Unusual HOLLIS message for Lamont holdings

A patron today came to the desk with a question about a book that HOLLIS says we own. When she checked availability, she was presented with the message that begins "no circulation information is available . . ."

While the message isn't unfamiliar to us, its appearance on a general collection record is. Items in the general collection, according to longstanding Lamont policy, always circulate.

So I conferred with JKR, who explained the two reasons we might see this message. One we know about already: an item in an analyzed series. Those records typically redirect you to another HOLLIS number to determine availability.

The second reason is this: when items are withdrawn from the circulating collection, Access Services staff suppress availability. Physical deaccessioning is completed at 625, and our colleagues there delete Lamont locs at the end of the process.

We've had a massive weed of the general collection this spring, so while the work of deaccessioning continues at 625, you may see other Lamont items carrying this "odd" message. Access Services staff can double check on record suppression -- but students should be directed to other holding libraries.

[Film Tract Reel] Becomes More Common

Many Film W items have several works on one reel. They may or may not be related. For instance, check out HOLLIS # 003303817. This is volume 2 on a film tract reel. Usually the HD request link is only on the record for the first work and the [Film Tract Reel]. In the case of the aforementioned record, the call number was Film W 11871.2. JB suggested doing an Other Call Number search on the base number, viz. Film W 11871. This retrieved the [Film Tract Reel] entry.

GRRR . . . Ger

A patron -- Ph.D. candidate in history, familiar with the collection, came in tonight trying to uncover the call numbers for certain statistical publications produced by the Third Reich. He remembered that the call number began "Ger Doc 9."

I tried Vida's famous rolodex, HOLLIS "other call numbers" and even -- in desperation -- "Government number," all to no avail. Ger Doc(s) never surfaced. Finally, I went to the basement with him, got him in the general area and set him loose.

Puzzled, I asked JC what I'd done wrong. Here's a tip: use Widener call number searches for paper documents with a geographic or country name prefix, followed by the abbreviation "doc." This system owes its origins in many cases to the old Widener class system, which identified countries thus. Ger= Germany; Ind=Indian subcontinent (including Pakistan); Afr=African continent, Br=British Isles (including Ireland), and so forth.

This system makes perfect sense as soon as you remember that Widener is the parent of Gov Docs -- the classifications that are neither LC or SuDocs are part of that legacy.

Film Searching in HOLLIS: the Sequel

I've learned a few new tricks for pulling up films in HOLLIS -- something which might be useful to you when the typical search strategy -- words + format=Visual doesn't produce what you expect, suspect is out there, or need to find.

You can consider these tips authoritative: they come from master cataloger Betsy Eggleston, who serves with me on the MetaPac committee.

According to the Bib Standards Committee, films should always be given a designated form/genre. The applications are not always consistent, as the list below makes painfully clear. Some HOLLIS items carry more than one these form/genre label (e.g., DVD video discs and feature films) so the numbers under each heading do not necessarily identify unique items.

DVD (50+): actual number in catalog is 13976.
DVD-video (3)
DVD video discs (50+):13556. Limiting to Lamont registers 1452 items this way, but only Marty will know how accurate that count is.
DVD-Video disc (1)
DVD Videodiscs(50+): actually, only 80 items have this variant.

Videodiscs (50+): items entered this way currently total 805.
Videocassettes (50+): 4988 items.
Videotapes (50+): 14950.

Things get interesting when you try some other combinations:

kw DVD + format=visual retrieves 14696 items.
kw videorecording + format=visual retrieves 5825.
kw feature films + format=visual retrieves 8243.
kw motion pictures + format=visual retrieves 3448.
kw films + format=visual retrieves 13826.
kw feature + format=visual retrieves 8343.

The current (or recent) thinking among catalogers, apparently, is that since IMDB (and other online tools) do their thing so well, users should search there, find a title, and then turn to HOLLIS for local holdings.

What's going on at the Library of Congress?

An article by the venerable Thomas Mann, whose perspective is always enlightening, I think.