UCL RDA Ebooks

Use UCL RDA Individual Ebooks Cataloguing instructions instead

These ebooks guidelines are now deprecated. Use the UCL RDA Individual Ebooks Cataloguing instructions instead. This page will be kept for reference while the new instructions are refined.

Introduction

This is a guide to cataloguing ebooks using RDA. It aims to cover all important aspects of a standard ebook record, but as ebook packages and the records provided for them can differ greatly, there may be aspects that are not covered.

There may be some repetition of guidelines for cataloguing print resources, but otherwise knowledge of cataloguing print resources in RDA is assumed.

The guide is presented in MARC field order for ease of use. It was written with reference to the following documents, but policies differ in several aspects:

• British Library remote access digital monograph workflow: http://access.rdatoolkit.org/wk.a1721html
• Library of Congress Provider-Neutral E-resource guidelines: http://www.loc.gov/aba/pcc/scs/documents/PCC-PN-guidelines.html

By Karen Wallace

MarcEdit and RDA Helper

There is some reference to MarcEdit in this guide, but more detailed information on using this software can be found in a separate guide.

MarcEdit includes the tool RDA Helper, which is useful for batch-removing fields such as the GMD, and batch-adding fields such as 336-338. It can also move an ISBN qualifier that comes in brackets to the $q field. RDA Helper does not duplicate fields that already appear in the record.

Levels of acceptance

There is more leniency in levels of acceptance with ebook records than there is with records for print books, mainly due to the practicalities involved in editing a large number of records at the same time. Accept data provided in a supplied ebook record, unless you have reason to believe it is incorrect.

Changing records from AACR2 and hybrid records

If a supplied record is in AACR2, change it to RDA. If it is only practical to add elements such as 336-338, thereby creating a hybrid record, this is fine. In this case, you should put ‘a’ instead of ‘i’ in LDR position 18, and leave out $e in the 040 field.

Capitalisation (RDA 1.7.2.)

BL: In “transcribed” elements, you may transcribe capitalisation as you find it in the source or as you get it via electronic capture:

245 00 $aAVOIDING SOIL EROSION.

Where data has been copied and pasted from electronic resources there is no need to amend it in order to follow RDA and LC-PCC PS capitalisation guidelines for original cataloguing.

Fixed fields

Format

Use format BK.

Leader

As for print resources.

You should put ‘a’ instead of ‘i’ in position 18 if it is a hybrid record with not many RDA elements.

Additional material characteristics (006) and Physical description fixed field (007)

Retain these if found in derived records and add them if they are not already present.

• Make sure position 00 in the 006 field is set to ‘m’ for computer file/electronic resource.
• Make sure position 00 in the 007 field is set to ‘c’ for electronic resource, and position 01 to ‘r’ for remote.

Sources:

• BL: “The 006 and 007 fields contain information about aspects of the item being catalogued that cannot be coded in field 008, for example to record the coded computer file aspects of electronic resources whose content is primarily textual and which are coded in Leader/06 as a - Language material.”
• ·         “British Library policy is to record only selected positions, but if derived records contain others we will accept them. However, it is important to check that the first two positions in the 007 are correct.”

008

Current policy is to set position 23 to ‘s’ for ‘electronic’.

ISBN (020) (RDA 2.15.1)

Add ISBNs from the resource for both print and e-format. The ISBN may come from any source (RDA 1.3, 2.15). In subfield q, specify whether the ISBN is for the print edition or the ebook.

020 ## $a098077855466X$qprint

020 ## $a978057157277$qebook

If a supplied record does not have qualifiers in $q fields, it is acceptable to leave them as they are. Alternatively, you can use RDA Helper to change qualifiers in brackets to the $q field.

Amend derived records that come with the ebook and/or print ISBNs in 020 $z to $a.

BL: For ebooks in multiple formats use separate 020 $a fields with qualifiers in subfield $q (e.g. ePUB, PDF) as given in the resource.

