Acquisitions and Accessioning Manual

Overview

Workflows

For expediency, we perform all steps of the payment—order creation, invoice payment, receiving, scanning and mailing of paperwork—prior to editing any holdings or item records in Alma’s MD Editor.  Invoice processing is completed first; afterwards the book is prepared for the rare book catalogers’ shelves.

Workflow for Check Payments:

1. Select, download from OCLC, or create, a Bib Record in Alma
2. Create Order Record (POL) in Alma; this generates both holdings and item records
3. Create Invoice in Alma, uploading the scanned invoice received from vendor
4. Receive Items in Alma (as the last step in Invoice Creation)
5. Add invoice and dealer descriptions to the SharePoint folder for the current Fiscal Year
6. Open MD Editor and edit the Holdings Records and Items
7. Change Alma Desktop Location to HOU/THE Circulation and proceed to Fulfillment—Scan in Items; scan in the dummy barcode to eliminate “In Transit” status.* When done, return Alma Desktop Location to HOU Tech Services.
8. Create and print an HOUTS Aeon slip for the book, by copying and pasting from the Alma record
9. Dispatch item to Cataloger Shelves
   
   

* note that this process will not work if holdings already has “HD” in the 852 field; change to GEN to remove In Transit status, and then edit holdings record again to enter HD or final location code.

Workflow for Wire Transfer Payments:

1. Complete Currency Conversion Chart for all Invoice Lines
2. Complete Wire Transfer Authorization form
3. Select, download from OCLC, or create, a Bib Record in Alma
4. Create Order Record (POL) in Alma using the calculated price after the added 10%; this generates both holdings and item records
5. Create Wire Transfer Invoice in Alma using the calculated price after the added 10%, and uploading the scanned invoice received from vendor
   
6. Receive Items in Alma (as the last step in Invoice Creation)
7. Open Buy2Pay and create a Payment Request using the calculated price with the 10%
8. Combine the Wire Authorization Form, Invoice, Conversion Sheet, Oanda print-out, and dealer descriptions into one PDF file, with naming convention “[Vendor Code] [Invoice number] [Invoice Date]”  e.g. CRUISE 1570 2018-08-02
   
9. Upload this file to the SharePoint folder for the current Fiscal Year
10.  Return to MD Editor to edit holdings and item records
11.  Change location to HOU/THE Circulation and scan in the barcode for each item
12.  Create and print an HOUTS Aeon slip for each item, by copying and pasting from the Alma record
13.  Financial will edit the PO Lines in Alma after the wire transfer has been finalized, to reflect the actual dollar amounts used.

Workflow for Manuscript Material with Invoice:

1. Consult the Houghton Accessioning Form (Responses) Spreadsheet
2. Perform Control F search for the vendor on the invoice, and find the line item for the piece in hand
3. Determine from the curator's instructions whether a single-item Alma MS template, collection-level MS Alma template, or existing record (in the case of accruals) should be used in Alma
4.  A. New record (for an item or a collection):
   1. Using template, enter minimal information to identify the material and then suppress the record
   2. Create invoice in Alma, uploading the vendor's scanned invoice
   3. Upload the file to the SharePoint instance for current purchases
   4. Open Alma MD Editor, edit the holdings to reflect HOU/THE and 541 information (do not add a 920 field) and suppress the record
   5. Update Item record so that its status is "Available"
   6. Open Aeon under HOUTS, copy and paste Alma information into a new Aeon record for the item. Route request to "Technical Services - Manuscripts" and print out Aeon slip
   7. Deliver material and accompanying paperwork to the Accessioning Archivist
      
      
   B. Accrual to an existing record:
   1. Open designated bibliographic record in Alma
   2. Create order record and Alma invoice, uploading the vendor's scanned invoice
   3. Go to Alma MD Editor and open the item record generated during the order process
   4. Remove the POL number and click Save
   5. Withdraw the item record and delete the extra holdings record
   6. Open the preexisting holdings record and create new 541 field on top for the present acquisition. Include $$3 to identify the piece in hand.
   7. Create an Aeon slip, route, and deliver material and accompanying paperwork to the Accessioning Archivist
      
      

Workflow for Gift Books Received:

1. Consult the Houghton Accessioning Form (Responses) Spreadsheet
2. If the cohort of books is greater than 15 volumes, it will receive collection-level treatment.  For individual volumes, follow the procedure described below under "Accessioning Rare Books."
3. For collection-level treatment, follow the steps outlined in the /wiki/spaces/HoughtonTechnicalServices/pages/41180665

Use of 914 (No WorldCat) Field for all New and Incoming Records

Every original record created in Acquisitions, whether for print or manuscript material, should include a 914 field in the Bibliographic Record.  Every record imported from OCLC Connexion as a preliminary record should also have a 914 field added at the point of Acquisitions. 

