Copy Cataloging (Single Monographs)

Owned by Heather Baker
Last updated: Aug 30, 2024 by Natalie Sommerville
5 min read

Scope: Describes the criteria for determining whether monographs meet or do not meet the criteria for copy cataloging.

Contact: Natalie Sommerville

Unit: Resource Description

Date last reviewed:    

Date of next review:   


Copy Cataloging 

For Duke University Libraries Collections Services (DUL CS) copy cataloging is defined as locating a record in OCLC that matches the book in hand per the criteria outlined in section 1 below. Copy cataloging also includes adhering to the criteria for referring books that do not have valid records in OCLC for original cataloging per the criteria in section 2 below.


1.  Matching record to book
Copy catalogers, process the book only if the OCLC record meets all of the following conditions:

  • Bibliographic Level (BLvL) portion of the fixed field is coded m.
  • Form of Item (Form) portion of the fixed field is coded blank.

  • 040: $b must contain code eng, or be absent
    • $a DLC $c DLC – okay
    • $a DLC $b eng $c DLC – okay
    • $a DLC $b spa $c DLC – not okay

  • 020: ISBN must match book
  • 050/090: The bib record must include a complete Library of Congress (LC) call number with date and no volume numbering. Examples:
    • $aPT638 $b.W45 2018 (single cutter)
    • $aNA2543.S35 $bZ85 2018 (double cutter)
    • A record with two complete LC call number is acceptable
  • 100/700: author's name should be a representation of what is on the book in hand. It may not match the variant name in the authority record.
  • 245: title, subtitle, and statement of responsibility must match book and not contain a $n with a number as part of the title.
  • 250: edition statement in record matches book. It is acceptable for the edition statement in the bib record to be worded slightly differently from the book. Examples:


    • Book: First edition
      Bib record: 1st ed.
    • Book: Primera edición
      Bib record: 1. ed.
    • Book: 1a. edición
      Bib record: 1a. ed.
    • Book: 1a edición
      Bib record: 1a ed.
    • Book: First edition
      Bib record: First edition.
    • Book: Primera edición
      Bib record: Primera edición.
    • Book: 1a. edición
      Bib record: 1a. edición.
    • Book: 1a edición
      Bib record: 1a edición.
  • 260 or 264: $a place of publication must match at least one place named in the book in hand. The publisher in $b must match at least one publisher named in the book in hand. It is acceptable for the place of publication and/or the publisher name in the bib record to be worded slightly differently from the book. The date of publication in $c must match the book in hand
    • 264 $a says Seoul City, but book just says Seoul
  • 300: The number of pages in $a must match the book in hand. Subfields b and c are not considered when matching bib records to books.  It is also okay if a 300 field does not contain $b and/or $c.  Examples:

  • 490: The series statement in the bib record should match what is on/in the book in hand. The existence of a 490 field does not mean that a corresponding 830 field is needed for the book, or that the 830 also must match the statement on the book, to be copy cataloged.

  • 600, 610, 611, 630, 650, 651: The bibliographic record must contain at least one LC subject heading. In all cases, an LC subject heading field will have second indicator 0.


    • Exception: Literary works by a single author are not required to have subject headings


2. Referrals to the Monographic Original Cataloging Section (CatS)

Copy catalogers refer the book to CatS in the following instances:

  • Works without a matching record in OCLC. Example:
    • Workforms, a brief record created in Aleph when a purchase order is initiated and later overlayed with full catalog record
  • Bibliographic Level (BLvL) portion of the fixed field is not coded m.
  • Form of Item (Form) portion of the fixed field is not coded blank.
  • 040: $b contains a code other than eng
    • $a DLC $b spa $c DLC – not okay
  • 020: ISBN does not match book
  • 050/090: The bib record does not include a complete LC call number. Incomplete call numbers include $a only, $b with just a letter and a plus sign, $b with no date, call number with volume number in it. Examples:
    • 050 4 $aBX8347 $b .M+ (incomplete call number)
    • 050 4 $aBX8347.M53 $b S35 (two cutters, no date)
    • 050 4 $a AB123 $b. A123 v.13 (ends with a volume number)
  • 100/700: author's or editor's name does not match book.
  • 245: title, subtitle, and statement of responsibility are missing or different from the book in hand.
  • 246: For non-Roman cataloging, 246 field is not paired, e.g. it is missing either the vernacular or the transliteration. Example:


  • 250: edition statement in record is substantially different from the edition statement in the book in hand. Also beware of edition statements that include specific dates as these may indicate printings. Examples:
    • Book: 1st edition
      Bib: 1st revised edition
    • 1a edición, abril de 2018
      7a edición, noviembre de 2018
  • 260 or 264: $a place of publication, publisher, and dates do not match the book in hand.
  • 300: The number of pages in $a does not match the book in hand, or there are no pages recorded. Anything that seems problematic (use a note in the CID $p to call the original cataloger's attention to problems that may not be obvious) 
  • 490: The series statement in the bibliographic record does not match the book in hand, or there is a series statement on the book that does not appear on the record
  • 600, 610, 611, 630, 650, 651: The bibliographic record does not contain at least one LC subject heading. In all cases, an LC subject heading field will have second indicator 0.
    • Exception: Literary works by a single author are not required to have subject headings


3. Useful links
*Call number locations: