The place of publication and the publisher can change over time for multipart monographs, serials, and integrating resources. How that information has been handled in bibliographic records until now depended on the mode of issuance:
- multipart monographs and serials: If the new information was important, it was given in a 500 field;
- integrating resources: The 260 field was revised to reflect the new information; the old information was given in a 500 field if important.
The MARC 21 format was changed to make the 260 field repeatable so that the new information, especially for serials, is more prominent in the records for the benefit of acquisitions staff, reference staff, and readers who have current citations. 500 fields are not always available in OPAC displays, purchase orders, etc.
The Library of Congress (LC) and Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) participants postponed implementation of the repeatable 260 field because OCLC had not implemented that change to the MARC 21 bibliographic format. OCLC has now announced an August 16 implementation date. LC and PCC will implement on September 1, 2009.
- Link to LC/PCC Guidelines for MARC 21 Repeatable 260 Field (PDF - 7 p.; 79 KB)
