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Frequently asked questions – Cataloguing

ISBN-13
Duplicate ISBNs
Schools Online Thesaurus (ScOT) in SCIS
Website records
General material designations (GMDs)
Punctuation standards
DVDs and videos

ISBN-13

The International Standard Book Number has been expanded from 10 digits to 13. The date for full implementation of ISBN-13 was 1 January 2007; however since 2005 some publishers have been phasing in ISBN-13 by assigning both 10- and 13-digit ISBNs to a resource. From now on most new publications or reprints should come with ISBNs in 13-digit format.

How is SCIS handling this change?

• From now on if a new item received for cataloguing has an ISBN-13, SCIS cataloguers will generally enter only the ISBN-13 in the record, even if the item also bears an ISBN-10.
• When a work is reprinted with ISBN-13 and there is already a record on SCIS with ISBN-10, SCIS cataloguers may edit the record to add the ISBN-13. SCIS will not create new records for reprints where the only change is that the work has been re-issued with ISBN-13.
• Use of the 024 field to record the EAN (the 13-digit code that already appears encoded in the bar code printed on the back of the book) or the ISBN-13 has been discontinued.

What are the implications for SCISWeb ordering?

• It does not matter whether you enter the 10- or 13-digit ISBN in your order. SCISWeb will match the different ISBN formats behind the scenes and retrieve the record.
• SCISWeb now offers a choice of ISBN format in records you download. For example you may choose to have ISBNs output in 13-digit format. For more information, log in to SCISWeb and choose the profile link from the menu.

What is a 13-digit ISBN?

• The 13-digit ISBN is identical to the EAN which currently has a 978 prefix. 10-digit ISBNs can be converted to 13-digit ISBNs and 13-digit ISBNs with 978 prefix can be converted to 10-digit ISBNs. Once numbers with 978 prefix are used up, ISBNs will have a 979 prefix. There is no ISBN-10 equivalent to an ISBN-13 starting with 979. A SCIS record for a 979 ISBN will only have the one ISBN field.

Do I need to reconfigure my barcode scanner?

• Now that ISBN-13 is the standard, it is advisable to reconfigure your barcode scanner to read ISBN-13. However, there is no urgency from the SCISWeb downloading point of view, as ISBNs entered in Create Orders or Upload Orders will be matched in either format.
• The optimum time to reconfigure scanners will be when 13-digit ISBNs start to occur more frequently than 10-digit ISBNs and before numbers with prefix 979 appear.

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Duplicate ISBNs

Why do some catalogue records have the same ISBN?

Publishers sometimes use the same ISBN for subsequent editions of a book, or occasionally for completely different titles. If you place an order for an ISBN that has been duplicated, then by default the record for the latest catalogue record added to SCIS will be provided. Check the SCISWeb profile help page for suggestions on how to change this profile setting. Alternatively you can search SCIS OPAC to identify the SCIS number of the record you require.

What the cataloguer often does in such cases is to add a cataloguer's note to the records. This lets other cataloguers know that we are aware of the problem and it's not a cataloguing mistake. The note is only visible in the MARC view, and the field would not be imported into local systems as it is coded as a local note. So for any such queries, check the MARC view in SCIS OPAC.

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Schools Online Thesaurus (ScOT) in SCIS

Since July 2006 terms selected from Schools Online Thesaurus (ScOT) have been added to SCIS records. Every subject heading in a SCIS OPAC record is followed by either 'scisshl' or 'scot', indicating which list of subject headings it is from. 'scisshl' means that the heading follows the conventions of SCIS Subject Headings which has been used in SCIS records for many years; 'scot' means that it has been selected from ScOT. Subject searches in the OPAC retrieve both types of subject headings; those that are ScOT terms have 'Schools online thesaurus' in the right-hand column of the results display. Some of these may duplicate or conflict with other headings in the results list.

What is Schools Online Thesaurus?

Schools Online Thesaurus (ScOT) is a list of terms developed to describe the subject content of curriculum resources. It has been developed as a joint venture involving Curriculum Corporation, The Le@rning Federation, and education.au limited.

Will ScOT terms appear in my catalogue?

