Overview of Checkin Card Fields
This section describes the fields that can be on checkin card/box dialogs. To understand the correspondence between these fields and standard MARC 21 fields, see Correspondence Between MARC 21 and Checkin Card Fields.
Each checkin card editing function allows you to modify some or all of the following fields.
Binding delay
The number of issues that should remain on the shelf when a Unit of binding is sent to the bindery.
The label for each enumeration level of the serial. Default values are "v." and "no." for the first and second levels of enumeration, respectively.
Sierra conforms to the MARC 21 standard and can accommodate captions for up to six levels of enumeration plus two alternate enumeration levels. Subfields a through f of the MARC 863 field correspond to the captions for the six levels of enumeration; subfields g and h correspond to the captions for alternate enumeration.
The label for each level of chronology of the serial. Default values are "year", "month", and "day".
Sierra conforms to the MARC 21 standard and can accommodate captions for up to three levels of chronology. Subfields i through k of the MARC 863 field correspond to the chronology captions.
Claims written
The number of claim letters that have been sent for an issue. Sierra automatically updates this field when you claim serials. You can also edit it manually.
Copies bound
The number of copies of a particular issue that have been bound.
Copies received
The number of copies the library has received of a particular issue.
Cover date
The date of the issue as it appears on the piece. The Cover date is divided into three separate parts: Month/Season, Day, and Year.
Dates can be entered using numbers, month or season abbreviations, or MARC 21 codes, e.g.:
| Value to Enter | Alternate Value to Enter | Resulting Month/Season Value |
| 1 | jan | Jan |
| 2 | feb | Feb |
| 3 | mar | Mar |
| 4 | apr | Apr |
| 5-12 | may-dec | May-Dec |
| 21 | spr | Spr |
| 22 | sum | Sum |
| 23 | fal or aut | Fal or Aut
|
| 24 | win | Win |
Note that you do not need to enter a leading '0' (zero) for a month or day less than ten; however, you can enter the '0' if you want. If the cover date is only a month and a year, you can leave the Day field blank or enter "00" in that field; or if only a year, you can leave both the Month/Season and Day fields blank or enter "00" in both those fields. The Year portion of the cover date requires a four-digit year.
Note also that, for seasons, Serials conforms to the MARC 21 standard, i.e., spring is the first season in a given year. The Year portion of the cover date does not increment until the following spring issue. For example, if you have a quarterly journal whose first issue is Spring 1999, Serials creates the subsequent cover dates as: "Sum 1999", "Fal 1999", "Win 1999", "Spr 2000", etc.
Sierra also allows you to enter cover dates that contain ranges. You can enter a range in the Month/Season, Day, or Year fields. The range should be in the form <value>/<value> or <value>/<value>-<value>/<value>. The following table shows some examples:
| Value to Key | Resulting Cover Date Value |
| 1/2 | Jan/Feb (in the Month/Season field) |
| Mar/Apr | Mar/Apr (in the Month/Season field) |
| 1/2-11/12 | Jan/Feb - Nov/Dec (in the Month/Season field) |
| 1/15 | 1/15 (in the Day field) |
| 1998/1999 | 1998/1999 (in the Year field) |
The number of days after the Expected date before Serials considers the issue late and prompts you to claim it.
For example, an issue expected on 06-15-99 with a Days before claim value of "30" will display as "LATE" on 07-15-99. This number defaults to one and one-half times the frequency of a serial that is published more often than six times a year, and one-half the frequency of a serial that is published fewer than six times a year. For example, a monthly serial would have a Days before claim default of "45", while a semiannual would have a default value of "91" (365/2 * 1/2 = 91.25).
To prevent Sierra from ever claiming issues of a serial, set the Days before claim to a very large number, e.g. "999" (up to four digits are allowed).
Days between issues
The number of days between issues. Serials only uses this field for checkin cards with a Frequency value of 'z' (Custom).
Display mode
The default display mode for the checkin card. Possible values are:
| C | Box Display |
| L | Line Display |
| M | MARC Display |
The values of each enumeration or alternate enumeration level for an issue, supplement, or index.
Sierra also allows you to enter enumeration level values that contain ranges. You can enter a range in any of the enumeration fields. The range must be in the form <value>/<value> or <value>/<value>-<value>/value, for example, 1/2 or 1/2-5/6. A range entry such as 3/4-1 or 2/3/4 is invalid.
Sierra conforms to the MARC 21 standard and can accommodate a different value for up to six levels of enumeration plus two alternate enumeration levels. Subfields a through f of the MARC 853 field correspond to the six levels of enumeration; subfields g and h correspond to the alternate enumeration.
The date the issue is due to arrive at the library. Edit this field in the same way you would modify a fixed-length field with a date. See Modifying Dates.