020 ## $a978057157277$qPDF

020 ## $a978057157280$qePub

020 ## $a978057245679$qMobi

In some supplied records, ISBNs for the print edition come in a 776 field. Move these to the 020 $a. This can be done using the ‘swap field data’ function in MarcEdit.

Cataloguing source (040)

As for print books.

It is not necessary to include $erda if the record is hybrid and does not contain many RDA elements.

Title proper (245)

Sources of information (RDA 2.2)

Generally, follow the UCL Monographs Workflow when constructing titles for ebooks. This applies especially if an ebook is a straightforward reproduction of a print book, e.g. in PDF format.

RDA also has the following additional guidance for online resources:

RDA 2.2.2.4.2 Online Resources

“Use as the preferred source of information the first of the following with a title:

a)      textual content

b)      embedded metadata in textual form that contains a title (e.g., metadata embedded in an MP3 audio file).

If none of the sources has a title, use as the preferred source of information another source forming part of the resource itself, giving preference to sources in which the information is formally presented.”

GMD

If the General Material Designation [electronic resource] is present in the 245 $h field, delete this.

Publication details (264) (RDA 2.8.1.1)

If the ebook is a straightforward reproduction of a print book – i.e., usual print publication elements such as a title page and colophon can easily be identified – you should follow the UCL Monographs Workflow, and the publication details can be put in the 264 field.

An ebook record will also contain publication details for the digital reproduction. They are usually taken from the publisher’s website (for example, a copyright statement at the bottom of a web page). These details are put in the 533 (electronic reproduction) field (see section below on how to construct a 533 note and where to find publication details for the digital resource).

Extent (300)

BL: Use evidence presented by the resource itself as the basis for recording the extent of the resource.

Record the extent of the resource by giving the number of units and an appropriate term for the type of carrier as listed under Computer carriers at RDA 3.3.1.3. Record the term in the singular or plural as appropriate.

300 ## $a1 online resource.

RDA 3.4.1.7.5 – Number of subunits – Online resources

BL: If the resource consists of one or more files in a format that parallels a print, ms. or graphic counterpart specify the number of subunits accordingly:

300 ## $a1 online resource (xx, 32 pages)

Only follow this rule if practical (i.e., no need to specify pages if editing a large collection of records).

If a supplied record comes with pagination details, dimensions, etc., do not change them.

However, if the 300 details in supplied records are inconsistent or sub-standard, replacing the details with (for example) ‘1 online resource’ is acceptable.

Content type (336), Media type (337), Carrier type (338)

$atext$2rdacontent (and/or still image, etc.)

$acomputer$2rdamedia

$aonline resource$2rdacarrier

If a supplied record appears with a code in the 33X $b field, keep this.

Series statement (490/830)

As for print books.

Retain ISSNs in 490s but do not add them to 830s.

Notes

Formatted contents note (505)

This often comes in supplied records and usually just contains chapter headings, so in this case it can be deleted. Only retain if used for detailing parts of a multivolume work or if it is a compilation of works by different authors.

Summary (520) and Target audience (521)

Many supplied ebook records contain a summary, usually in the 520 field. This can be retained, according to cataloguer judgement. Sometimes summaries come in other fields such as 505 or 521. In this case, if retaining the summary, change it to 520.

Additional physical form available note (530)

This often appears in supplied records and should be deleted.

Electronic reproduction note (533)

Whereas most of the record for electronic versions of print books is for the print edition, this note gives ebook-specific details. Delete any existing 533 fields before adding a UCL-specific one. Take details from the ebook’s web page and where possible for simplicity, find a set of details that are applicable across an entire ebook collection. Add the field as follows, supplying any specific details to replace the angle bracketed sections:

533 \\$aElectronic reproduction.$b<Place of publication> :$c<Publisher>,$d<date of publication>.$nAvailable in <format> format.$nDescription based on contents viewed <date of cataloguing>.

