NASIGuide: Serial Holdings
866-868, Textual Holdings Fields
| 866 - TEXTUAL HOLDINGS FOR BASIC BIBLIOGRAPHIC ITEMS [Repeatable] |
| 867 - TEXTUAL HOLDINGS FOR SUPPLEMENTS [Repeatable] |
| 868 - TEXTUAL HOLDINGS FOR INDEXES [Repeatable] |
Textual holdings are single fields used for display of holdings. Since they are textual strings, they cannot be manipulated by computer (expanded, compressed, or parsed for complex searching). Holdings statements go bodily into one subfield ($a) and are not further delimited, except that public and non-public notes can be added in $z and $x. Caption and holdings data portions are combined in these statements, and they display, by and large, as they are input.
Textual holdings have only the linking portion of the link and sequence number. They can be ordered by this number. Depending on the linking number, they can:
- display as sole holdings
- display between coded holdings
- replace display of coded holdings with the same linking number
These fields are often used for retrospective holdings, particularly when they must be migrated from non-MARC systems or from uncoded fields. However, in some systems and collections, they are used for all holdings.
Like the other sets of fields in the format, textual holdings come in threes, for base volumes, supplements, and indexes.
Example
| 866 |
41 |
$a v.12-30(1952-1987) |
| 867 |
41 |
$a suppl.B2 [Display: precede by label Supplements:] |
| 868 |
41 |
$a t.51/100 $zsubject index [Display: precede by label Indexes:] |
Indicator values are defined with a different twist than in coded holdings fields. If your library uses both, have a cheat sheet handy--perhaps the MARC21 Format for Holdings Data Handbook to keep the different values straight.
Indicator 1 - Field encoding level
| blank |
No information provided |
| 3 |
Holdings level 3 |
| 4 |
Holdings level 4 |
| 5 |
Holdings level 4 with piece designation |
Indicator 2 - Type of notation
| 0 |
Non-standard |
| 1 |
ANSI/NISO Z39.71 or ISO 10324 |
| 2 |
ANSI Z39.42 |
Subfield codes
| Holdings data |
| $a |
Textual string [non-repeatable] |
| Notes |
| $x |
Nonpublic note [repeatable] |
| $z |
Public note [repeatable] |
| Control elements |
| $6 |
Linkage [non-repeatable] |
| $8 |
Field link and sequence number [repeatable] |
Indicator 1 - Field encoding level
These are the familiar values used in the Encoding level and the first indicator of the 863 field.
| blank |
No information provided. If nothing is known about the completeness of the holdings listed in the holdings statement, this indicator should be used. |
| 3 |
Holdings level 3. Level 3 is the summary level, which does not guarantee that the volumes it lists are complete. This indicator is ordinarily used for ranges of holdings. |
| 4 |
Holdings level 4. Level 4 is used for detailed holdings information in either itemized or compressed form. The statement gives the details on gaps and lists volumes to the issue level, breaking the statement at each gap and resuming it after the gap. |
| 5 |
Holdings level 4 with piece designation. Level 4 is used for detailed holdings information in either itemized or compressed form, but the information is linked by means of a linking subfield $3 to one or more associated item fields. Each item field bears a barcode, accession number, or other identification of the particular physical piece in subfield $a. |
Indicator 2 - Type of notation
| 0 |
Non-standard. Where value 0 is used, the holdings statement is usually a local standard; it does not conform to the NISO standard. |
| 1 |
ANSI/NISO Z39.71 or ISO 10324. This value is used for holdings conforming to the latest standard, Z39.71, Holdings Display for Bibliographic Items. It would also be used for holdings conforming to the serial holdings standard Z39.44 1986, which was superseded in 1999 by Z39.71. These standards, old and new, define a volume as "held" if any part of it is held. Certain conventions are observed at both level 3 and level 4 of this standard (captions given, indexes and supplements recorded if the information is available). |
| 2 |
ANSI Z39.42. This value is used for holdings statements conforming to the earliest display standard, Z39.42 (1980). The standard defined a volume as "held" if fifty percent or more were held. If less were held, the volume would not be listed. This standard did not list holdings below the volume level and usually did not list supplements and indexes. |
Migration/conversion and retrospective coding
The creators of the Format realized that a large part of the usage of these fields would be retrospective. They saw that many of the holdings lists in libraries would have been first created under superseded standards or a local standard. Therefore extra information would be needed to identify the standard used in the local system, computer-output microfiche, or in-house database that served as the source file. Similarly, in drawing up specs for your serials mapping, or in coding by hand from a non-MARC source, if you can identify the standard used in the past in your library, you will be able to set these indicators during migration and continue to code them correctly as they are added later. Current coding, by contrast, would normally follow the latest standard (at level 3 or 4) have a second indicator value of 1.
$a - Textual string
Subfield $a contains the entire holdings statement: captions, enumeration data, and chronology data. Details of the formation of the statement may vary according to the standard followed by the source or by the coder.
Example 1 - Textual holdings for entire run
Some of each of the volumes between 1 and 50 are held. Older holdings, converted from an inhouse system, conform to Z39.42; the newer statement is hand-coded according to Z39.71; both are at Level 3. Because all holdings are textual, subfield $8 contains 0.
| 866 |
32 |
$8 0 $a 1-39(1948-1986) $z some issues may be missing |
| 866 |
31 |
$8 0 $a v.40(1987)-50(1998) $z some issues may be missing |
| Displays as: |
1-39(1948-1986)--some issues may be missing
v.40(1987)-50(1998)--some issues may be missing |
Clues to the different standards:
Old statement: lack of caption; "separate presentation" of enumeration and chronology; 2nd indicator 2 = Z39.42.
