Electronic location and access

As of March 18, 2011, the rules on this page have been approved in concept by the SCRAP committee, but the exact wording is still being adjusted. Please use these rules. Please send any feedback to SCRAP.

The 856 tag in a catalog record is called “Electronic Location and Access” and contains the information required to locate an electronic item, usually consisting of a URL (Uniform Resource Locator). For complete standards on this tag see OCLC Bibliographic Formats and Standards.

Add or retain URLs that:

• reproduce the cataloged work or the information in it
• relate directly to the cataloged work
• refer the user to additional information on the subject of the cataloged work

Be sure—

• that the information is current and that the relationship between the material and the URL is direct (sample pages, publisher’s description, table of contents, etc.)
• that the 856 contains at least a subfield u—what the URL checker (the automated application that checks the validity of a URL) must find.
• that the text string is valid. Sometimes it is changed during downloading or storing of the record (a space is added or the line wrap causes a necessary part of the string to be dropped from the hyperlink.)
• that the hyperlink does not send the user to commercial propaganda—virtually free advertising for the publisher or producer

DO--

• make a judgment of the value of the URL to the user
• see that the URL works
• make sure the URL is in subfield u
• double check that there are NO spaces in the string
• learn what the 856 indicators mean
• learn what the 856 subfields mean

DON'T--

• allow a URL into a CCS record that does not give the end user added value
• allow the publisher or production company to get free advertising at our expense
• allow URLs that point to a page for the popular CD or movie—they are invariably short-lived
• allow email addresses in 856 tags