The form of descriptive cataloging; that is, whether the item has been cataloged according to the provisions of International Standard Bibliographic Description (ISBD).
Codes
Non-ISBD. Item has not been cataloged according to ISBD.
a
AACR2. Descriptive part of the record is formulated according to the description and punctuation provisions as incorporated into the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, second edition and its manuals.
c
ISBD Punctuation Omitted. Descriptive portion of the record follows the punctuation conventions of ISBD, except ISBD punctuation is not present at the end of a subfield.
i
ISBD. Descriptive portion of the record contains the punctuation provisions of ISBD.
u
Unknown
Item has been cataloged according to Dublin Core.
Defined only for ELvl codes 3, 5 and M
Printing
The print program uses Desc to identify records cataloged according to the provisions of ISBD. For such records, the print program supplies a space-dash-space (--) between areas, as specified by ISBD and AACR2.
For records with Desc code a or i, the print program supplies the space-dash-space (--) before the following areas:
Publication, Distribution, Etc. (Imprint) (
field 260)
Dates of Publication and/or Volume Designation (
field 362, first indicator 0)
First series statement (4xx fields)
If any of the preceding fields ends in final punctuation (. ? !), the print program supplies space-dash-space (--). If the field does not end in final punctuation, the print program supplies period, space-dash-space (. -- ).
Print constants for notes (5xx and
field 773) vary in style for AACR2 and pre-AACR2 records. The print program uses Desc to differentiate AACR2 and pre-AACR2 records to supply appropriate print constants.
Librarians' Toolbox:
