Chapter 5. How to cope with changes
Integrating resources are dynamic by their nature; they change frequently. If a resource changed, the cataloging record should be also changed. There is a tendency to minimize the number of records for similar or related resources. The new concept of small changes that do not require the new entry was introduced to cataloging community in the new revision of AACR2. As the result, catalogers will need to work more with existing records, and create less new records.
As stated in PCC cataloging manual,
“For integrating resources, most changes are considered to be minor and do not require the creation of a new bibliographic record. The bibliographic description is changed to reflect the current iteration and the information about earlier iterations is recorded in notes if considered to be important.”[1]
If a record for an IR is found in the OCLC database, and the found copy describes the earlier iteration of the database, a cataloger needs to update the record according to a current state of the resource viewed at the time of cataloging.
The found copy can be used even if
1. There are variations in the title
2. There is a different edition
Exception: a previous edition still exists as a separate resource (see p.38 (5) of this manual).
Is it still the same web resource?3. There are changes in a place, publisher/distributor, and dates.
4. There are changes in a physical description (e.g., black and white v. color, .doc files v. .pdf, size of an IR, etc.), but no changes in a format ( a resource still can be described as a remote IR).
5. There are changes in series.
Record maintenance
[1] PCC/BIBCO Participant’s Manual. Appendix A. Integrating Resources: A Cataloging Manual. August 2003: I-15 p.1.