The 914 field is removed by rare book catalogers later on in the workflow after all cataloging has been completed.

Before you begin the accessioning process, double-check contents of shipment against the invoice; be certain what has been received is what has been purchased.  If an export license is included with the invoice, ensure a scan of it is included with the file uploaded to SharePoint.

There are three types of books received at Houghton, based on bibliographic data available. Depending on which of these categories the item fits, early accessioning steps differ.

• Books with records extant in Alma

When a record for the book is already available in Alma, the accessioner should verify that it matches the item in hand by checking the LDR, 008, 1xx, 245, 260/264, and 300.  Add a 752 field if needed, but otherwise leave the record as found.  The rare book catalogers are responsible for completeness of these records.  The accessioner creates holdings and item records for the new accession as part of the acquisitions order process.   

• Books without records in Alma but with records in OCLC

If a record for the book cannot be located in Alma, the accessioner must then search OCLC.  An appropriate OCLC record should be exported to ALMA, and saved with a 914 field.  The accessioner then creates holdings and item records for the new accession as part of the acquisitions order process.   

• Books without records in Alma or OCLC

For items with no existing Alma or OCLC copy, the accessioner will create a stub bibliographic record, include a 914 field, and verify the main entry in Alma.  Holdings and item records, as above, will then be created as part of the order process.  Rare and reference materials with neither Alma nor OCLC copy (with the exception of Poetry rare and media materials) will be given to the Rare Book Section for original cataloging.

Processing a book:

Search Alma for the item.  Search by author and title (and other unique information, such as ISBN, if available).  If a Houghton duplicate copy is located, alert the appropriate curator; do not mark the item or proceed with other processing until the duplicate is resolved.  In some cases, Houghton collects duplicates for a variety of reasons; in other cases, a duplicate may have been erroneously purchased and the curator, once alerted, may wish to return the item to the vendor.  If one or more non-Houghton Harvard duplicates are located, choose the best record.  Note the Alma MMS ID number for unused duplicate records on the routing slip for the convenience of rare book catalogers. 

Records for microform or electronic resources may not be used as the bibliographic record for print books.  If no record is found in ALMA, search OCLC using the same strategies.  Pay attention to spelling and names; discrepancies in spelling and variant names can result in missed records.

Accessioning is not rare book cataloging.  Our charge is to create and modify records at a preliminary level, enabling rare book catalogers to then do their work.  That is why the fields mandated for a provisional record are relatively few; accessioning is about identifying the unique piece in hand and producing a foundational record which catalogers then flesh out.

Searching Alma and OCLC:

The accessioner will first perform a search in Alma to locate a matching bibliographic record.  An Advanced Search may be used; alternatively an “All Titles” and “Keywords” search in the persistent toolbar works well to locate records.

If no results are found in Alma, proceed to OCLC Connexion and search.  If a record is found, click “Export.”  A confirmation message will appear with the new MMS ID number created during the export process.  Copy and paste this number into Alma’s persistent search bar to retrieve the record in Alma.  Add a 914 field and click save.

If there is no copy available in Alma or OCLC:

 The accessioner will create a wholly-new stub bibliographic record.  In creating and populating a bibliographical record for which there is no pre-existing ALMA or OCLC copy, use a template in the Alma Metadata Editor. 

RDA Template for a book record at Houghton

 In-depth information on the fields and their uses may be obtained from the OCLC Bibliographic Formats and Standards pages for each:

100 field         Main Entry (Personal Name)

245 field         Title Statement

250 field         Edition Statement

264 field         Imprint (RDA)

300 field         Physical Description

752 field         Added entry (Geographical Name)

Remember that this “stub record” serves only as a placeholder until the cataloger creates a record in Connexion and overlays it.  As of 2018, cataloging should be taking place within Connexion rather than Alma.  The information presented in the stub should be accurate to ensure discovery by users during the interim, but time should be used judiciously in the creation of this record, with detail and description left to the cataloger. 

