Current issues, current volume, and brief cat

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General information

Serials are often shelved at one library location temporarily before being moved to another more permanent location, or being withdrawn from the collection. The following standard phrasing is used on holdings records in these cases:

"Current Volume" notes are generally used for annual or less frequent serials that are added upon receipt, while "Current Issues"/"Latest ..." are used for those that are more frequent and/or not thick enough to warrant binding individually. These notes should only appear on active serials. More details on construction of the holdings records in each case, with examples, follow.

Current Issues In:

Requires just a single holdings record, with the permanent location given in the 852b and the Current Issues location in an 866z note. Use the full location name in the note, as copy-pasted from this page -- not the abbreviation.

Example:

852 0_ ‡b rcppa ‡h Z671 ‡i .L537
866 _0 ‡a Vol. 2, no. 1 (Sept. 1877)-vol. 142, no. 19 (Nov. 2017)
866 _0 ‡z CURRENT ISSUES IN: Periodicals Collection (PR). Firestone
866 _0 ‡x DESIGNATOR: vol., no.

When a serial ceases, is canceled, or changes title, the "Current Issues in" note should be deleted, and all remaining unbound issues added.

Current Volume In:

Requires two holdings records, one for the permanent location and one for the Current Volume location. Specific MARC holdings information is maintained on the permanent location's holdings record only, which includes an 866z note about the other location. As with current issues, the full location name is used in the note. The current location's holdings record includes "CURRENT VOLUME" as its 866a holdings statement, and has the current volume's item record attached to it.

Example (2 separate holdings records):

852 0_ ‡b rcppa ‡h Z735.A1 ‡i C328
866 _0 ‡a 24th ed. (2009/10)-33rd ed. (2018/19)
866 _0 ‡z CURRENT VOLUME IN: Trustee Reading Room Reference (DR). Firestone
866 _0 ‡x DESIGNATOR: year (SECONDARY: ed.)

852 0_ ‡b dr ‡h Z735.A1 ‡i C328
866 _0 ‡a CURRENT VOLUME

In the above example, the 24th-32nd eds. are shelved in Recap, the 33rd in DR. The item record for the 33rd is attached to the DR holdings record; it will be moved to the Recap holdings record when the next volume is received and takes its place.

An 866x Designator note is only needed on the permanent location's holdings record, where the holdings maintenance is done.

Sometimes a variation on this phrase is used -- "CURRENT EDITION IN" -- to avoid confusion in the case of a serial where each edition consists of multiple volumes issued at one time. If in the above example the 33rd ed. had 2 volumes, both would go to DR, not just v. 2.

If a serial ceases, is canceled, or changes title, any "Current Volume in" notes should be deleted. Usually the final volume will be transferred to the permanent location, and the Current Volume holdings record simply deleted. However, in cases where the final volume is staying in the Current Volume location, both holdings records should be updated to the standard form for multiple locations, showing in 866a the specific holdings in each.

Above example, updated; title ceased but final volume remaining in DR:

852 0_ ‡b rcppa ‡h Z735.A1 ‡i C328
866 _0 ‡a 24th ed. (2009/10)-32nd ed. (2017/18)
866 _0 ‡x DESIGNATOR: year (SECONDARY: ed.)

852 0_ ‡b dr ‡h Z735.A1 ‡i C328
866 _0 ‡a 33rd ed. (2018/19)
866 _0 ‡x DESIGNATOR: year (SECONDARY: ed.)

Next to Current Volume In:

This is a slightly more complex variation on "CURRENT VOLUME IN," used when a serial spends time in not one but two different locations before it reaches its final home, requiring an additional 866z note and an additional holdings record.

Example (3 separate holdings records):

852 0_ ‡b f ‡h HG4057.A2 ‡i D5
866 _0 ‡a 2002-2018
866 _0 ‡z CURRENT VOLUME IN: Trustee Reading Room Reference (DR). Firestone
866 _0 ‡z NEXT TO CURRENT VOLUME IN: Engineering Library (ST)
866 _0 ‡x DESIGNATOR: year

852 0_ ‡b dr ‡h HG4057.A2 ‡i D5
866 _0 ‡a CURRENT VOLUME

852 0_ ‡b st ‡h HG4057.A2 ‡i D5
866 _0 ‡a NEXT TO CURRENT VOLUME

When each new volume is received, the holdings statement on the main holdings record is updated to include it, a new item record is attached to the Current Volume holdings record, and the item records previously attached to the Current and Next to Current holdings records are moved to the Next to Current and final location holdings records, respectively.

Current Volume Only Retained:

For some serials, the decision has been made that they will not be permanently retained. This may occur because the title is of current interest only, or the Library is already holding a copy in another location, or the serial is issued in cumulations that make older issues obsolete.

