Knowledge Base

Purpose

This FAQ documents best practices for cataloging to ensure consistency across CUNY. While formatted as an FAQ for usability, it represents official guidance approved by the OLS Cataloging Policies Task Force.

Introduction

Bound-withs are separate bibliographic titles that have been physically bound together into a single volume after publication. In Alma, there are several ways to manage bound-withs, but CUNY recommends designating one primary bibliographic record and one or more secondary bibliographic records.

The primary record includes both the holdings and item record, while the secondary records do not. To establish the relationship, the primary record contains 774 fields linking to each secondary record. This setup ensures Alma treats all related records as part of the same bound-with set, and these relationships display consistently in both Alma and OneSearch.

Instructions

1. Catalog each title with its own bibliographic record as you normally would.
   • Include a local 591 field in each record listing the other titles in the bound volume. This field has no functional linking role in Alma but follows MARC recommendations and can aid display and reporting.
   • See How do I create local fields in Alma? for how to make a field local. Do not simply add $$9 local to the end of a field.
   • Format:

     591	## $a Bound with: Title -- Title $5 MARC org code

   • Example:

     591	## $a Bound with: Where the Wild Things Are -- The Monster at the End of This Book $5 ZCY
     

2. Decide which will be the primary record, and which will be the secondary record(s).
3. In the primary record, add a 774 field for each secondary record.
   • This will link all three bib records to each other.
   • The subfield $$9 with the word "unrelated" will cause OneSearch to display a "Bound with" label to help patrons understand the relationship among records.
   • Format:

     774	## $t Title $w MMS ID $5 MARC org code $9 unrelated

   • Examples:

     774	## $t The black dahlia $w 9994691305906137 $5 NFQC $9 unrelated
     774	## $t The green mile $w 9994691306206137 $5 NFQC $9 unrelated

4. Add a holdings record to the primary bib record.
   • Include an 014 field for each secondary record. Like the 591, the 014 has no functional linking role but follows MARC recommendations and can improve display and reporting.
   • Format:

     014	1# $a MMS ID

   • Examples:

     014	1# $a 9994691305906137
     014	1# $a 9994691306206137

5. Add an item record to the holdings record.
6. Save and release all records.
7. Allow the overnight job "MMS - Build Record Relations" to run. Records will not display as linked until after this job completes.

Screenshots

Alma - Primary Record

Alma - Secondary Records

OneSearch - Primary Record

OneSearch - Secondary Records