Withdrawing Items From the Catalog

Owned by Barbara Fleming
Last updated: Oct 27, 2022 by Melanie Shaw
4 min read



Sources of Withdrawals
Physical: Items to be withdrawn are brought to CMS, chiefly by CMRS, Circ, or the Moore Library

Spreadsheets/Printouts: Lists of items to be withdrawn are sent to CMS (particularly by the distance libraries)

 

Tracking

If the physical item has been brought to CMS, it needs to be recorded in the Airtable item tracker:

  • Title

  • Barcode

  • Bib #

  • Material type

  • Workflow: Withdrawal

  • Final destination: Discard

  • Priority: Low

 

General Procedures

  1. Search for the item in Sierra (typically, by scanning the barcode)

2. Start with 3 questions:

  • Are there other holdings (items) attached to the bib record?

  • Are there OCLC records that need to have holdings deleted from WorldCat?

  • Is there an order record attached?

3. If the the answer to all 3 questions is no, the item and bib records can simply be deleted from Sierra

4. If there are other holdings attached, delete the item record but not the bib record. Edit the bib record if there are note fields that apply only to the withdrawn copy.

5. If there are no other holdings attached, copy the OCLC number from the 035 field in the bib record, paste it into OCLC, and delete our holdings:

035 ## (OCoLC)11433897

Go to: Action->Holdings->Delete holdings

OR

Shift + F8

OR

Icon of 2 pages with red X through them

6. If there is an order record attached, don’t delete the order record or the bib record. Instead, edit the bib record:

  • Suppress the record from public view by changing Bib Code 3 to d

  • Add field 910: withdrawn title, order attached [your name or initials, date] use this exact wording

  • Delete the item record and our OCLC holdings (if you are deleting the last copy)

  • Leave the order record untouched

  • This coding will be used for creating lists and reports of withdrawn items no longer in the collection, but still in the catalog


Branch and Distance Libraries : Special Considerations

USU Eastern libraries: Older records will not have holdings set in OCLC (these can usually be identified by the 049 field, which in the older records will generally be UEUA, and by the absence of an 035 field). Newer records, with an 049 of UUS8 or UUS9 and an 035 field, will have OCLC holdings, which must be deleted. (NOTE: USU Eastern items and items in other USU libraries will be on separate Sierra bib records; before deleting OCLC holdings, make sure there aren't holdings in another library!). Holdings for Price and Blanding should be on the same bib record; if copies are held both at Price and Blanding, you may need to edit the bib record, if there are any local notes, etc., pertaining only to the copy being deleted


Quinney Library: Quinney items should have been put on the same Sierra bib records as Merrill Cazier items. In some cases, however, they are on separate Sierra records, so make sure Quinney had the only copy before deleting holdings on OCLC


Moore Library: Moore items should also be on the same Sierra bib records as Merrill Cazier items, but on rare occasions aren't, so the same caution applies. In some cases, there will be Sierra records for both Moore and USU Eastern, so be cautious about that also.


Physical Processing

Physical Items: After withdrawal is complete, the item can be either recycled or trashed. Paperback books can be recycled as is. Hardbound books need to have the cover removed before recycling. (If removing the cover is too difficult or time-consuming, just trash the entire book).


Spreadsheets/Printouts: After finishing the withdrawals and recording statistics, notify the source of the list (Price, Circ, etc.) that withdrawals are complete


Problems

In some cases, the cataloger will be unable to withdraw an item because the coding on the item record ("on reserve", "billed", etc.) won't allow withdrawal, and can't be changed by the cataloger. The appropriate person/department should be notified that the coding needs to be changed before withdrawal


Recording Statistics


The number of item records withdrawn should be recorded in the Airtable stats, as "Sierra items – deleted".

The number of physical items processed for recycling (or trashed) should be recorded in the Airtable stats as "Processing - physical items"

The number of items withdrawn should be entered on the master spreadsheet of withdrawals, along with the date, the collection (Price, MC Stacks, etc.) and a brief description, if available ("lost DVDs", "damaged books", etc.). At the end of the fiscal year, a copy is sent to the designated person in CMRS (Kevin, currently). If you aren't the main person in CMS assigned to withdrawals, be sure and report the number of withdrawn items to the person who is keeping the spreadsheet (currently Barb)


Withdrawing Serials


1. Serials may have a local holdings record (LHR) in OCLC. If you are only withdrawing some issues of a serial, or if there are holdings in two collections, it will be necessary to edit the LHR.

2. To edit the LHR: Pull up the OCLC bib record. Click on Tools-->Launch local holdings maintenance. This will pull up a copy of the record in your browser.

3. Click on View-->Display local holdings. Then click on Local Holdings Type-->Institutional holdings. This should bring up a link to the local holdings record, or a list of available local holdings records.

4. Click on the link and either edit the holdings record (removing the issues withdrawn), or, if the entire title is being withdrawn from one collection but retained in another, go to Actions-->Delete local holdings.

5. If you are withdrawing the last or only issues in any location, deleting our holdings on the OCLC bib record is all that's required; you will be asked if you want to delete the LHR: answer yes, and the holdings will all be removed

6. You will also need to edit any Sierra holdings records that exist (or delete the record, if withdrawing the last/only issue)