When you have located, imported, or created a stub bibliographic record in Alma, proceed to order creation.

Ownership Control (Purchase Order Creation)

At this stage of the accessioning process, order information can now be added in preparation for invoice payment.  Once created, an order record will attach to the bibliographic record; during the creation of a purchase order line, inventory (item and holdings records) will also be generated by the system. Because the bulk of Houghton materials are ordered from specialty vendors, we do not regularly create acquisitions records at the time an item is ordered (as would be the case in many other Harvard libraries).  Houghton curators purchase unique items, contact vendors, and manage funds for their collections.  Material is then shipped to Houghton Library, and arrives with invoices to be processed by Acquisitions.  This means that we create acquisitions records and record the receipt of material in one session.  Items for the Houghton Reading Room, Poetry, and other select non-rare items are ordered in a process which more closely resembles what occurs in most other libraries.

There are two ways to initiate the order creation process, depending on whether you are in the title results screen of Alma, or in the Metadata Editor (having just created or imported a record).

For a record located in Alma:

From the Titles list, locate the bibliographic record that you will use.  In the upper right-hand corner click on “Order.”  This may be one of the two action buttons, or it may be accessed by clicking on the ellipses button.

Order from Search Results List

For a record that was imported or created from the MD Editor:

Click on the bright blue shopping cart located on the right-hand side of the MD Editor toolbar. 

Order from within MD Editor

Clicking on the blue shopping cart results in the immediate performance of the following actions:

• It will save and release the bib from the MD Editor,
• It will check for duplicate bibs and offer options to do cleanup,
• It will check the bib for any errors or missing info,
• It will land you on the page to start placing your order.
  
  

Create Purchase Order Line - preliminary screen

The preliminary screen to initiate the order process will be context specific, based on the bibliographic record selected.  PO line type in the instance of a print book would be Print Book – One Time.  For all other items that are not print material (for example a CD or DVD, or an archival collection) select Physical – One Time.  The PO line owner is the unit placing the order—in this instance, Houghton Library Technical Services. “Houghton Library” should be selected as the “owner” for both regular Houghton and Theatre collection purchases.

Templates are available for use, and may also be created at the time an order is created.

De-select “Assign inventory manually.”  Holding and item records are always generated as part of the order creation process; as part of our workflow we opt to edit these records at the end of the accessioning process, in the MD Editor.

Click on “Create PO Line” to start the order.

A new window will open up with a blue alert indicating it is “In Review.”  All required fields to place an order are in the summary tab. 

You will see an ‘Unassigned’ location has been created.  Disregard that section for the order process. 

The required fields in the next sections are Vendor, Price, and Fund.  After entering the Vendor code, change the “Expected receipt after ordering” value to “0”.

Order Screen with fields ready for data entry

The Price and Fund sections must be entered in order—price before fund—in order for the values to be saved.

The final section, PO Line Details, does not contain required fields; however it is best practice to enter certain values. 

Under Acquisition method, always select “Purchase – Without Letter.”  This will prevent the system from emailing an order request to the vendor for the item we already have in hand. 

Confirm the Material Type. (This information will be put into the Item record Alma creates).

Enter the relevant Object Code for the item in the “Reporting code” drop-down menu. The codes are defined as follows:

Object Code        Type of material

7020                      Manuscripts & Archives Collections, GENERAL

7021                      Rare Books (Special Collections)

7022                      Manuscript & Archival Material  (Special Collections)

7023                      Serials  (Special Collections)

7024                      Audio-Visual Material (Special Collections)

7025                      Maps (Special Collections)

7026                      Graphic Materials (Special Collections)

7027                      Musical Scores (Special Collections)

7028                      Electronic Data (Special Collections)

7029                      Digitally Reformatted Material (Special Collections)

7031                      Books (non-rare; used for reference materials)

After all values have been entered, select “Order Now.”  (Be sure not to select “Save” or any of the other options—that will route the order into a review queue and not actually finish it.)  Record the POL-Line number on the invoice.  

Repeat the above and create an order record for every line item on the invoice.

Invoice Payment

It is Houghton policy to accession and pay for materials in one session.  This enables materials to move most quickly through the twinned accessioning and invoicing processes, prevents unnecessary handling of materials and lessens the chance for errors.

