Record statistics on all searching on a Multi-Purpose Statistics Form.

Duplicate Searching

When looking at prospective records as DUP checks, one must only verify that the intellectual material and/or video content matches. Basically, if the title, original production year, director, and cast match and UMBC owns the item, then it can be considered a DUP check. Other specifics are irrelevant.

1. Search for the video title in Catalog USMAI to see if we already own the item. Generally we consider the same video on VHS or DVD to be the same thing, and will consider an order for a DVD to be a duplicate order if we already own the item on VHS, and visa-versa (Librarian authorization, from either Joe Clark or Robin Moskal, will allow us to purchase a title we already own in the other format--see below).

CatalogUSMAI Video Searching Tips:

• The Word Search on the Catalog Advanced Search screen allows you to limit by format. If you are duplicate searching, you would do well to limit to the broader "Videos/Films (all)" category since you want to know if we have the video on VHS or DVD.

• For very common titles, such as "Hamlet," you may want to add other keywords, such as a performer or director's name, in order to narrow your search to a particualr version.

• When dealing with a television series the "Title beginning with..." browse search does not include "related titles," which is how television series are generally treated in bibliographic records. Therefore, a title browse on "Frontline (television program)" would not find most of the records that include that phrase. However, a "Words in title" keyword search does include "related titles" so including "Frontline" in your title keyword search should work just fine.

1. If you find a record for the title with UMBC holdings, for either VHS or DVD, compare the title, TV show name (if part of one), director, cast and original production year (which usually appears in a note). If those things match, it's a duplicate, even if the publisher and year given in the imprint, and other details, are different. Put a check next to the Dup on the Video Searching form, but don't record a bib decision. Print the availability screen, and record the location, call number, and status on the bottom of the form.

2. If the item had been requested with the format specified as "DVD Only" and we own the the VHS format, consider it a dup. Only contact the Media Librarian if he is the requestor for a decision on purchasing the other format. Print out the availablity screen and staple it to the request form. Record the following note "We already own this title on VHS. Please contact Acquisitions if you would still prefer the DVD."

3. If the item is a duplicate, no further searching is needed. Give them to your supervisor to check, or if authorized, put them in the "Already in Library" mailing slot.

4. If you've found bib records, but there are no UMBC holdings, keep them open in catalogusmai to return to later to make a bib decision (after we have more information on the item we'll be ordering).

5. If UMBC does not own the item, record a Dup null, but don't record a bib decision.

Availability Searching (For items that are not duplicates which we will be purchasing):

Pay attention to the format field and be sure that you are looking for the correct format. If "DVD or VHS" is specified, we prefer DVD and will purchase VHS only if the title is not available on DVD.

1. Search Barnes & Nobleand Amazon. If either one of these yields a match, print the record, and put a check next to the appropriate field on the Video Searching form. Please make sure that in the record you have found, format is correct. Sometimes when searching Amazon for a video, dvd information is given (and visa-versa).

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Using AMAZON to Search for Videos:

1. Open Mozilla or Internet Explorer.

2. At the Amazon homepage, select "Movies and TV" from the drop down menu in the search bar.

3. Search for the item by title.

4. If the search produced too many or no results, search again using "Advanced Search".

5. Try using additional information, such as director, if it was provided.

Using Barnes & Noble to Search for Videos:

1. Open Mozilla or Internet Explorer.

2. Go to Barnes & Noble.com and select "DVD - Title" from the drop down mwnu in the search bar.

3. Search for the item by title.

4. If the search produced too many or no results, try again using "Advanced Search".

5. Choose the DVD tab at the top of the page and enter the title plus additional information if available.

If the item is not available from Amazon or Barnes & Noble (there is no "add to cart" button), search for the title in the Facets database. If a record is found, print the record, and place a check on the Search form next to FACETS.

