Use and Maintenance of Local Data

Owned by Jacquie Samples
Last updated: Feb 21, 2024 by Natalie Sommerville
3 min read

Scope: Documents policies and practices for addition of bibliographic, holdings, and item level metadata to the library services platform/integrated library system, as well as best practices for maintaining the integrity of that data.

Contact: Jessica Janecki Rich Murray Natalie Sommerville

Unit: Resource Description

Date last reviewed:  

Date of next review:  

Definitions

Most broadly, local data is defined as the metadata that exists only inside the Duke University Libraries’ library services platform and is used to manage acquisitions, cataloging, access, and delivery of resources.  This policy covers only the requirements and practices used to create and maintain bibliographic, holdings, item, and administrative metadata.  It is important to note that the bibliographic metadata discussed in this document is that which pertains to in-house and outsourced cataloging for print resources and a select number of electronic resources.  Records managed through batch loads also contain locally-applied administrative metadata.

Bibliographic Metadata:  At the bibliographic level, catalogers across the Collections Services division create local data sparingly.  That is, any changes needed to describe the resource at the work, expression, or manifestation level are made in WorldCat, and not in the local system.  Current in-house copy and original cataloging workflows for general collections support this policy and practice.  Some exceptions to this policy and practice exist for work done for Rubenstein Library Technical Services, namely to provide access at the collection level through the addition of local access descriptive access points.  In this case, access points should include a $5 NcD so that the local fields will be protected from deletion if records are updated individually or in batches.  Title count and metadata maintenance statistics are encoded in the bibliographic record and fall under the definition of local data.  Both in-house cataloging and catalog records from vendors contain administrative metadata.  See below for more information.

Holdings Metadata:  MARC Format for Holdings Data (MFHD) is the standard by which Duke University Libraries creates and maintains holdings level metadata.  By its nature, holdings metadata is all local, with the exception of serials captions and patterns, since it governs location, call number, copy, enumeration, and chronology fields related to the Libraries’ particular holdings.  Use of the MFHD standard allows for sharing of local holdings in OCLC, as well as sharing of captions and patterns.  MFHD records can also contain elements of item metadata.

Item Metadata:  Like holdings metadata, item metadata is by its nature local data.  Item metadata inherits location, call number, caption and pattern, enumeration, chronology, and copy information from the holdings records.  It can also have its own unique location and call number information, independent of the holdings record.  Item metadata facilitates inventory of library collections, spine label printing, and communicating essential information to staff working at circulation services points about accompanying material housed with the basic bibliographic unit.

Administrative Metadata:  Unlike the three types of metadata listed above, administrative metadata is not associated with a discrete type of record.  Rather it is created and maintained manually, automatically by the library services platform, or by vendors.  Administrative metadata most commonly created manually occurs at the bibliographic record level is that used to track new titles cataloged, titles needing substantive re-cataloging, and linking to other titles in a bound-with unit.  At the holdings level manually added print retention notes are administrative metadata, but also follow document MARC21 standards.

Considerations

When considering addition of local data to records, please consult with the Team Lead for Original Cataloging, the Principal Cataloger, and the Head of the Resource Description Department.  Important questions to answer when considering addition of local data are:

  1. What is the purpose of this data?
  2. What element of the record should contain the data (bibliographic, holdings, item)?
  3. How will the data be maintained and protected?
  4. Will reports need to be built around the data?
  5. Does the data need to display in the public catalog?


Examples of Local Data

Bibliographic metadata:

Title count and metadata maintenance metadata:

Access point for Rubenstein Library collection metadata:

710 2_ $a Edwin and Terry Murray Collection (David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library) $5NcD

Holdings metadata:

Location and call number metadata:

852 4_  $b LILLY $c PLV1 $h DVD 34661

Former call number metadata:

DEW __ $h 974.905 $i B222, C912, 2002

Print retention metadata:

583 1_  $a committed to retain $c 20151015 $d 20351231 $f Scholars Trust $u http://www.scholarstrust.org

Item metadata:

+1 disc in pocket
(OPAC Note field in the item record)

Check for 1 disc in pocket
(Circ. Note field in the item record)

Administrative metadata:

From Bibliographic record:

CID __ $a [cataloger’s NetID] $b PERKN $d 20221123 $e NEW $p NONE

CID __ $a [cataloger’s NetID] $b PERKN $d 20221123 $e RECAT $p NONE

The Cataloger ID (CID) field is the most frequently manually added local administrative metadata