Merging Duplicate Records

General Guidelines

When deciding if you should merge two records, follow the guidelines on the page titled When to use a new record. Retain the best quality record. Check the fields for discrepancies. If any are missing from the record that will be retained, copy data to be retained from the duplicate record into the primary record, including but not limited to:

• 020
• 024
• 028
• 505
• 520
• 690/691 fields that meet the approved criteria for local subject headings
• 949

If a potential duplicate has ISBNs or other standard numbers that differ, check to see if the secondary duplicate has other duplicates that do not match your primary record. If these records are meant to be maintained as separate records, contact the assigned branch of the item records to verify which bibliographic record the item records should be attached to. If there are no additional duplicates, copy the additional standard numbers from the secondary to the primary record.

If an OCLC number is in two different records but the description should have a different OCLC number for the title, contact the assigned branch of the item to report the problem and ask them to use a different OCLC number for the title.

Other important information that needs to be verified includes:

• Formats.
• If graphic novel records are for the same concatenated issues.
• If there are special format notes or special supplement notes, such as for interviews or maps.

Merging Records with Multivolume Set Records

When deciding if a title belongs on a multivolume set records, follow the guidelines on the page titled Multiple records vs. single records for series and sets. When merging a record from a single record to a multivolume set record, the call number in the item records should be updated to have a volume number in the volume field that matches the appearance of the volume numbers of the other libraries’ volume designations.