If we still haven't found a vendor that the video is available from, search the distributor that is listed on the BRF, most commonly this will either be Films Media Group or Insight Media. If it's not one of them, do a web search to find the distributor's website. If a record is found in any database, print the record. Record all of your searches and their results on the Video Searching form. It is important to know that some of the more expensive companies (videos cost over $100) will offer a discounted rate. Make note if we are ordering a second copy or replacing a video with a dvd and contact the distributor. Explain to them our ordering situation and see if we qualify for a discount or even a free replacement.

Using Insight Media:

1. Open Mozilla or Internet Explorer.

2. Go to Insight Media and click on the "US Customers" link.

3. Search the item by title.

4. Some Insight-Media videos may be available from other vendors at a lower cost. Perform a web search of the title and check for availability. Please be sure the they are the same film before choosing another vendor.

If none of the above searches yield any results, place a question mark on the Search form.

Verifying a BIB check

Return to catalogusmai with the printout giving the exact details on the available item that we'll be ordering. When verifying a possible BIB check, the procedure is very different from the above section on DUP checks, in that the criteria are quite a bit stricter. The things to look for on the BIB record are:

1. Title--The title must appear either in title field (245) or in the other title field (246).

2. TV Show Name must appear in the title field (245), other title field (246), or the notes field (538).

3. Number of Video Discs or Video Cassettes must be the same as the number appearing in the description field (300).

4. Video Format

   • VHS

     • --"Videocasette" and "1/2 in." must appear in the description field (300).

     • --""VHS" must appear in the notes field (538).

   • DVD

     • --""Videodisc" "4 3/4 in." must appear in the description field (300).

     • --""DVD" must appear in the notes field (538).

   • Laser Disc (while we no longer order Laser Disc, we do still own some and records for them appear in the catalog).

     • --""Videodisc" "12 in." appears in the description field (300).

     • --""CAV" or "CLV" appears in the notes field (538).

5. Source/Production Company (20th Century Fox, Paramount, etc.)

   • The orginal production company should be found in the title field (245).

   • The publisher/distributor should be found in the published field (260) (Note: if two or more production companies are listed, at least one has to match).

6. Run Time should be close to the run time given in the description field (300). Note that the run time given in the bib record is usually only for the main feature.

7. The screen format should appear in the edition field (250) or notes field (500) field. Note that:

   • Widescreen is the same as letterbox.

   • Standard is the same as full screen and pan & scan.

8. The original production year should appear in the notes field (538).

9. The release date may or may not match the date in the published field (260).

10. If the Video is part of a series, the series should be given in the series field (440 or 490).

11. If the Video is a special edition, the edition should appear in the edition field (250) or notes field (500).

12. People

    • The director should appear in the title field (245) or in the credits field (508).

    • Actors, narator or host should appear in the cast field (511).

13. Standard Numbers--If one of the standard numbers match, it's almost certainly the right record. If none of the standard numbers match, but all of the other details are right, it is the correct record and we will use it to purchase the item.

    • The ISBN may appear in the ISBN field (020).

    • The UPC may appear in the UPC field (024).

    • The publisher number may appear in the (028) field.

If you have found an item with Barnes and Noble, but are having trouble making a bib decision, sometimes it is helpful to also search the item with Amazon. Both online stores provide different information that when put together can make searching bib records much easier. For example, Amazon is very good about listing the number of discs included with a movie title and Barnes and Noble does not list this information at all.

After evaluating these criteria:

• If the record meets all of the criteria above,*then the record can be considered a BIB check. In instances where the availability printout lacks some or even many of these details, also consider the record a BIB check, so long as what details that we do have are consistent (we *must have a format match). Print the record and record a BIB check.

• If the record meets the criteria above for content and format, but not for other details, then consider the record a BIB question mark. Print the record and record a BIB question mark. The record will be sent to cataloging to determine if it's the best record or whether there's a better record in OCLC that could be exported to use for the order.

• Put all orders in the Special Ordering Technician's in-box.