link was the call# of the volume when not system-linked in catalog via barcode or item record)

Characteristics of unlinked serial titles where successive-entry cataloging is involved

  • probably rare, as the record was already properly linked or was on just one of the records involved, but not both
  • awaiting an example for description, but possibly involving an item record with a barcode on one title and either a) no item record or b) a duplicate item record without a barcode on the preceding/succeeding title's record

Characteristics of unlinked in-analytics

  • primarily in use at ITSL
  • awaiting an example for description

By jcripe on 05-06-2024

Tags

Cataloging, Collection maintenance, Metadata Services (MdS), Resource Management Group (RMG)