Examine the accompanying invoice.  Every invoice should contain:

• the vendor’s name and address
• the date the invoice was issued
• the vendor’s invoice number
• a list of the item(s) covered by the invoice
• the amount due and the currency of the billing (typically $, £, €)

If there is no invoice number, create one based on available information. For example: 2009-01-01 (date-based), or 4567890 (the final, unique digits from a very long Amazon order number).  If any other essential information is not present, please contact the curator.  Please note: accessioners are not responsible for collating; curatorial staff are.

Timeliness is of the essence when paying invoices.  Harvard’s policy is to pay invoices no earlier than 30 days after an invoice is issued; many vendors expect payment no later than 30 days after the invoice is issues, so we must do everything we can to ensure speedy accessioning of books and the processing of related invoices.  Curators should release books and invoices within five days of receipt.  It is policy that all incoming shelves be cleared at the end of each week; invoices are dispatched to Harvard Library Financial Services daily.

When a book and invoice are received by Acquisitions, staff should verify that the item is as described on the invoice and supporting documentation.

Procedure for paying an invoice in Alma:

From the persistent toolbar in Alma, navigate to: Acquisitions > Receiving and Invoicing > Create Invoice > Manually.  At Houghton we've opted to handle receiving at the time of invoicing.  Place a check-mark in the box “Handle Receiving.”

(Ensure that the location in the upper right-hand section of the screen is set to “Houghton Technical Services” so that you can Receive items a few steps later.)

Click “Next”

The Invoice details screen will display.  Complete the Summary Tab for the following fields:

• • • Invoice number
    • Vendor

Search by entering a vendor code or click to see a list, which can be searched by Name, Code, Library Name, etc.

• • • Total Amount
      • enter a positive amount for a regular (debit) invoice
      • enter a negative amount (with a - sign preceding the number) for a credit invoice

• • • Currency
    • Invoice Date
    • Payment method

This will default to the value on the Vendor account record, but you can override the default and change it on the invoice:

• • • • Accounting Department

  Choose this for regular check-payment invoices that will be sent to Financial for approval

• • • • Adjustment (Formerly CC)

  Use this to enter Adjustment invoices; such as for P-card purchases

• • • • Wire Transfer

  Use this when entering Wire transfer adjustments in Alma

Alert:

The invoice owner field defaults to "Harvard University" when using manual creation.  This must be changed to reflect the actual POL owner of the orders on the invoice—Houghton Library.

Additional Charges, VAT, and Payment Information Section: these fields will most likely be left blank; consult the Finance Office if you have any questions about these sections.

Once the 'Invoice Details' form is filled out, finish by clicking 'Save and Create Invoice Lines'

A blank 'Invoice Lines' tab will open

Upload Electronic Copy of the Invoice

Click on Attachments.  Upload an electronic copy of the invoice received.

Return to Invoice Lines Tab to add Purchase Order Lines

Click Add Invoice Line.

The Add Invoice Line form will open:

            Regular line items will use the default Type - Regular

            Postage lines will be Type - Shipment

Enter the PO line number.

After entering the PO Line number, you will see the 'Add invoice line' form is now populated with PO line number, Title, Price, Fund information, and Reporting Code, if applicable.

Completing a Manual Invoice Line

• Choose "Add and Close" to complete the current PO line, add it to the invoice, and return to the 'Invoice Lines' tab.
• Or (to perform other actions)
  • Choose "Add" to complete the current PO line (adding it to the invoice) and open a new, blank form for the next PO line to add.
  • Choose "Close" to exit the form and return to the 'Invoice Lines' tab without adding a new line;
  • To create another Invoice line, click Add Invoice Line again and repeat the process of filling out the 'Add Invoice Line' form.

If you have shipping charges:

• Go to the auto-generated “Shipment” line, and click on the ellipses.
  • Click “Edit”
  • Enter price, object code, and fund
  • Click “Save”

Shipping should be the last Invoice Line on an invoice.

Finally:

Choose Save and Go to Receiving to complete the invoice and place it in Alma reviewing queue for Finance.

Receiving

You will now be brought to the item receiving section.

Houghton TS is not using the Work Order feature so be sure that “Keep in department” is deselected when you receive items. 

Check-mark each line item, and in the upper right-hand corner click “Receive.”  This changes the Item Process for each item from "Acquisition" to “In Transit.” At the end of processing, remove the "In Transit" status via Fulfillment (see below).

Upload a copy of the invoice and dealer descriptions to the Acquisitions electronic records SharePoint folder for the current fiscal year.

Manuscript material

Manuscripts follow a separate workflow from printed materials, and are accessioned by the Accessioning Archivist.  Payment of manuscript purchases, however, takes place in the Acquisitions Section.  The procedure is described below.

Manuscript processing workflow with invoice:

Upon receipt of manuscript / archival material and invoice, Acquisitions staff will consult the appropriate entry in the Houghton Accessioning Form (Responses) spreadsheet. Unless otherwise indicated, a suppressed stub bibliographic record and holdings record should be created, and an invoice generated following the same process as outlined for books.  After payment of the invoice in Alma the Acquisitions Assistant should manually create an Aeon slip for the material, and route material with accompanying dealer's descriptions to the Accessioning Archivist for accessioning and continued processing.

An exception to this process is as follows:

Accruals to an archival collection

In these cases (usually a single autograph letter, or a screenplay for example) the creation of a new bibliographic record is not necessary.  The spreadsheet entry will include the call number of the existing record to which the order information should be attached.  The Acquisitions Assistant should add a new 541 field to the existing holdings record, and withdraw the auto-generated item records that result from the order creation process.  If multiple 541 fields exist, the most current should be added to the top of the list.

Electronic Invoice Storage

Houghton maintains an electronic copy of each invoice with its accompanying documentation (dealer description, curator email instructions, export license, etc.).  Files are added to the SharePoint folder for the current fiscal year by Acquisitions staff following payment of the invoice.

Holdings Control

After the order record has been created, the holdings and item records must be updated to reflect the acquisitions details and accession number.  The holdings record contains acquisitions information corresponding to the order record, collection and shelf location information, and copy-specific notes.

Procedure:

Assign an accession number to the item in hand, and write it in pencil on the verso of the title page, in the upper left-hand corner (e.g. 2014-144).  Until the item is classed by the rare book team, the accession number serves as call number. 

Most printed material is assigned an accession number (exceptions to this rule are Poetry books, Theodore Roosevelt books, and currently-received serials).  The number is sequential by year of receipt (e.g. 2014-144).  In the cases of Theatre and Printing & Graphic Arts material, separate numbers are maintained (e.g. 2014T-144 and 2014H-144).  The stock of available numbers is kept online and managed by the Bibliographic Assistant. Until July 1, 2017, Houghton accessioning years and university fiscal years were at variance, with accessioning years being a year behind fiscal years. On July 1, 2017, the university's fiscal year 2018 began; so, too, did Houghton's accessioning year. Because of this, Houghton's accessions do not show an accessioning year 2017.

Books received within the past five years but unaccessioned until the present receive an accession number which continues the numbering for the year in which the item was received (e.g.  2011-1025).  Items received six or more years ago but being accessioned only now receive an accession date for the current year, with the phrase "(old acquisition)" added to the subfield c in the 541 field.

To update the recently created holdings record, perform a title search in the persistent search bar and bring up the bibliographic record for the newly acquired item.

Click on the hyperlinked location to view the auto-created holdings record, and then click “Edit” in the upper right-hand corner.  Another way to access the holdings record is to click on the ellipses and select “Holdings.”  From the Holdings view, click on the ellipses and select “Edit.”  This brings the holdings record into the MD Editor. 

From here, expand from a local template to add the 541 field information and Houghton-specific reporting fields.  As of January 2019 we are no longer using the H09 field—instead, a 920 field will be used to capture this data. 

Each field in the screenshot above contains essential (and, in some cases, mandatory, information).  Please note that all MARC fields should be entered and displayed in numerical order.  Local Harvard numbers (9XX) should follow the MARC tags.

LDR __    #####nx##a22#####1n#4500

Information in the leader film is system-supplied in the holdings record.

Note that byte 7 (underlined above) should be modified if necessary to indicate one of these options:

x = monograph

y = serial

v = multi-volume set

008 __    ######2u####8###4001uu###0000000

Most information in 008 is set by default.  Please be certain these bytes are coded correctly:

For single-item monographs:

06     Receipt or acquisition status = 2   (received and complete or ceased)

07     Method of acquisition = p (purchase).  It may also be coded d (deposit), g (gift) or u (unknown); unknown is not an option for newly-received material.

