20180112 Vicki Sipe

Superholdings are a special type of holding record created in Aleph that "supports retention and presentation of strictly local bibliographic data that would be inappropriate for the Global bibliographic record in USMAI’s “one-bibliographic-record” style database" --from the USMAI Libraries catalogUSMAI Bibliographic Standards document. A procedure to create superholdings is included in the Aleph Guide for Catalogers. 

In anticipation of migrating to a system other than Aleph, we have been moving information from superholdings records to appropriate fields in bibliographic or item records, and deleting the superholding record. When absolutely necessary, a superholding record might be created, with the understanding that in any migration to a new system, that information will probably be lost. 

As described in the Bib Standards document, these holdings records do NOT include a sublibrary/collection combination. This sets them apart from a standard holdings record. No items will be attached to these superholdings records. In the snip from Aleph, the first holdings record is a superholding. It includes only a two letter code for the institution, and NOT a sublibrary/collection combination as in the regular holding record below it. 

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A superholding record will include field(s) generally found in a bibliographic record, with bibliographic information that is local in nature. In the example here, the 590 field (a local notes field) indicates that the book contains poems by Gloria Oden. The $9 includes a two letter code for the library that "owns" this information. This information would be inappropriate in the shared USMAI catalog. In other fields, such as a 700 field, the two letter code for the library would appear in a $5.

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The information contained in a superholding record will appear in the appropriate field in a bibliographic record, but ONLY in the institution specific filter (indicated in the $9) of the OPAC. A note for UMBC will appear ONLY when searching in the UMBC filter of the OPAC. It will NOT appear in the bibliographic record when searching in the Global OPAC or in the OPAC filter of another institution. Below is a portion of the bibliographic record as viewed in the Global OPAC.

 Here is the same record viewed in the UMBC filter of the OPAC. Here you can see the "local note." 

If during the course of your work you find a superholdings record, please give the system number of the bibliographic record to Vicki.

If you are weeding, and only under specific circumstances, you might be deleting a superholding record. See the Weeding procedure for guidance, and more information.