Physical Description
300 (Punctuation)
Please punctuate a 300 field as follows:
Preceding a ‡b, use a colon (:)
Preceding a ‡c, use a semicolon (;)
Unnumbered pages
Entire volumes
* Cataloging libraries should enter the pagination of unnumbered
volumes following these guidelines:
“If the pages or leaves of a volume are unnumbered and the number of
pages or leaves is readily ascertainable, give the number in square
brackets.” AACR2 1998 rev.
[95] p.
[50] leaves
“If the number is not readily ascertainable, estimate the number of
pages or leaves and give that estimated number without square brackets
and preceded by ca.” AACR2 1998 rev.
ca. 600 p.
ca. 300 leaves
Some libraries have incorrectly used 1 v. (unpaged). According to AACR2
guidelines 1 v. ( ) is only used when cataloging volumes with irregular
paging (various pagings) or loose-leaf publications (loose-leaf).
Unnumbered sections in a volume
*Local practice has varied when recording pagination for items that end
with unnumbered pages. Please apply this guideline from the AACR2 1998
rev.:
“Disregard unnumbered sequences, unless such a sequence constitutes the
whole or a substantial part of the publication, or unless an unnumbered
sequence includes pages, etc. that are referred to in a note.”
Record the last numbered page of the item in the 300 field.
Examples:
If the last page in a book isn’t numbered, but the last numbered page
is p. 169, then record the pagination as: 169 p.
If the bibliography in the book mentioned above falls on the unnumbered
p. [170], then the pagination would be recorded as 169 p. The 504 field
would be:
504 Includes bibliographical references (p. [170]).
The presence of the brackets is sufficient to explain the difference of
pagination in the two fields.
Plates
*Enter unpaged sections of plates as follows:
59 p., [16] p. of plates : ‡b ill. ; ‡c 22 cm.
Please note that if the plates are numbered and there is only one plate
on each page, then the brackets are unnecessary.
*Enter unpaged sections of pages (only enter these if necessary) that
are not plates as follows:
59, [4] p. ; ‡c 22 cm.
Multiple volumes
*If a set of volumes is continuously paged, give the pagination in
parenthesis after the number of volumes. Ignore separately paged
sequences of preliminary matter in volumes other than the first.
2 v. (xvi, 802 p.)
*If a work of several volumes has distinctive titles (CWAN) for each
volume and has continuous pagination for the set, then the pagination
for each title must be entered in the 300 field as a range of pages.
p. 20-45 : ‡b ill. ; ‡c 23 cm.
*If a 505 _0 is present for a multiple volume set, then the 300 field
may be entered as a “closed” set using the last volume listed in the
505
_0. (example: 3 v. instead of v.)
*It is not necessary to note the presence of plates in the physical
description for multiple volume sets.
Multiple volumes (bound together)
If a set of volumes is bound together in one volume, then the 300 field
should indicate the number of volumes as published, the number of
physical
volumes and the pagination of the piece.
2 v. in 1 (various pagings)
3 v. in 2 (viii, 546 p.)
Measuring material (Dimensions)
Measure the inside back cover height of each item that you catalog.
Record this measurement in centimeters in the subfield c of the 300
field on the bibliographic record. All measurements round up to the
nearest centimeter. This single dimension is sufficient for most of the
material that we catalog.
48
p. : ‡b col. ill. ; ‡c
24 cm.
Two dimensions (height x width) should be recorded for material that
consists only of a single sheet or if the width of the volume is
less than half of the height or greater than the height.
48
p. : ‡b col. ill. ; ‡c
24 x 11 cm.
48
p. : ‡b col. ill. ; ‡c
24 x 26 cm.
Oversize guidelines
Anything over 29 cm. in height (30
and
above) or anything over 32 cm. in depth (33 and above) should be
cataloged
and processed as OVERSIZE.
Browsing books that are over 29 cm. in height or over 32 cm. in depth
should be cataloged as OVERSIZE and processed as BROWSING OVERSIZE.
OVERSIZE should be written at the top of the OCLC printout and the 049
field should read: [OVERSIZE]GPMM. (GPMO is used only for serials).
Oversize guidelines- exceptions
Art books (N’s) have a different set
of standards for OVERSIZE. Anything over 34 cm. in height (35 and
above) or
32 cm. in depth (33 and above) should be cataloged and processed as
OVERSIZE.
There are no OVERSIZE K’s.
Reference books that are over 29 cm. in height or over 32 cm. in depth
should be cataloged and processed as REF. These items will be set and
labeled as OVERSIZE if they are ever relocated to the STACKS.
CDs and Disks in Books
Each bibliographic record for books with disks or CDs included should
have a subfield e at the end of the 300 field containing information
regarding the disk or CD. The following is a sample of the format:
300 ‡a xvii, 209 p., [4] p. of
col. plates : ‡ b ill. ; ‡c 24 cm. + ‡e 1 sound disc (4 3/4 in.)
Information
wheel
The title "The Timeline History of New York City" in our collection
includes an inset dial with information regarding 100 buildings in New
York City. This inset was described in the following 500 note:
500 ‡a "100 buildings of New York"
information wheel inset in p. [37]-[38]. When wheel is dialed to
building name,
information is
given on the height, number of floors, year built, address, and
architect.
Use this as a sample of how to describe these information wheels or
dials when applicable.