16    Completeness = 4 (for single-part items)

For serials:

06     Receipt or acquisition status = 2   (received and complete or ceased), 4 (currently received, for active subscriptions), or 5 (not currently received, but not a full run of the serial)

07     Method of acquisition = p (purchase).  It may also be coded d (deposit), g (gift) or u (unknown); unknown is not an option for newly-received material.

16    Completeness = 1   (Complete (95-100%)), 2  (Incomplete (50-94%)), or  3   (Scattered (0-49%))

For multi-volume sets:

06     Receipt or acquisition status = 2   (received and complete or ceased), 4 (currently received, for open orders for a continuously-published set), or 5 (not currently received, but not a complete set)

07     Method of acquisition = p (purchase).  It may also be coded d (deposit), g (gift) or u (unknown); unknown is not an option for newly-received material.

16    Completeness = 1   (Complete (95-100%)), 2  (Incomplete (50-94%)), or  3   (Scattered (0-49%))

541 1_    $c [Method of acquisition]; $a [Name of vendor or donor]; $$b [(city, state) or (city, country) if the vendor is a company;]  $d [date on the invoice in the form yyyy/month/dd];  $e [accession number]; $h [name of the fund used]. $5 hou

The 541 field records the Immediate Source of Acquisition.  The first indicator is coded 1 so that this information displays in the public catalog.  This public catalog display is in field order (e.g. a, c, d, e, h).

For Houghton acquisitions, subfields are populated as follows (and in this order):

$c - purchase, deposit, or gift; this will agree with the coded information in byte 7 of the 008 field. 

$a - source of the acquisition (vendor, or donor name).

$b - city and state/country in parenthesis, if the vendor is a company. Otherwise, omit this field.

$d - date of the accession. For purchased items, this is the invoice or contract date; for gifts, this is the date the material physically arrived at Houghton.

$e - accession number.

$h - Fund name(s) utilized in the purchase ($h is not used for gifts).

$5 - Holding library. For most of our records the $5 will be hou (Houghton) or the (Theatre).

The coded entry for this purchase:

541 1_ $$c Purchase; $$a Aux Amateurs de Livres International; $$b (Paris, France); $$d 2020 November 1; $$e 2021-5000; $$h C. Robert and Elinor C. Foltz Book Fund. $$5hou

is rendered in the public catalog as:

Source of acquisition:    Aux Amateurs de Livres International; (Paris, France); Purchase; 2020 November 1; 2021-5000; C. Robert and Elinor C. Foltz Book Fund.   

There is no 561 field related to this acquisition. 

The coded entry for this gift:

541 1_ $$c Gift; $$a John Harvard, in honor of Ann Sadler; $$d 2020 November 1; $$e 2021-5001. $$5hou

is rendered in the public catalog as:

Source of acquisition:    John Harvard, in honor of Ann Sadler; Gift; 2020 November 1; 2021-5001.   

There is no 561 field related to this acquisition.

Before November 1, 2020, slightly different procedures were followed. Plans for retrospective editing of field 541 are in progress. At present, no retrospective editing in field 541 should be performed for materials received before November 1, 2020.

• Material received before November 1, 2020 followed these procedures:

541 0_    $c Purchase   $a [Name of vendor or donor]; $d [date on the invoice in the form year/month/day];  $e [accession number];  $h [name of the fund used].  $5 hou

The 541 field records the Immediate Source of Acquisition.  The first indicator is coded 0 so that this information does not display in the public catalog.  For Houghton acquisitions, subfields are populated as follows (and in this order:

$c - purchase, deposit, or gift; this will agree with the coded information in byte 7 of the 008 field. 

$a - source of the acquisition (vendor, or donor name).

$d - date of the accession. For purchased items, this is the date on the invoice or contract; for gifts, this is the date the material physically arrived at Houghton.

$e - accession number.

$h - Fund name(s) utilized in the purchase ($h is not used for gifts).

$5 - Holding library. For most of our records the $5 will be hou (Houghton) or the (Theatre).

Field changes made in October 2020:

$b - Addresses:

As of October 19, 2020 we no longer record addresses of vendors or donors; these were previously recorded in the $b (which is now unused for Houghton materials).

• • • For most purchases, vendor information for established dealers is contained in the Alma vendor file, maintained by HL/HCL Financial. This is sufficient, permanent information.
    • For third-party purchases (PayPal, Alibris, ABE Books, etc.), we are typically supplied with data regarding the bookdealer. This information should be entered in the note tab of the POL in the form: Purchased from Fonograf Editions, 101 SE Division St, Portland, OR 97202. This information does not display in the public catalog.
    • For gifts, this information should be entered in the note tab of the POL in the form: Gift of Heather Hyde Minor, Via Ostilia, 15, Roma 00184, Italy. This information does not display in the public catalog.

