Scope: This document outlines the procedures that the staff of Library Technical Services follow when acquiring, licensing, and cataloging electronic resources.
Contact: Liisa Mobley, Pam Stansbury
Unit: E-Resources/Cataloging
Date last updated:
Date of next review: May 2023
LICENSING AND ACQUISITIONS
NEW LICENSED NETWORKED RESOURCES
E-Resources Unit staff receive a request to process a licensed resource via the Networked Electronic Resource Form (NERF), located at https://nerf.library.cornell.edu/nerf.php. Once the NERF is submitted, it is automatically entered into the e-resources tracking system. Items are processed according to the E-Resources Priorities & Expectations Statement: Requests for New or Enhanced Access to a Particular E-resource or Aggregator, https://confluence.cornell.edu/x/R4fxBg . Note: the terms, “NERF” and “e-resources tracking system” may be used interchangeably in parts of this document.
Searching
E-resources staff search FOLIO to see if we already have a record for the requested resource. It we have an existing bibliographic record, verify with the selector that it is the same resource as requested in the NERF. The NERF is given either “Cancelled” status or processed further.
If the title is not a duplicate, or if we are ordering another version of an existing resource, E-resources staff will search Ebsco Holdings Management under “Titles.” If there are no hits, search under “journal,” “book,” “other,” “database,” or “provider.” Notate “in ebsco” or “not in ebsco” in the NERF “Description and access comments” field.
E-resources staff also search OCLC to see if a cataloged record already exists, and records the OCLC number in the NERF “Description and access comments” field.
Licensing
E-resources licensing staff will review the license or terms and conditions required for use of the resource. If the licensing terms are acceptable to the Cornell University Library, licensing staff will sign the license, if needed, and assign the NERF to the appropriate e-resources staff person to order the resource.
ORDER RECORD CREATION
When ready to create a FOLIO record, export an appropriate catalog record from OCLC, if available, or create a preliminary record in Inventory. Preliminary records should include a title, publisher, and URL (if available). If the record in FOLIO is not in MARC, notify Pam Stansbury to request a MARC record.
Suppress the bibliographic and attached holdings record until a working link is provided and full access is confirmed. All proprietary (restricted) resource URLs must contain the "proxy" prefix (http://proxy.library.cornell.edu/login?url=). Create a PURL for integrating resources, and other resources as needed; refer to LTS Procedure #123. Purchase orders will be attached to order records.
Exceptions: Order records for subject collections of ebooks or ejournals will usually remain suppressed, as we will rely on the title-level bibliographic records for access. Collection-level order records will also often not contain a URL, but will contain enough descriptive information to identify the resource for payment of invoices.
Resource only accessible via ID and password.
In most cases, the preferred access route for access is via IP addresses, but sometimes licensing or limitations of the platform require the use of a user name and password to access a resources. Often, the user name and password will not be available to us until the resource has been purchased. There are two possibilities for user name/password access:
Resource licensed for Cornell use. Some resources licensed for general Cornell use are accessible only through a vendor-assigned username and password. NOTE: Generally, scripting is not an option - webpages are not usually designed to allow for easy scripting, and no programmers are currently assigned to do any scripting. It is strongly recommended to find other methods of access, such as by having a reference desk handle requests from patrons. Licensing staff will contact the vendor about other means for authenticating users.
Resource licensed for use only at specific workstations. Include both a 506 general access restrictions note and an 856 $z note with specific access instructions in the Voyager record. The Holdings location must be something other than "serv,remo" (generally the library location of the specific workstation).
EZ PROXY TO ENSURE SMOOTH ACCESS FROM OFF-CAMPUS
New resources with new domains need to be added to EZproxy. New resources with existing domains in the EZproxy config file do not need new entries in most cases. Please refer to this document for instructions:
CATALOGING OR BATCH PROCESSING OF MARC RECORDS
Once the resource has been activated, e-resources staff unsuppress the bib and holdings records, and notify the appropriate cataloging staff via the NERF. If batch records are required, E-resources staff or Batch Processing staff will handle the MARC record selection; they will consult with Cataloging staff as needed.
Aggregators / special projects. Guidelines for the processing of aggregations and other sets of electronic resources may vary from those listed above on a project-by-project basis.
CATALOGING NETWORKED ELECTRONIC RESOURCES
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
This document provides local usage guidelines and examples for cataloging electronic resources in Folio. For a complete list of field definitions, appropriate tags, and national standards, consult MARC21 and the Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) for BIBCO and CONSER documentation.
While it is important for us to conform to both national standards and local policy, keep in mind that standards and policies for the cataloging of e-resources are a moving target and may change frequently.
Separate records
When Cornell holds print and electronic versions of the same resource, our policy is to create separate MARC records.
If cataloging is requested for multiple e-journals or e-monographs in an aggregation, automated approaches to record generation will be explored and implemented whenever feasible. User needs, cost, speed of cataloging, and record maintenance requirements are taken into consideration.
Linking print and electronic versions.
Cornell does not generally add additional physical form notes or entries.
FIXED FIELDS
Electronic resources are coded in the Leader for their most significant aspect (Ii.e., language material, graphic, cartographic material, sound, music, moving image). If the resource is essentially the equivalent of a print item but in electronic form, use the same Type code you would use for the print version. Use the computer file format (Leader/06 "Type" = m) only if the item is primarily computer software, numeric data, computer-oriented multimedia, or an online system or service.
Follow MARC21 bibliographic guidelines for the use of the 006, 007, and 008 fields. For networked resources, use an 007 for Electronic Resource, with "Specific Material Designation" set to "r" (remote). Code other bytes as appropriate.
VARIABLE FIELDS: FIELD-BY-FIELD INSTRUCTIONS
050 _4 -- LC call number (local). Add only to new records for Database Names, if not already present. If only an 090 is available, retag it as an 050 _4.
130 -- Uniform title. When a uniform title is needed to distinguish an online version from a print version, use the qualifier "Online". If you need to distinguish multiple electronic versions that are distributed by different publishers or aggregators, use a uniform title with multiple qualifiers. Uniform titles are not used for reproductions.
245 -- Transcribe the title exactly as to wording, order, and spelling, but not necessarily as to punctuation and capitalization. Do not transcribe words that serve as an introduction and are not intended to be part of the title (i.e., the title appears on resource as: Welcome to NASA quest. Transcribe the 245 as NASA quest).
Always give the source of the title proper in a note.
245 -- Statement of responsibility. Give in $c only if a formal statement is given in the chief source of information. Do not create one, if one isn’t present.
246 -- Variant titles. Enter any variant title which pertains to the entire work in this field. Remote access resources may contain variant titles on the title screen or at other locations in the file. Such variants may include: "at head of title" phrases, running titles, or abbreviated titles in header information or at the end of the file. File or directory names may constitute other legitimate variant titles if it may be reasonably assumed that a user would search for the resource using those names. The title bar in the Web browser displays the HTML document title as coded in the document source. Such a title can be recorded as a title variant or can confirm as the title proper another variant that is not clearly presented in the publication..
247 -- Former title proper. For title changes, when all issues have been reformatted with new title, 247 contains the earlier title proper and what is known about the dates it carried. See CONSER Manual 31.18.
250 -- Edition statement. Include only if present on the resource.
260 -- Publication, distribution, etc. Publisher and date are sometimes difficult to find and establish. If the resource lacks a formal publication statement, but internal or external evidence indicates that it emanates from an institution or organization, consider the institution or organization to be the publisher and the location of the institution or organization to be the place of publication.
300 -- Physical description. Use“1 online resource”
310 -- Frequency. for continuing resources, consider the frequency of updates to be the frequency of resource.
336/337/338 – Content type, Media type, Carrier type. See Physical description: General information and RDA basics.
362 -- Designation. Use the unformatted 362 (1st indicator 1) to supply numbering/dates of publication whenever this information is available.
500/588 -- Source of title proper/ Source of description. For any electronic resource, the source of title proper must be specified. Add the date the title was viewed in parentheses following the source of title proper.
506 -- Access restrictions. When a resource is not freely available, and the electronic location is given in the 856 field, the restriction is noted in the 506 field. For record-sharing purposes, use generic wording in this note rather than Cornell-specific language.
520 -- Summary. Provide a brief, objective summary of the purpose and content of the item, if needed. The content of the note may be derived from the resource’s introductory information or composed by the cataloger (in consultation with the selector, if necessary). Use phrases or complete sentences, but be sure to include several key words that identify the item’s use and purpose.
This note is required on all Cornell records for Database Names.
530 -- Other physical formats. If the site comprises the online version of a print title, or the material is also available on CD-ROM, include this information in a 530 note.
538 -- System requirements. For remote access files, this note identifies a specific program or type of program needed for use with the file, or special hardware requirements. Use only to record non-standard system requirements.
538 -- Mode of access. This field is required only to record non-standard modes of access.
6XX -- LCSH. Assign LC subject headings according to the guidelines in LC’s Subject Cataloging Manual: Subject Headings.
653 -- Local Subject Captions. Use only on records for Database Names. See E-Resources: Local MARC fields (LTS Procedure #96b)
7XX -- Added entries. For full-level cataloging, trace persons or corporate bodies listed in the 245 $c that are not used as main entry and those listed in the 260. If considered important, persons and corporate bodies mentioned in notes may be traced at the discretion of the cataloger.
710 -- Corporate added entry. For full-level cataloging, generally trace producers / distributors even if they are not responsible for the content of the item.
730/740 02 -- Title added entries (analytic). Use if the resource contains important discrete parts with separate titles.
856 -- Electronic location and access Check the URL to be sure it is correct.
899 -- Local series code. Assigned by E-Resources staff.
906 -- Local rights designation field. Assigned by E-Resources staff.
948 -- Local statistics and marker field. Indicate the special format with the "Statistical code" field in Inventory.
Holdings and item records. Use the location "serv,remo" and "ONLINE" in the "Call number prefix" for all networked electronic resources. Additional access notes may be added to the "Holdings notes" field in the FOLIO holdings record.
Call number. An LC-type call number is required for Database Names resources only. An LC-style call number can be assigned to any eresource, per cataloger judgement. If the electronic resource is essentially a reproduction of a print version owned by Cornell, add the work letter "b" to the last element in the call number for the electronic version to distinguish it from the print call number. For unclassified resources, use the text "No call number" in the "Call number" field. In these cases, make sure the Call number type" is "Other scheme".