My two cents:
MARC has always combined issuance information with hierarchy/type
information in the LDR/7 byte. While that is actually practical it also
frustrates those trying to untangle it.
The issuance part is whether the item has a known end (finite) or not
(continuing). The "known end" are monographs, journal articles, book
chapters, multivolume monographs, collections, etc. The continuing are
serials and series. A monograph (journal article) may be inside a serial.
A serial may also have a serial within it when a column appears in every
issue.
There were several infelicities, however. One was the multivolume mono
that needed to be checked in perhaps like a serial for a time, but the bib
record did not indicate that very clearly. Another was the looseleaf.
They were always called monographs but had again this serial-type checkin
need for the sets of replacement pages that came in periodically.
Then integrating resources concept entered the picture a few years ago when
web sites became so pervasive and took on features of looseleafs. They sit
on the fence and may be considered continuing or finite.
The hierarchy/type part of LRD/7 is not so easy to describe in a succinct
way and is somewhat material specific, but useful. MODS focusses on a
distilled version of the issuance aspect of the LDR/7 in the element of
that name. The other aspects of LDR/7 are not carries over except to
indicate a collection as attribute of Type of resource.
Sally
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Sally H. McCallum, Chief, Network Development and
MARC Standards Office, Library of Congress
Washington, DC 20540 USA
[log in to unmask] (Fax: 1-202-707 0115) (Voice: 1-202-707 5119)
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