For records created before October 20, 2020, the following organization of information was followed regarding addresses:

$c Purchase; $a Eric Smith, Bookseller; $b 18 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 ...

$h - Prices:

As of October 1, 2020 we no longer record price information here); if the item is a gift, subfield h will contain no data. 

An authorized list of funds (with fund numbers and allocations) is maintained in the groups drive for the Accessioning and End Processing Section.  Consult this list for the complete fund name and always indicate the complete name in the holdings record and on the routing slip for each item.  If more than one fund is used for a purchase, indicate all funds used in the order of the amount used from each fund (greatest to least amount(s)).

Precision is critical.  There are a number of fund names which share common elements (including donors), and often these funds must be used for very specific purposes.

The curator selects the appropriate funds to use for each purchase, and will annotate the invoice accordingly.  Most of the time, an item is paid for using funds from one account.  In some cases, two or more funds may be used, and this should be reflected in the holdings record.  Always indicate the fund used for the purchase of the item in subfield h. Please indicate funds in order of the amount used, greatest to least.  Prior to October 1, 2020, fund amounts were indicated in subfield h. Purchase price information is archived in the Acquisitions subsystem in Alma, and the former procedure is no longer necessary.

For records created before October 1, 2020, the following organization of information was followed regarding purchases:

$h  $150.00 (Aloian Book Fund). - for single-fund purchases.

$h  $200.00 ($160.00 - Amy Lowell Trust; $40.00 - Douglas W. Bryant Fund). - for multiple-fund purchases.

$h  £150.00 = $241.32 (Stanley Marcus Endowment for Rare Books). - for converted currency purchases.

852 8_    $$a HOU  $$c GEN $$h 2014-       

The 852 records call number information.  The first indicator is coded to reflect the shelving scheme, either 0 or 8. When 0 is the first indicator, the classification scheme used is Library of Congress (LC).  When the first indicator is 8 the call numbering scheme is a special scheme (the Houghton main author class, TS, HRef, etc. are special schemes). 

Subfield b indicates the collection, subfield c the shelving location, and subfield h is the call number field. The Houghton collections include HOU (Houghton), THE (Theatre Collection) and POE (George Woodberry Poetry Room in Lamont Library).  The shelving locations include HRR (Houghton Reading Room, LC class), HD (Harvard Depository), HTCLC (Theatre, LC class), and HOULC (Houghton, LC class).  This field also serves as a size indicator for stacks staff—if the item is greater than 28 cm. it should be marked F (folio) or if it is a flat file, it should be coded according to its box size (see Broadsides).  Be sure that any material purchased by the Harvard Theatre Collection curator is coded to THE in the 852 $b and in every $5; additionally, the 040 code in the Bibliographic record should be MH-HT.  If a curator indicates an item should be sent to Harvard Depository, code the 852 $c HD.  Enter the accession number into the 852 $h; it will serve as a temporary call number until the material is fully cataloged.

As of April 2020 the 908 field is no longer used.  See 914 field instead.

908 __    $$a p  $$b yyyymmdd

908 is a Harvard-specific field indicating cataloging status.  Subfield a should always be coded p when acessioning (preliminary (not cataloged)); subfield b indicates date, and should be the day accessioning takes place, presented in the form yyyymmdd)

920 11    $$a

• • 920 (repeatable) - use the appropriate codes as follows (all subfields are mandatory): 

    • $a - type of cataloging (see guidelines below)

      • c - copy cataloged

      • e - enhanced

      • o - original

      • a - accessioned

    • $d - cataloged date [yyyymmdd]

    • $e - HO [code for Houghton Library]

    • $f - cataloger’s NetID

    • $x - curatorial department code

    • • earbm-Early Books and Manuscripts

      • hyde-Early Modern and Hyde

      • modbm-Modern Books and Manuscripts

      • wpr-Woodberry Poetry Room

      • htc-Harvard Theatre Collection

      • pga-Printing and Graphic Arts

To populate the 920 field, click on the PowerShall shortcut. (Instructions for downloading this shortcut are available here in the Houghton TS Wiki.)  Indicate which level of cataloging you are doing (for this process, “a” for accessioning) and the collection division section this item is being added to.  Then right-click in the field and select “paste,” and the preformed data string will appear.

