CLR

COLLECTION LEVEL RECORDS

I. BACKGROUND.

Collection level records (CLRs) represent in the catalog material that is unrelated bibliographically but has been gathered together into a single collection because of some other unifying factor. The importance to the Libraries of single items within this collection is related more to their being grouped together with similar material. Such material does not itself warrant individual cataloging either fully or minimally, but is instead made available in the catalog by means of one or more CLR records.

The unifying factor of CLRs may be based on: personal author, issuing body, language, subject, form of material, etc., and CLRs can be used for monographs, pamphlets, ephemeral material or other formats. They can be used to provide cataloging for collections of, for example, minor publications of political parties, minor publications of special interest groups, or literary works representing a particular style or movement. They can be used to provide cataloging for collections of materials in lesser known languages. They can also be used to provide cataloging for a collection of materials donated by a specific donor, or a group of posters, photographs, or broadsides. As long as there is at least one unifying factor, CLRs can be created for virtually any collection of materials.

II. WHEN TO MAKE A CLR.

The decision process for making a CLR involves consideration of the following factors when deciding whether to create a CLR for a particular collection of items:

(1) number of items in the collection. If large, consider making several CLRS to represent the collection,

as described in (4) (a) below

(2) bibliographical importance of individual items in the collection. Are some of the items important enough

to receive separate cataloging? Consider removing such items from the collection and preparing separate records for

them, while creating one or more CLRs for the remaining items

(3) factors unifying the items in the collection, and possibly serving as the basis for one or more CLRs for the

collection, such as, for example:

(a) subject theme(s)

(b) language(s)

(d) any of the unifying factors cited in (I) above

(e) any other prominent features of the collection

(4) if, following examination of a collection of items, you believe you now have a candidate for CLR cataloging, then:

(a) for as many of the above-mentioned factors that are found to exist, consider creating one or more CLRs

based on any or all of them, or on two or more of them in combination. If multiple CLRs are created, create

each one according to the steps of this procedure

(b) before proceeding, submit to your unit head any proposed CLR treatment for approval, before creating any

CLRs in ALEPH.

III. CODING THE CLR RECORD.

Code for the following elements in the CLR as indicated. Code for any other elements in the CLR according to our usual cataloging procedures.

BIB LVL: use c

DATE: usually s or m, as appropriate

LANG: enter language, if only one, or primary languages of the material; if none

are dominant, enter language that files first in English

043 add code(s) if needed

050/090 assign according to usual procedures, basing number on 6XX fields

1XX use if needed (establish heading according to AACR2)

245 construct, and enclose in square brackets. Title will usually be in English.

Title should begin with the substantive elements of the collection

(Note: entry under title is the most common entry for CLRs, because of the

diversity of material they normally contain)

260 Include date (260 =c) (single date or range of dates)

1978.

1980-1985.

(include 260 =a and 260 =b in the few cases where they can be determined)

300 =a enter as:

(a) if finite, enter extent, as:

36 pieces

ca. 300 pieces

10 v.

(b) if open, enter extent in brackets, as:

[36] pieces

[10] v.

if additional items are later added to the collection, indicate this by

modifying the extent of item statement already given, to reflect the newly

added items, and if needed add additional subject and/or added entry

access points to provide coverage for these newly added items

300 =b use if needed

300 =c optional; if items vary in size, give their range

500 if finding aid(s) exist(s), mention this fact, including where available, in a note,

as:

500 Author guide to the contents of this collection is available in the Department of Special Collections.

505 not normally constructed for CLRs. Use only if noting the contents of the

collection is considered important

6XX make as many as needed, since assignment of subject headings provides the

primary access to the majority of items in the collection. Examine the items

in the collection for patterns, and then make as many subject entries as needed,

in order to provide the maximum practical subject coverage for the collection

7XX make as many as needed. Examine the items in the collection for patterns, and

then make as many added entries as needed, in order to provide the maximum

practical added entry coverage for the collection

856 If it is known that a finding aid (or aids) for this collection of materials will be

available on the web, add an 856 field to the CLR record providing a link to

this web source.

IV. PHYSICAL PROCESSING.

Perform physical processing for the collection as follows:

(1) Container for the collection already exists.

If a suitable container for the collection already exists, as when the collection arrives in the library already housed in such a container, retain this container for use in the permanent shelving of the collection.

Inscribe the call number for the CLR (along with branch stamp if any) on this container, and affix barcode beneath it. Create an item record for the CLR as you would do for a single-volume monograph, with no indication on the item record of the multi-item content of the CLR

(2) Container for the collection does not already exist.

If no suitable container for the collection already exists, as when the items within the collection have been assembled locally from originally different sources, report this fact to your unit head.

Your unit head will then consult with Preservation to insure that a suitable container, adequate to the shelving needs of the collection, is either obtained or prepared. When such a suitable container has been made available, proceed with the physical processing of the collection as described in (1), the preceding paragraph.

V. MISCELLANEOUS.

(1) Statistics.

Enter statistics for CLRs:

(a) determine which category (line) of the statistics sheet to use for the type of

collection you have cataloged (monographs, microforms, videos, etc.)

(b) count 1 title for each CLR created

above)

(d) count (or estimate if large) the number of actual items in the collection and enter

this number in the “Notes” box on the sheet, in the form:

1 CLR (monographs): 150 pieces

1 CLR (serial issues): ca. 500 pieces

(e) for collections that involve a mixture of formats, such as printed materials along

with photographs, etc., and no single category is dominant, consider using the

“Other” line on the sheet as the appropriate statistics category

(2) CLRs for Serial Issues.

If a CLR is being prepared for a collection of bibliographically unrelated issues of serial publications, consult with Serials staff to determine the most effective approach for creating and using CLRs in this context, based on the steps in this procedure and on standard serials cataloging procedures.

(3) CLR examples.

For examples of previously created CLRs in the UF catalog, see in ALEPH:

A collection of keepsakes for the second ALEPH 1105256

open meeting of the Chappels …

German publications on alcoholism ALEPH 1655113

(Or search title=labor booklets to retrieve the 27 CLRs created for a collection of

approximately 1,350 labor booklets acquired by Special Collections in the early

1990’s)

Indexed: Collection Level Records

CLRs (Collection Level Records)

CLR (Collection Level Record)

Prepared by: Steve Fuquay

Updated: