CONTENTS:

Problem. Charge.
Background.
Preservation replacement and reformatting. Definitions
Triage
Selector review. Quality control
Microfilm control: call number and storage
Preservation/Cataloging workflow. Purchasing a replacement -- Creating a replacement (microfilm) -- Creating a replacement (photocopy)
Handling of original item. Special cases.

Jump to part 2: Cataloging Procedures for Preservation Replacements

Problem:

A number of ad-hoc procedures for the cataloging and processing of replacements have developed over the last decade. Discussions between Preservation Department staff and Catalog Department staff have demonstrated the need for a formal review of existing procedures.

Charge:

1. Examine existing replacement cataloging procedures in the Catalog Department and the Preservation Department (including NEH projects)

2. Define and recommend procedures necessary for processing and cataloging Preservation replacements.

3. Given the set of procedures, examine the possible responsible parties (departments/units) where each of these procedures could occur, and make recommendations.

4. Prepare documentation appropriate for Preservation and Catalog Department use.

5. Recommend possible training strategies.

Task force members:

David Walls, Co-Chair
Cecile Mandour, Co-Chair
Robert Killheffer
Fanny Hsieh
Rebecca Mugridge

Background

The task force quickly determined that new procedures would be developed to meet four goals:

• The original title will be tracked throughout the replacement or reformatting process.
• A separate new record will be created for the replacement or reformatted copy, unless it is a partial replacement of a multi-part monograph or a serial or an exact duplicate.
• The replacement or reformatted copy will be made readily available to readers.
• The new procedures can be adopted with minimal changes by all Yale libraries.

According to cataloging rules it is necessary to create a separate catalog record for a different format or edition. By creating a separate catalog record for the replacement copy, it is possible to show the disposition of the original copy, whether it was discarded or kept after reformatting. The charging and tracking of the original copy will provide both readers and staff within public and technical service areas of the library with up to date information on the status of a title.

Since most of the damaged titles come to the attention of the Preservation Department or other library service units through circulation, titles scheduled for replacement or reformatting are titles that demonstrate recent use. Therefore, a high priority should be placed on making the same title available again as quickly as possible.

While the Preservation Department initiates most of the publisher's reprints, microfilm and photocopy replacements that come into the Yale Library system, other departments and curatorial units within Sterling Memorial Library (SML) as well as other libraries at Yale initiate their own microfilm, photocopies, and order their own publisher's reprints. For these reasons, the task force felt that specific cataloging procedures could not be Sterling Library specific, yet the report should describe the replacement processes followed by the Preservation Department within SML.

Preservation Replacement and Reformatting

Definitions:

Preservation microfilm is a term defined by the Research Libraries Group to describe microfilm created following specific standards for film stock, filming procedures, developing, technical testing, duplication, bibliographic inspection, and storage. Preservation microfilm continues to be the most cost effective method of preserving large amounts of information and without it the intellectual content of thousands of books and pamphlets in Sterling Memorial Library would have been lost due to acidic decay.

Preservation photocopy is the process of making print reproductions of books by photocopying their information to paper that meets the ANSI standard for permanence. Preservation photocopying is currently the best method for reformatting heavily used titles, and due to the high cost of color microfilm it provides the only practical method of preserving color illustrations from maps or books.

Whenever possible, the Preservation Department purchases publisher's reprints to replace brittle and damaged copies. However, when no reprint edition is available, the title is reformatted. The process of reformatting simply transfers the words and images on a page of text to another medium. Preservation departments reformat titles to microfilm or photocopy to ensure that their information is available to library users for as long as it is needed.

The primary focus of the Preservation Department is to repair or reformat circulated and browsed library materials and make them available again to library users as quickly as possible. Circulation staff collect damaged library materials on a continual basis from the book return area in SML Room 2 and place them on a cart for collection by the Preservation Department.

To provide better service for library users, Preservation status tracks all incoming titles to pseudo patron records. The charging procedure requires that all titles have a record in Orbis and a bar code linked to the Orbis record. When library users request in-process titles, the charging information allows Preservation staff to quickly locate the unit currently working on the volume.

Triage

The status tracked items are examined for damage and triaged according to procedures that direct the item to one of three possible areas within Preservation.

