Series

25 October 2015

Once upon a time, MARC field 440 was the series as it appears on the item, IF that was also the way it was traced; 440 is now obsolete.

Field 490 is for the series as it appears on the item. First indicator "0" means it is not traced. This dates from when LC traced series selectively, and was little used after LC began tracing all series with subject content.

SLC NEVER uses 490 0. If the series has no subject connotation, we quote it in 500, e.g., 500 $a"Penguin books".

First 490 indicator "1" means the traced form appears in 800 (personal author), 810 (corporate author), 811 (conference author), or 830 (title), even if identical to the form in 490.

To update an older record, change 440 to 490 1, and copy 2nd filing indicator and series title into 830 (or 800, 810, 811 if applicable).

LC is now not tracing no series, nor making series authority records (SARs); they are being created by PCC (a cooperative program) libraries. To update a DLC record with 490 0, change 490 0 to 490 1, and copy content into 830 (or 800, 810, 811 if applicable),
unless there is a different form in an record (SAR), e.g., an 800 entry under author, 810 under a corporate body, or 811 under a conference.

Since authorship of a series may change, SLC prefers to enter un established series under title, and does not use 800 or 810 unless based on an existing SAR. For generic series issued by a corporate body, e.g., "Report", append the name of the corporate body in
curves.

Transcribe the number of the item in the series in 8XX ;$v. Some libraries preface a single digit with a zero, e.g., 05, so it will not file between 49 and 50.