Alma Cataloging Procedures

Identifying "cataloged" and "uncataloged" bibliographic records in Alma

NYARC has a longstanding policy of permitting catalogers to upgrade or overlay any "uncataloged" bibliographic records in the shared catalog. Usually, an uncataloged record is a brief "stub" record added to the catalog as a placeholder until a full-level record can be created by a cataloger. In Sierra, "uncataloged" records were easily identified by their lack of a cataloging date in the "cataloging date" fixed field. Because Alma lacks an equivalent field, there is no simple, cross-consortial identifying characteristic of an uncataloged record.

A "cataloged" record is a full-level record that does not require any further editing.

The following are guidelines for identifying cataloged and uncataloged bibliographic records at each library.

MoMA records

"Cataloged" records for materials with a publication date of 2007 or after

A MoMA record should be considered "cataloged" if it contains a cataloger's initials at the end of an 852$x (except for Frontlog location records; see below).

Examples:

852 0_ |a NNMoMA |h N6758 |i .A117 2009 |x OR20110506df

852 0_ |a NNMoMA |h AM65.A2 |i J67 2006 |x MO20181029df |x 2019FY |x 2018CY

852 0_ |a NNMoMA |h NA1123.B258 |i C46 2008 |x CO20180507ame |x 2018FY |x 2018CY

Fully cataloged records created before 2007 (i.e. prior to the implementation of MoMA's current statistics system)

[TBD]

"Uncataloged" MoMA records

MoMA currently does not create brief placeholder records except in rare circumstances. However, there are many "uncataloged" MoMA records in Alma.

Frontlog records

Any record with the item location MoMA Offsite Frontlog A (mq9) or MoMA Offsite Frontlog B (mq9b) can be considered uncataloged, and therefore may be upgraded or overlaid. Disregard any 852 fields that contain initials or statistical codes.

ALL CAPS records

Any MoMA record, in any item location, entered in all capital letters may be considered uncataloged.