1. If the paper is not yet brittle and the level of damage is not excessive, the item is automatically sent to Collections Care for repair and returned to the stacks as quickly as possible.

2. If in the course of the examination the item is felt to have some intrinsic value due to age, provenance, or artistry, the item is referred to the Beinecke or some other special collection. There is no guarantee that the collection will accept the piece, and if it is not wanted it is treated as circulating material. NOTE: Pre-1800 imprints are always transferred to Beinecke.

3. If the item has brittle paper, no further repair is deemed possible due to the paper's inability to hold any sort of attachment or repair. These titles are searched in Orbis, RLIN, OCLC, Books in Print and other databases. The search information is provided to library selectors so that reformatting or replacement decisions can be made.

Selector Review

Brittle items are placed on the selector review shelves in SML Room 40 of the Preservation Department. Selectors review titles placed on their shelves and choose one of the following options based on the information discovered in the search process:

• Purchase a reprint copy of the volume.
• Have a paper copy of the volume made by preservation photocopying.
• Purchase a microfilm copy of the volume.
• Have a microfilm copy of the volume made.
• Discard the volume and do not replace it.

In most of the reformatting or replacement decisions the original volume is discarded unless some intrinsic value merits keeping it in its deteriorated condition.

Quality Control

When publisher's reprints are purchased to replace a volume in SML, Preservation Department staff compare the replacement volume with the original to be certain that the content is the same. Abridged volumes or variant editions are not accepted as replacements unless the selector or curator has approved of the substitution.

Commercial vendors process both the microfilm and photocopy reformatting. However, Preservation Department staff undertake a variety of quality control measures to ensure that the replacement copy meets all existing standards and contains all of the information found in the original. The original volume is checked for any missing pages or other missing information. Preservation conducts its own interlibrary loan searching to replace missing pages or volumes in serial sets.

In the case of a preservation photocopy, the original volume is collated page by page and all underlining and marginal notes are erased if possible. When the volume is returned from the vendor, a second page by page collation is done to be certain that each page of the original volume was copied correctly.

For microfilm, when the volume is returned from the vendor, both the film and the original volume are compared page by page and frame by frame to ensure that the entire informational content of the volume was captured on film. Following the Research Library Group guidelines for microfilm inspection, the Preservation Department conducts density and resolution readings on each reel of film. These tests ensure that the film has the correct focal clarity and the correct range of contrast between light and dark.

Each of these tests ensures that the replacement or reformatted copy is a faithful reproduction of the original. When all quality control tests are completed, the publisher's reprint, preservation photocopy or microfilm can be cataloged.

Microfilm Control: Call Number and Storage

For security, preservation microfilming guidelines prescribe that printing master (negative) and first generation (master) should be stored apart from the service (positive) copy. Therefore, each generation of preservation microfilm is entered as a separate location on the copy holdings record with its own call number.

In SML, the service copy is stored in the Microtext Reading Room. The printing master (negative) is currently stored in the Mudd Library awaiting future transfer to the Library Shelving Facility (LSF). The first generation (master) created through grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities is sent to Iron Mountain storage in Boyers, Pennsylvania. Otherwise, the first generation (master) is sent to Mudd Library awaiting future transfer to LSF.

Under the present system, each microfilm title is assigned a numerical call number preceded by a prefix that denotes the film generation and whether the film is a monograph or a serial.

Some of the prefixes in use at SML are:

FS		First generation (master) stored in Iron Mountain
SN		Printing master (negative) stored in Mudd Library/LSF
N		Printing master (negative), monographs
NS		Printing master (negative), serials
B		Service (positive) copy, monographs
S		Service (positive) copy, serials

There are additional prefixes assigned to describe the separate library or service unit creating the microfilm.

The film number after the prefix is simply the next free unassigned number in numerical order. This system is unfortunately inaccurate, often creating duplicate numbers. The practice of simply assigning numbers in numerical order has in time produced continually larger film numbers that provide no information about the microfilm. For these reasons, it is recommended that a new system of assigning film call numbers should be designed.

