Source of Description

Commercial websites for scholarly serials often have a recognizable structure for presenting serial content. It is common to find a subset of pages in these sites devoted to individual serials where the title, publisher, and available issues are listed clearly and in a straight forward manner. In other types of online serials the sources of bibliographic information may not be as standardized and the cataloger needs to examine the site carefully to find appropriate sources for transcription. (CCM:31.3)

As with print serials, the description is based on the lowest numbered issue or part. The cataloger should prefer to use a source associated with the lowest numbered issue over a source associated with the whole serial (e.g. home page or other associated pages) or with a range of issues. Other issues of the serial may be consulted for other areas of the description if needed. Online serials sometimes do not give all of the necessary information in the first issue. (CCM:31.3.1)

⮚Preferred Source of Description

If the resource lacks a title page, title sheet, or title card (or an image of it), use as the preferred source of information, the first of the following sources that has a title: a) a cover or jacket issued with the resource (or an image of a cover or jacket); b) a caption (or an image of a caption); c) a masthead (or an image of a masthead); d) a colophon (or an image of a colophon).

This instruction applies easiest to online serials that are fully digitized versions of print serials or are following the same publication model as a print serial (such as a newsletter which is only published online but consists of a PDF that looks like a print newsletter). This instruction is applied less easily to partial digitization as when articles are available as PDF files but other sources typically used in cataloging (e.g., covers) are not digitized. (CCM:31.3.2)

Consequently, CONSER provides these preferred sources of description in order of most preferred.

If the online serial consists of page images that include a title page, cover, caption, masthead or colophon with a title, use that source as your preferred source.

If there are none of the previous types of page images with a title, then select a source of textual content from the online serial (giving preference to sources in which information is formally presented).

Always prefer a source associated with the lowest numbered issue rather than a source associated with the journal as a whole or a set of issues.