The 920 may also be edited by hand, as any MARC field.

** Note: the 920 field should only be added to the holdings of printed material being accessioned at the time of payment.  Do not add this field if the material in hand is going to the manuscript section.  The Accessioning Archivist will add the 920 in those cases.

Finally, if the item requires an enclosure–either a prefab or a CMI case as indicated by the curator on the routing slip–an additional field must be created.  Type in 563 _ _ and enter the type of enclosure, followed by its size if it's a prefab.  Add another subfield and code it $$5 hou for Houghton library, as the information in this field will apply only to Houghton's copy of the book.  Without a $$5 library code, the information will be appended to the main bibliographic record.

Example:

563 _ _  $$a  In prefab, 36 cm. $$5 hou

Once you have entered all the necessary information, click "Save."  The holdings record is then complete (for accessioning purposes).

Item Control

At this point of the process, the item record will be marked “Not Available” in the catalog.  Following creation of the invoice and receiving, the item status will show as “In Transit.” The item record must be edited to reflect Item Status 91 (so that patrons may request it in Aeon) and then moved out of transit, so it displays as “Available.”

Single Items

For a single monographic item, one record is appropriate. 

For all Houghton items except Poetry, the appropriate Item Policy is 91 (Special Collections Requestable).
Poetry materials' item policies are as follows:

• For recordings shelved in WPR (POECASS, POECD, POECDROM, POEDAT, POEDISC, POEDVD, POEVID, the code is 62 (In-library use, may not be shared via ILL). 
• For recordings shelved at Houghton, POETAPEA, materials are coded 97 (Special Collections Non-requestable), and are suppressed in the holdings record. 
• For archival recordings shelved at Houghton, POEMEDIA, materials are coded 97 (Special Collections Non-requestable), and are suppressed in the holdings record. 
• WPR reference materials, POEREF, are coded 02 (in-library use, and may be shared via ILL).
• Circulating materials GEN are not handled by Houghton staff.

The Status indicates whether or not the item is currently on the shelf.  The Process Type indicates which workflow an item is in, if it’s not on the shelf.  This causes the display in the public catalog to indicate an item is held at Houghton, but is currently unavailable for regular reading room requests through Aeon. 

Item Record for a single volume in Alma

Update the Item policy to "Special Collections" and click Save.  Then proceed to update the Process Type as described below, so the item is marked "Available."

Multi-Volume Sets

If an accession consists of a multipart set, follow the steps above, while also adding the appropriate number of item records for each volume.  Indicate the volume number or part in the Description field (e.g. v.1) and in the Enumeration fields.

Indicate volume number in the language of publication (v. = volume in English; t. = tome in French, etc.).  For a list of acceptable abbreviations, see VII.7. Volume Literals in the Rare Book Team Cataloging manual.

Multiple Copies of the Same Item

Each copy of a title at Houghton should have its own holdings record. Copy information is reflected in the 852, using (A), (B), etc. at the end of the call number (including for LC call numbers).  The 852 $t and the "Copy Number" field in the item record are not to be used.  When we have multiple copies of a multi-volume title, the call number should be formatted:

GC7.M9702V.1815 (A) v.2, pt.3

The call number and copy information is in the Holdings record (852 field), and the volume designation is in the item record.  On the routing slip for end-processors, manually include the information contained in the Item record Description field (in this example, v.2, pt.3).

Moving an Item from “In Transit” to “Available”

• Change the Alma Location in the upper right-hand corner of your Alma Desktop to either “Houghton Circulation” or “Theatre Circulation,” depending on the source of the item in hand.
• Open the item record in Alma. Highlight and copy the system-provided barcode (usually beginning with ‘alma’).
• From the persistent tool bar on top of the page, go to Fulfillment – Scan In Items
• Paste the barcode into “Scan item barcode” box. Register in-house use box should be deselected. Click “OK”
  
  

* note that this process will not work if the holdings record already has “HD” in the 852 field; change to GEN to remove In Transit status, and then edit holdings record again to enter HD or final location code.

The following screen will appear, usually with Destination as "Reshelve to GEN," indicating the item was successfully removed from "In Transit" status.

The item should now display as available in Alma, and in the discovery layer for patrons to see and request.