This situation requires just a single holdings record, with the current location given in the 852b, the specific holdings information in an 866a, and the retention decision note in an 866z.

Example:

852 0_ ‡b dr ‡h L901 ‡i .C744
866 _0 ‡a 12th ed. (2018)
866 _0 ‡z CURRENT VOLUME ONLY RETAINED
866 _0 ‡x DESIGNATOR: year (SECONDARY:--th ed.)

When each new volume is received, the 866a holdings statement on the main holdings record is changed to reflect the new volume only. The superseded volume should be withdrawn, and its item record deleted.

As with "CURRENT VOLUME IN," the variation "CURRENT EDITION ONLY RETAINED" may be used in cases where confusion is possible due to a serial having multi-volume editions.

If a serial changes title, any "Current Volume Only Retained" holdings record for the old title should be deleted or suppressed when the new title is cataloged; or if it is the only location, the bib record should be deleted or suppressed. If the serial ceases or is canceled, the "Current Volume Only Retained" note should be deleted, and the records should be deleted or suppressed when the final volume is withdrawn.

Latest ... Only retained / Brief cat

For some serials, the decision has been made that they will not be permanently retained, or will be retained only in another format. This treatment is also called "brief cataloging" because no call or accession number is assigned. It is exclusively used for active unbound serials. The types of publications most commonly given brief cat treatment are newspapers and newsletters.

Brief cat serials need an unbound location and may also have a retention decision (e.g. latest year only; latest 6 months only, etc.) Since bound holdings will never be added to a brief cat serial, the holdings record 866a is used to indicate the retention decision -- or omitted if there is none -- and there is no need for an 866x Designator note.

This is the format used for the 852 fields in the holdings records of brief cat serials for locations NR and PR:

852 8_ ‡b nr ‡h Printed Newspapers
852 8_ ‡b pr ‡h Printed Journals

A "Current Issues in" note is generally optional, but is required in cases where the location differs or is more specific than that given in the location code (e.g. for newspapers kept in the newspaper rack):

Examples:

852 8_ ‡b pr ‡h Printed Journals
866 _0 ‡a LATEST YEAR ONLY RETAINED

852 8_ ‡b nr ‡h Printed Newspapers
866 _0 ‡z CURRENT ISSUES IN: Dulles Reading Room (RACK-NR). Firestone

852 8_ ‡b nec ‡h Printed Newspapers
866 _0 ‡a LATEST 6 MONTHS ONLY RETAINED
866 _0 ‡z CURRENT ISSUES IN: Near East Periodicals Collection (PRNE). Firestone

If a brief cat serial ceases or changes title, the brief cat holdings record should be deleted or suppressed when the new title is cataloged or the final issues withdrawn; or, if it is the only location, the bib record should be deleted or suppressed.

Brief cat while waiting for microform

In some cases a serial may be temporarily treated as a brief cat with the expectation it will eventually be replaced by a permanently retained microform version. These need an 866z note: "RETAINED UNTIL REPLACED BY MICROFORM" following the Current Issues note; 866a is omitted.

Example:

852 8_ ‡b nec ‡h Printed Newspapers
866 _0 ‡z CURRENT ISSUES IN: Near East Periodicals Collection (PRNE). Firestone
866 _0 ‡z RETAINED UNTIL REPLACED BY MICROFORM

SPIA long-term brief cats

Duplicate serial subscriptions temporarily held by the SPIA library are often kept for extended periods, 5 or 10 years. Since this would be too many issues to keep unbound, these serials are not treated like other brief cats. They instead receive a standard holdings record, with regular call number, specific 866a holdings statement, 866z Current Issues note, and 866x Designator note, plus an additional informal 866x note giving information about the retention period.

Since some SPIA serials are discarded at the end of the retention period but others (non-duplicate subscriptions) are transferred to Recap or Firestone, the retention note should include specific instructions, e.g.:

SPIA keeps latest 10 years only; older volumes can be withdrawn
SPIA keeps latest 5 years; transfer older volumes to Recap

Example:

852 0_ ‡b stokes ‡c spia ‡h Q179.9 ‡i .S32
866 _0 ‡a Vol. 39, no. 1 (Feb. 2018)-vol. 44, no. 6 (Dec. 2023)
866 _0 ‡z CURRENT ISSUES IN: Donald E. Stokes Library (SPIA). Wallace Hall
866 _0 ‡x DESIGNATOR: vol., no.
866 _0 ‡x SPIA keeps latest 5 years; transfer older volumes to Firestone

This exception may be applied to other locations with parallel situations.