Rules for Selecting OCLC Records for Addition to NHU-PAC

These rules help us to keep NHU-PAC as consistent as possible and to avoid unnecessary duplicate records (which are a nuisance for ILL). If you are using a NHAIS authorization for OCLC Cataloging then these guidelines MUST be observed in selecting which record in OCLC's WorldCat best matches your item in hand. NHAIS Services staff follows these rules both in selecting records and in removing/replacing NHU-PAC records that don't comply with these rules.

• Records that were cataloged in a language other than English (indicated by a code in the 040 subfield b) should NEVER be added to NHU-PAC. If the only record available for your item was cataloged in a language other than English you must treat the item as if no matching record for it existed. OCLC considers these records parallel records and discusses the issue in the Special Cataloging Guidelines section of Bibliographic Formats and Standards.

• Serial titles (including journals, magazines, travel books, almanacs, directories, test prep guides, calendars, etc.) should be matched to a serial record if one is available. If you feel that the available serial record isn't as good as a monographic record then the serial record should be enhanced. Monographic records for serial titles are not kept in the NHU-PAC when they are received from NHAIS OCLC program participants. An exception to this rule is made for items like Best American Short Stories when the monographic record includes detailed table of contents information about a specific year's issue.

• Records for materials (ebooks and audiobooks) that are part of the NH Downloadable Books (NHDB) collection should NEVER be exported from OCLC by non-NHSL staff. There is a system in place in NHAIS Services to locate and load these records and records downloaded directly from OCLC do not contain the correct links to the NHDB site. If you are buying downloadables through the Overdrive Advantage Program (for the use of just your own patrons) records for these may be downloaded from OCLC (if the titles aren't also part of the NH Downloadables program). Specific guidelines for sending these records were provided to all NHAIS OCLC users in March 2012.

• Do not select records from WorldCat that should not have been there to begin with. The When to Input a New Record section of Bibliographic Formats and Standards explains in detail when a new record should, and should not, be added to the WorldCat. The fact that inappropriate duplicates have been added to OCLC's WorldCat is no excuse for adding those records to NHU-PAC.

• All other things being equal, choose DLC records (as indicated by the 040 tag) over other records.