BIBCO Working Group on Series Numbering

Letter to vendors in support of ordered series number sorting

For PCC members wishing to write their integrated library system vendors about the issue of series numbering, please feel free to use this letter, written by the BIBCO Working Group on Series Numbering, to open a dialogue with your vendor. Your voice can make a real difference in beginning to solve the problems associated with series numbering.

Sample letter to vendor from BIBCO library

[today's date]
[vendor name]
[vendor address]

Dear [vendor name]:

Last fall, the Program for Cooperative Cataloging's BIBCO component formed a Working Group on Series Numbering to investigate problems relating to the numbering associated with series headings. The Working Group made four recommendations, two of which are addressed in whole or in part to vendors of library systems. (The first two recommendations deal with cataloging practice. The full report is available at: http://www.loc.gov/catdir/pcc/seriesnumb.html) The Working Group believes that by following these recommendations, your system will be better able to meet the needs of your customers.

The Working Group's recommendations are based on the assumption (supported by the results of our survey) that entries in a display for a numbered series should be presented in an order determined by the entire series numbering subfield. In some systems, the numbering is ignored and series headings are subarranged by title proper or main entry (or even system record number). In other systems the series numbering is used to arrange series headings, but is simply read from left to right (so that "2" appears between "19" and "20" instead of between "1" and "3"). We believe that any approach that does not arrange series headings in numerical order is not acceptable.

Our third recommendation is that vendors correct the numerical sorting of series entries. One way that this could be achieved would be for systems to incorporate an algorithm to identify the designation or caption in series numbering (when present) and disregard it for filing purposes. While the Working Group realizes that no purely algorithmic solution would be able to handle all series successfully, we believe that an approach can be found that will suit most situations, and will leave series entries that fall outside the new sorting model no worse off than they were before the change.

Our fourth recommendation is that vendors work with MARBI, the group responsible for coordinating changes to the MARC formats, to develop a coding scheme that will enable systems to identify and ignore the designation in series numbers. We recognize that any change to the MARC formats will take some time to achieve, and that such a change will probably not be applied to the millions of records already in existence (and if applied retrospectively, will not be applied uniformly to all records). Therefore, the algorithmic approach implicit in our third recommendation to ignore designations will not be a temporary measure, but will be needed on an ongoing basis.

Regardless of the manner in which the designation in series numbering is identified and ignored, the numerical portion of series numbering subfields should be used to arrange series headings in true numerical order. The following example shows a set of series headings arranged by numbering, in the manner recommended by the Working Group.

• Perspectives in analytical philosophy ; Bd. 3
• Perspectives in analytical philosophy ; 5
• Perspectives in analytical philosophy ; v. 6
• Perspectives in analytical philosophy ; Bd. 10
• Perspectives in analytical philosophy ; Bd. 16-18
• Perspectives in analytical philosophy ; v. 19
• Perspectives in analytical philosophy ; 20

We urge you to bring the matter of series sorting to MARBI, to work with MARBI to find a scheme that will allow this important change to library systems to be implemented in the most efficient manner possible, and to enhance your system to present series in numerical order. Thank you for considering this request.

Sincerely yours,

[BIBCO library]