Note that there is no longer a subfield for ‘mode of access’, as this is covered by Carrier type in RDA.

Date of publication: A generic copyright date for the website will suffice. If you cannot find a publication date or copyright date, one can usually be found by right-clicking on a document and going to Document Properties.

Format: e.g. HTML or PDF. More than one can be used if applicable. If a large collection has some ebooks in one format and some in another, use “Available in <format> or <format> formats”. In other cases, sensible alternatives are fine.

There is a list of encoding formats at RDA 3.19.3.3, for example:

Text encoding formats

• ASCII
• HTML
• Megadots
• MS Word
• PDF
• RTF
• SGML
• TeX
• Word Perfect
• XHTML
• XML

Image encoding formats

• BMP
• GIF
• JPEG
• JPEG2000
• PNG
• TIFF

The rule states: “If none of the terms in the list is appropriate or sufficiently specific, use another concise term or terms to indicate the encoding format.”

Access note (590/500)

For standard password protected ebooks, add the following 590 local note:

590 \\$aUCL username and password required for access.

For open access ebooks, add instead a 500 general note specifying the licence, e.g.:

500 \\$aThis book is published under a CC BY-NC-SA licence.

Tags (590)

Add tags in a single 590 note for the following reasons. Generally, use the forms given. Any ebook packages using different schemes can be left as they are, as long as they are distinct.

• Package tag. Formulate a preferable short and definitely distinctive package name (e.g. initials or abbreviation) and append it to “uclebk”, e.g. uclebkhart for Hart.
• Collection tag. If the package is divided into a number of collections (e.g. by subject or year), add further tags as necessary, repeating the package tag pattern with additions (e.g. uclebkhart2015) or formulating a new package-style tag depending on how the package is organised.
• Marc load tag. Use the distinctive package name but appended to “mrc” and with the date catalogued added to the end in the format YYYYMMDD. It is more important to make sure that records loaded together can be identified than that this reflects a strictly accurate date of cataloguing or adding to the catalogue. E.g. mrchart20150512.
• Open access tag: If the resource is open access, add the tag uclebkopenaccess.

Source of description note (588)

This often appears in supplied records and should be deleted.

Subject headings (6XX)

The quality of subject headings in supplied records for ebooks varies greatly. If the only subject headings given are in keyword form or have second indicators other than 0 or 2 (LCSH and MeSH), you should delete them. There is a MarcEdit task list, “subjectdestroy”, which should delete most unwanted subject fields. You may add headings manually, if practical.

Additional physical form entry (776)

Current policy is to delete these (but firstly to move any ISBNs in the 776 to 020).

LC PCC PS for RDA 27.1 Recording relationships to related manifestations:

-          “The PCC is in the process of forming a task group to address issues related to reproductions.”

-          Uses structured descriptions for reproductions http://access.rdatoolkit.org/lcpschp27.html

Electronic location and access (856)

Record the URL for the online resource being described (RDA 4.6.1.3). (BL)

Use the following format:

856 40 $uhttp://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/minimum-income-standards-rural-full.pdf

Make sure the first indicator is set to ‘4’ (for HTTP), the second indicator to ‘0’ (for ‘resource’), and the subfield for a URL should be $u (for URI).

Multiple 856 fields – LC PCC PS for RDA 4.6.1.3: “if there is more than one URL for the resource, record all.”

• You can use $3 to specify what a particular resource is and to aid with the clarity of information presented on Explore (although not when going via SFX).
• Example records: bib nos 1637132 and 1642177 (which Explore has merged into a single record) – if you click through to ‘details’ and look at the links on the right, they have been given individual titles (‘Dialogue in English’ and ‘Dialogue in Portuguese’), so they can be easily identified. This doesn’t solve the SFX issue though.

Local fields (9XX)

Local notes that appear in 9XX fields in supplied records should be deleted.

Authorised access points (1XX/7XX) and relationship designators

As for print books.

If a supplied record comes without relationship designators, only add them if practical.