Preservation / Cataloging workflow

Purchasing a replacement (Microfilm, Microfiche or Reprint)

1. Title to be replaced is identified by the selector.
2. Purchase information is sent to the ordering unit.
3. Replacement is ordered on a separate Orbis record, not on the Orbis record for the original title.
4. A note is placed in the order record indicating that the item is to be sent to the Preservation Department or the originator of the request upon receipt.
5. Upon receipt, replacement is sent to Preservation Department or the originator of the request in order to verify accuracy.
6. The note, indicating that the item is to be sent to Preservation Department or the originator of the request, is removed from the order record.
7. Item record(s) is created according to instructions in Section I, III or V of Cataloging Procedures for Preservation Replacements.
8. Replacement is sent for cataloging with a preservation replacement flag inserted.
9. Replacement will be cataloged according to instructions in Section I, III or V of Cataloging Procedures for Preservation Replacements.

Creating a replacement (Microfilm)

1. Title to be reformatted is identified by the selector.
2. An Orbis record for the replacement is derived from the record for the original title.
3. The bibliographic record and the copy holdings record are updated following instructions in Section II of Cataloging Procedures for Preservation Replacements with the following exceptions:
   

   Leave Encoding Level as found on record Leave the reduction ratio value as u||| in all three 007 fixed field lines In 533 note, give only subfields a, b, c and d. In subfield d give the projected date of reproduction in brackets, e.g., ‡d[to be reformatted in 2000] MFHD: 852 8 0 ‡b <loc> ‡h In Process Send record to RLIN using ExportQ for the purpose of informing RLIN member institutions that Yale is filming this title.

   
   
4. Original title is sent to vendor for reformatting.
5. Upon receipt, replacement is sent to Preservation Department or other originator of reformatting request to verify accuracy.
6. Complete the record with the following steps:
   

   Add reduction ratio to all three 007 fixed field lines In 533 note, replace the bracketed note with the actual date of reproduction and add other subfields as required Send record to RLIN again and also to OCLC and MARS using ExportQ

7. Create MFHD according to instructions in Section II of Cataloging Procedures for Preservation Replacements.
8. Create item record(s) according to instructions in Section II of Cataloging Procedures for Preservation Replacements.
9. Send replacements for labeling.

Creating a replacement (Photocopy)

1. Title to be reformatted is identified by the selector.
2. An Orbis record for the replacement is derived from the record for the original title.
3. The bibliographic record and copy holdings record are updated following instructions in Section IV of Cataloging Procedures for Preservation Replacements with the following exceptions:
   

   Leave Encoding Level as found on record In 533 note, give only subfields a, b, c and d. In subfield d give the projected date of reproduction in brackets, e.g., ‡d [to be photocopied in 2000]

4. The original title is sent out for photocopying.
5. Upon receipt, replacement is sent to the Preservation Department or originator of reformatting request to verify accuracy.
6. Complete the record with the following steps:
   

   In 533 note, replace the bracketed note with the actual date of reproduction and add other subfields as required Send record to RLIN and also to OCLC and MARS using ExportQ

7. Create MFHD according to instructions in Section IV of Cataloging Procedures for Preservation Replacements.
8. Create item record(s) according to instructions in Section IV of Cataloging Procedures for Preservation Replacements.
9. Send replacements for labeling.

Handling of original item

1. If the original item is to be kept, return item to shelf and edit notes as appropriate (e.g., removing "volume unavailable, out for microfilming" notes).
2. If the original item is to be discarded, follow withdrawal procedures.
   

Special cases:

I. Partial replacement of a multi-part monograph or a serial

1. If photocopies replace some volumes, they should be added to the same bibliographic record as the originals. Update MFHD 866 to indicate which volumes are replacements. See Multipart Monograph MFHD Guidelines. 10. Mixed Editions.
2. If some volumes are replaced by microfilm, they must be cataloged on a separate bibliographic record.

II. Multiple titles on commercial film

1. Catalog only the title(s) ordered by following Section I of Cataloging Procedures for Preservation Replacements.
2. Indicate the location of the title on the reel in a 590 note such as "Title is no. 15 on reel."

Dec. 11, 2000/updated for Voyager 2005

RELATED DOCUMENTS

Procedures for Processing and Cataloging Preservation Replacements. Part 2: Cataloging Procedures for Preservation Replacements

 

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