3.2.3 Marc Holdings Record

The MARC holdings record (MHLD) is used when a bibliographic unit consists of multiple parts to record which parts the library holds. Create an MHLD whenever you catalog a book with more than one volume or part. Create an MHLD for non-book materials (or books accompanied by non-book supplements) whenever there are multiple parts and

• the Library does not have all of the parts described in the 300 field at the time of cataloging
• the extent of physical parts is left open in the 300 field, i.e. total number of pieces is not specified because some parts may not have been issued or total number of parts is uncertain
• individual parts of the bibliographic unit may circulate separately
• individual parts of the unit will be shelved separately or are likely to be used separately (e.g., a book kept in the stacks accompanied by a tape kept in a locked case, a CD-ROM disk used on the LAN accompanied by a manual kept at a reference desk, etc.)

In cases of doubt as to whether a bibliographic unit fits one of the above conditions, assume that it does and create a MARC holdings record. In all other cases a MARC holdings record is optional and may be created or omitted at the cataloger’s discretion. A MARC holdings record is not required for single-part items.

Entering values in the fixed fields of the MHLD is not required, except for the encoding level (E/L) which should be 4, if you are entering a complete detailed statement of volume holdings. In general, leave the system-supplied default fill characters in all of the other fields. The field tag for holdings data is 866. The indicators are – 1 if you are following ANSI/NISO Z39.57 (see below) to formulate the statement, -0 if you are not. Subfield 6 ($6) should not be used in fields 866-868.

Extent of holdings statements

The following guidelines for formulating holdings statements are based on section 4.5 of ANSI/NISO Z39.57. Other options provided for by the standard may be applied at the cataloger’s judgment.

Captions: Captions are terms such as volume, part, tomo, and Band that are used with numbers or letters to identify parts of works. Use the captions that appear on the items being cataloged to construct the holdings statement. Repeat the caption at the beginning of each range of numbers.

Abbreviations: Abbreviate captions using the abbreviations in Appendix B of AACR2rev. If alternate abbreviations for a term are provided, use the shorter one (i.e. use v., not vol., for volume).

Punctuation: Indicate continuous ranges of numbers with the beginning and ending numbers, separated by a hyphen. Indicate gaps in numbers with a comma. Do not put spaces before or after periods, commas or hyphens.

Example:
866: 1: $a v.1-5,v.7,v.9-11

• Use a semicolon to separate levels of enumeration. Do not space on either side of the semicolon.

Example:
866: 1: $a v.2:pt.1-5

• Holdings statements may be itemized if desired. To itemize, list the caption and number of each piece and separate each statement with two spaces or use separate 866 fields for each.

Example:
866: 1: $a v.1:pt.1 v.1:pt.2 v.2:pt.1
or
866: 1: $a v.1:pt.1
866: 1: $a v.1:pt.2
866: 1: $a v.2:pt.1

• Angles brackets may be used to attach brief notes to volume statements.

Example:
866: 1: $a v.3 <2nd ed.>

• The plus sign may be used to attach holdings for supplementary or accompanying material. Include one space before and after the plus sign.

Example:
866: 1: $a 1 v. + suppl.

Notes applying to local holdings

You may use the 590 field of the MARC bibliographic record or the 852 field of the MARC holdings record to record public notes relating only to BYU’s holdings. You should be aware of the different ways in which each of these fields displays and use judgment in selecting the most appropriate field in each case.

Last Updated: September 2002