Dear all,

Having recently converted from UKMARC to MARC21, we am still unsure about 
how to deal with multipart items with distinct titles. Having looked at the 
Library of Congress MARC21 examples and items on OCLC, we are still 
confused! There seems to be a lack of consistency in how these items are 
dealt with.

I have a few specific queries below, but if anyone has any general guidelines 
on cataloguing multipart items in MARC21, I would be grateful to see these.


Query 1
Is the correct order in the 245 field (where the item includes title, volume 
number, volume title, gmd, subtitle and author): a, n, p, h, b, c  or  a, b, n, p, 
h, c? 

Both options seem to be used as examples (reproduced below) on the Library 
of Congress website http://www.loc.gov/marc/bibliographic/bd245.html, but it 
seems odd to place the subtitle of the full title after the n and p volume 
information (example 1). 
Or is it the case that, in example 1, the subtitle appertains only to the volume 
title (in subfield p)? Whereas in example 2 the subtitle belongs to the title 
proper (in subfield a)?

Example 1
245 00 $aDeutsche Bibliographie.$pWöchentliches Verzeichnis.$nReihe 
B,$pBeilage, Erscheinungen ausserhalb des Verlagsbuchhandels :$bAmtsblatt 
der Deutschen Bibliothek.

Example 2
245 00 $aLove from Joy :$bletters from a farmer’s wife.$nPart III,$p1987-
1995, At the bungalow.


Query 2
I've been looking for an example of a MARC21 245 field where there is a title 
proper with a $c subfield and then a volume noted (n and p) (which may or 
may not have an additional statement of responsibility of its own). How are 
these items dealt with?
We followed the BL conversion tables and our existing data has converted to:
245 $aThe Mackenzie King record /$cJ.W. Pickersgill. Vol. 1, 1939-1944.

Is this correct? Or should the field always have a $n and $b, whether there is 
a $c already present or not?

It seems strange to put the volume information in the 245 field but not to 
place it in subfields n and p. This means that the information can't be 
identified separately and searched upon.


Query 3
Have other libraries tended to use the 245 $n and $p MARC21 option for 
multipart titles? Or have other libraries preferred to place all multipart item 
information in notes fields and add volume number information to the item 
records?
There has been much discussion about multipart items on international lists 
and it seems that quite a few people are beginning to wish that MARC21 had 
retained the 248 field....


Best wishes,
Hannah


Hannah Mateer
Acquisitions and Metadata Manager
Birkbeck College Library
Malet Street
London
WC1E 7HX

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020 7631 6460