New statement: presence of caption; "adjacent presentation" of enumeration and chronology; 2nd indicator 1 = Z39.71 (separate presentation would also be permitted, but adjacent is usual).
Since both statements are at level 3, the public note "Some issues may be missing" is used in each, since some volumes in each range may be incomplete.
Example 2 - Textual holdings interspersed with coded holdings
This example shows a backrun (first volume incomplete) acquired as a set, coded at level 4, plus an index; followed by paired-field holdings for the newest issues entered. The coded fields describe a different portion of the holdings from the textual fields, so the linking number in subfield $8 must be different for each portion. It is sequenced only for the coded fields. The same indicators are used for both kinds of fields but the second indicator has a different significance in each type; in the coded fields it represents the state of compression (itemized); in the textual fields it indicates the holdings display standard of the source (Z39.71).
Placement of the index statement would vary according to the library's choice (or sometimes the system separates them for display). Note that in the textual fields, the months and seasons are given in natural language, and the break marker we had seen in the coded fields as 863 $w g (gap) is here given as a comma, which is the NISO display convention.(v. 11, no. 1 is missing).
| 853 |
20 |
$8 2 $a v. $b no. $u 4 $v r $i (year) $j (month/month) |
| 866 |
41 |
$8 1 $a v.1:no.2-v.10:no.4(1990:Apr/Jun..-1999:Oct./Dec.), |
| 868 |
41 |
$8 1 $a v.1/10 (1990/1999) |
| 863 |
41 |
$8 2.1 $a 11 $b 2 $i 2000 $j 01/03 |
| 863 |
41 |
$8 2.2 $a 11 $b 3 $i 2000 $j 04/06 |
| Displays as: |
v.1-10(1990-1999),
v.11:no.2(2000:Jan./Mar.)
v.11:no.3(2000:Apr./June)
Indexes: v.1/10(1990/1999) |
A word on the holdings display conventions:
Such features as a comma signifying a break are not necessarily significant to users. They are part of a standard, however, and thus may be interpreted correctly by reference to the standard wherever a copy of it is available. Uniformity of conventions increases understanding among world libraries. Standards from different geographic regions of the world are increasingly being brought into harmony. In addition, the encoding of standards can enable a conversion from one convention to another.
Example 3 - Textual holdings replacing coded holdings
This example shows a very complex series of paired fields with many pattern changes and gaps. A textual holdings field is used to make a display which is clearer. The paired fields are coded to be suppressed from display in favor of the textual field.
| 853 |
20 |
$8 1 $a v. $b no. $u 4 $v r $i (year) $j (month) $w q |
| 853 |
20 |
$8 2 $a v. $b no. $u 6 $v r $i (year) $j (month) $w b |
| 853 |
20 |
$8 3 $a (year) $b (season) $w q |
| 863 |
43 |
$8 1.1 $a 1 $b 1-3 $i 1981 $j 01-07 $w g |
| 863 |
43 |
$8 1.2 $a 2 $b 2-4 $i 1982 $j 04-10 |
| 863 |
43 |
$8 1.3 $a 3 $b 1-2 $i 1983 $j 01-04 $w g |
| 863 |
43 |
$8 1.4 $a 3 $b 4 $i 1983 $j 10 |
| 863 |
42 |
$8 1.5 $a 4-9 $i 1984-1989 $w g |
| 863 |
43 |
$8 2.6 $a 10 $b 2-5 $i 1990 $j 03-09 $w g |
| 863 |
40 |
$8 3.7 $a 1991- |
| 866 |
41 |
$8 1 $8 2 $a .1-10(1981-1990) $z Some issues missing |
If the library were to display from these paired fields, the record would be complex:
v.1:no.1-1:3(1981:Jan.-July),
v.2:no.2-2:4(1982:Apr.-Oct.)
v.3:no.1-3:2(1983:Jan.-Apr.),
v.3:no.4(1983:Oct.)
v.4-9(1984-1989)
v.10:no.2-5(1990:Mar.-Sept.)
1991-
The library has elected to provide a display that is much easier to read, while not quite so informative, using a Textual holdings field that substitutes for all but one of the paired fields:
v.1-10(1981-1990)--Some issues missing
1991-
As previously mentioned, it would certainly be possible to program a computer to provide both of these displays on command for users seeking more, vs. less, detail. The current Format instructions, however, prescribe that the coded fields will be suppressed from public display and kept, presumably, for staff reference. For that purpose, the second indicators of the 863 fields with linking subfields $8 = 1 and $8 = 2 are coded either "2" (compressed and not for display) or "3" (uncompressed and not for display). The 866, instead of having a unique linking number, duplicates these two linking numbers. The presence of the two subfields $8 tells the computer to display the 866 in place of the fields with the same linking number(s). The second indicator in the 863 field with $8 = 3 is not coded for suppression, so that field appears at the end of the display.
$x - Nonpublic note
$z - Public note
$6 - Linkage
This subfield is used to provide a display in non-Roman characters.
$8 - Field link and sequence number
The use of this subfield has been described above under three conditions: the use of textual holdings alone ($8 0); textual holdings to display along with coded holdings (unique linking number in $8); and textual holdings to display in place of coded holdings (duplicate linking number(s) in $8.
Sequence numbers were not part of the specifications for $8 in the textual holdings fields. Instead, the linking number should be used alone. If more than one textual holdings field is needed, each field in the record has a new linking number, incrementing with each separate statement.