• If you get your records by using the SCISWeb 'create orders' and 'upload order file' functions, these additional subject headings will not be included in your catalogue unless you choose to include them. To receive ScOT terms in catalogue records you download, you will need to alter your school's SCISWeb profile. There is more information about this choice in the SCISWeb profile help screens.
• If you use the 'save or print' option at the bottom of the OPAC display to get your SCIS records, these additional subject headings will be included in your records. If you do not want these additional headings in your catalogue, you are advised to use the SCISWeb 'create orders' function to download your records.
• If you use the Z39.50 protocol to get your records from the SCIS database you will get the additional subject fields in your catalogue, unless you take steps to exclude them from your catalogue. You may need to discuss this with your library management system vendor.

Why are ScOT terms being added to SCIS records?

To a certain extent SCIS is responding to requests from users from time to time for a simpler approach to subject headings. SCIS is also preparing for the potential demands of changing and future systems (library management systems and other types of systems). The inclusion of ScOT terms prepares SCIS records for integration, at least in terms of subject access, with other metadata records (e.g. those for electronic learning objects) from different types of systems (e.g. content management systems and learning management systems). It is unlikely that the precoordinated strings of subject terms derived from using SCIS Subject Headings will have a place in these developing systems.

You will find more information in Connections 59 and Connections 60. Contact SCIS if you have any further questions.

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Website records

What criteria are used for adding website catalogue records to the SCIS database?

Only websites that have been through a quality control mechanism should appear on the SCIS database. Current sources of websites are:

• web based, eg EdNA (directory), EduList (Qld.), SOFWeb (Vic.), CMIS Evaluation website (WA), HSC online (NSW) Te Kete Ipurangi (NZ)
• print based, eg SCAN (NSW), Technology Focus (WA), Xpress (SA)
• other resources as approved by Curriculum Corporation.

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General material designations (GMDs)

Which GMDs does SCIS use?

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Punctuation standards

How are initials entered in name headings?

Where authors have two or more initials, the initials are separated by a full stop and NO space. The final initial has a full stop, for example:

Taylor, A.A.
Taylor, A.J.P.

Where authors have an initial and a name, there is a full stop after the initial, and a space between the initial and the name, for example:

Williams, A. Susan.
Williams, Deborah K.

What about full stops on subject headings?

SCIS follows agreed international standards (MARC 21, Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, Dewey Decimal Classification) for its catalogue records. For the coding of bibliographic and authority records it is important that SCIS adheres to MARC standards so that each system with its independent capabilities does not have to be customised to meet SCIS special data requirements. Thus, SCIS follows MARC standards and conventions for punctuation.

The subject headings in the bibliographic record do not contain punctuation associated with topical, geographic or period subdivisions. They do contain a full stop at the end of the heading, unless another mark of punctuation is present, eg a closing bracket. The MARC code 'scisshl' or 'scot' (without a full stop) is added to each heading to indicate its source as either SCIS Subject Headings or Schools Online Thesaurus. For authority records, SCIS follows the MARC 21 standard of not including a full stop at the end of name and subject headings and references unless the field ends with an abbreviation or initialism.

The MARC display of subject headings in a catalogue record may look like this:

610 27 |a Art and Working Life Program (Australia) |2 scisshl
650 07 |a Art, Modern |y 20th century. |2 scisshl
650 07 |a Art and society. |2 scisshl

But the headings display in the 'detailed record' view of SCIS OPAC as:
Art and Working Life Program (Australia) scisshl
Art, Modern - 20th century. scisshl
Art and society. scisshl

A hyphen is generated for display between some subfields in SCIS OPAC but is not carried in the data. How subject headings are displayed and treated in your local system depends on the system.

If punctuation (or the lack of it) is causing any problems for the display or treatment of headings or authority records in your local system, eg duplication of headings, consult your library system support for advice.

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DVDs and videos

How can I find records for DVDs?

Try using the truncated term dvd? in a Keyword search combined with words from the title and/or credits to retrieve records for DVDs. For example a Keyword search for dvd? dinosaur marsden would find the following record.

How does SCIS catalogue programs taped off air?

Guidelines have been established in the SCIS Standards for Cataloguing and Data Entry to standardise the treatment of taped off air videorecordings. Section 5:C of the Standards provides instructions for treating four types of taped off air videorecordings. Generally, if a commercial version of a taped off air videorecording is received and there is no significant extra information, the taped off air catalogue record will be updated to avoid unnecessary proliferation of records on the SCIS database.

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