Procedure for Theses and Dissertations (3.1 OCLC Documentation)

3.1 Theses and Dissertations

3.1 Theses and Dissertations

Most theses and dissertations are unpublished items made available through copies.

There are two types of electronic theses and dissertations: those that exist as digital originals, and those that are scanned versions of paper originals.

Digital originals should be treated as published items and cataloged as original electronic publications. For more information, see Cataloging Electronic Resources: OCLC-MARC Coding Guidelines ( http://www.oclc.org/support/documentation/worldcat/cataloging/electronicresources/). Scanned versions of paper originals are considered unpublished items and should be cataloged according to the guidelines below.

Guidelines

Use the following for theses and dissertations:

•Most microform copies of theses, such as those from University Microfilms (UMI), are reproductions of unpublished copies of theses. Catalog them as such.

•Use BKS format (Type code t–Manuscript language material) for book-like theses, VIS format for theses in an audiovisual medium, REC format for recorded theses, etc. Use Type code d (Manuscript music) for Score theses and Type code f (Manuscript cartographic material) for Map theses.

•Use code xx in Ctry for both original and reproduced theses.

•For all reproduced theses, code DtSt for the original.

•Omit place and publisher in field 260 (Publication, Distribution, Etc. Imprint) per AACR2, rule 4.4.

•Omit series statements in 4xx per AACR2, rule 4.6.

•Omit added entries for advisors, the institution, made-up thesis collection or series titles in fields 246, 700–740 and 8xx. Use the 79x fields for these kinds of added entries.

•Enter a thesis note in field 502 (Dissertation Note).

•If you are cataloging a copy from a commercial producer and a record exists for another copy in the same medium (photocopy or microform) from the same producer, use the existing record, even if the date of reproduction differs. Since such theses are copies, cataloging rules allow the dates to vary from earlier copies. In such cases, if date information would be the only change, do not create a new record.

•If you are cataloging an unbound photocopy, create an item record without a barcode. The barcode will be added when the volume is returned from the bindery.

•Optional. If you describe a reproduced thesis in field 533 (Reproduction Note), you may enter a Ctry code for the place of reproduction in field 539 (Fixed-Length Data Elements of Reproduction Note) subfield ‡d (Place of publication, production or execution). You may also enter date information for the reproduced thesis in field 539 subfields ‡a, ‡b and ‡c. Such information is based on the data in field 533. See field 539 for more information.