V.5. Multi-Part Items & Serials

The 853/863, 854/864, and 855/865 paired fields should be used for all currently active serials. They should also be used if at all possible when cataloging multi-part titles and dead serials. (For further guidance on the use of these fields in various cataloging situations, see the Harvard Library Best Practices document MARC Holdings Examples).

If paired fields for a dead serial or multipart work are exceedingly complex and burdensome, it is permissible to use textual holdings statement fields (966, 967, and 968) in their stead.  If this decision is made, remember that the fixed fields still need to be coded for a serial record (i.e. the LDR 06 needs to be a "v" or a "y"; the 008 bytes 06 and 16 need filling in for the serial holdings). Note that the 866, 867, and 868 fields should not be used to record holdings, as Alma generates these fields automatically from paired fields for display purposes. Instead, the 9XX fields have been designated for manual entry.

Multi-part items shelved in different locations

Occasionally a multi-part item will be shelved in two or more locations, e.g., text and atlas shelved separately. In such cases, create separate holdings records for the parts in each shelving location, i.e. with a different 852 subfield $$c. The 853/863 and 854/864 fields in each holdings record should reflect only the parts therein. The following example is for a 4-volume text with oversize 2-volume atlas shelved separately:

852 8_ $$c GEN $$h Typ 815.26.2570
853 20 $$8 1 $$a v.
863 40 $$8 1.1 $$a 1-4

852 8_ $$c PF $$h Typ 815.26.2570 
854 03 $$8 1 $$a (unit) $$b v.
864 41 $8 1.1 $$a atlas $$b 1-2