How often the serial is published. The possible values conform to the MARC 21 standard for the 853 field, subfield w, except where noted1.
| a | Annual (once a year) |
| b | Bimonthly (once every two months) |
| c | Semiweekly (twice a week) |
| d | Daily |
| e | Biweekly (every two weeks) |
| f | Semiannual (twice a year) |
| g | Biennial (every two years) |
| h | Triennial (every three years) |
| i | 3 times per week |
| j | 3 times per month |
| m | Monthly |
| n | Weekdays1 |
| p | 10 per year (monthly, Sept. - June)1 |
| q | Quarterly (four times a year) |
| s | Semimonthly (twice a month) |
| t | 3 times per year |
| w | Weekly |
| x | Irregular |
| z | Custom |
Items on card
The number of boxes to insert when creating a checkin card.
Mode
The display type for each enumeration level. Possible values are:
| n | Numeric (default) |
| a | Alphabetic |
| r | Roman numerals |
Sierra conforms to the MARC 21 standard and can accommodate a different display type for up to six levels of enumeration plus two alternate enumeration levels. Subfields a through f of the MARC 853 field correspond to the six levels of enumeration; subfields g and h correspond to the alternate enumeration.
Note that even if you set the Mode of a checkin card to "Alphabetic" or "Roman", you must use arabic numerals for the Pieces per level field and the starting numbers of each enumeration level. You must also use arabic numerals whenever you edit the enumeration level values.
Indicates whether to restart the numbering of the enumeration level when the Pieces per level value is reached.
For example, if a serial has twelve issues per volume, this field indicates whether the thirteenth issue is numbered as "v.1 no.13" or "v.2 no.1". Each enumeration level, except the first, has its own Numbering continuity field. Possible values are:
| r | Restart - numbering restarts when the Pieces per level value is reached |
| c | Continue - numbering continues to increment regardless of the value of Pieces per level |
This field corresponds to the MARC 21 standard for the 853 field, subfield v.
Number of levels
The number of enumeration levels used by the serial. The default value is '2'.
Sierra conforms to the MARC 21 standard and can accommodate up to six levels of enumeration plus two alternate enumeration levels. Subfields a through f of the MARC 853 field correspond to the six levels of enumeration; subfields g and h correspond to the alternate enumeration.
To edit this field, select the desired number from the drop-down list.
Number of times
In the Extrapolate Boxes dialog, this field sets the number of times to perform the current extrapolation.
OPAC Label
The label to display in the WebPAC for supplements and indexes. This label informs patrons that a particular piece is not a regular issue.
By default, the OPAC Label for supplements is "Suppl" and for indexes "Indexes."
(Issues per volume) The number of issues, supplements, or indexes that comprise the level of enumeration.
For example, if a serial has twelve issues per volume, the Pieces per level value for the second level of enumeration (i.e., the issues) would be "12". Each enumeration level, except the first, can have an associated Pieces per level.
This field corresponds to the MARC 21 standard for the 853 field, subfield u.
See Numbering continuity for more details.
Pieces received
The number of serial issues received. This checkin card field only displays if your library maintains counts of serial issues in the PCOUNT field of the checkin record.
Public Display
This option in the Box Menu | Modify Boxes Individually or Box Menu | Update Boxes as a Group dialogs allows you to suppress checkin card boxes from public display. See Suppressing Checkin Card Boxes in the Public Display for more information.
A free text note of up to 255 characters stored in the 863 |z, 864 |z, or 865 |z field. Sierra displays as many characters as possible of the Note field in the checkin card and WebPAC. See Modifying Boxes Individually and Updating Boxes as a Group for information on creating or editing a Public Note.
When editing a checkin card Note, Sierra automatically selects any existing text in the field. To avoid overwriting a Note field's contents, press End or the right arrow key to de-select the text and move the cursor to the end of the existing text.
A free text note of up to 255 characters stored in the 863 |x, 864 |x, or 865 |x field. Serials displays as many characters as possible of the Note field in the checkin card. See Modifying Boxes Individually and Updating Boxes as a Group for information on creating or editing a Staff Note.
When editing a checkin card Note, Serials automatically selects any existing text in the field. To avoid overwriting a Note field's contents, press End or the right arrow key to de-select the text and move the cursor to the end of the existing text.
(Box) The Status of a particular issue. Status values for an issue are stored in the 963 field, subfield 1. Possible values are:
| E | "EXPECTED" - The issue has not yet arrived at the library.
Expected issues can display as:
Note that issues displayed as "LATE" or "CLAIMED" still have a Status of "EXPECTED". |
| A | "ARRIVED" - The issue has arrived in full and has been checked in. |
| P | "PARTIAL"- Not all of the expected copies have arrived and been checked in. |
| M | "MISSING" - The issue was checked in but is no longer in the library's collection. |
| B | "BOUND" - The issue has been bound. This status may have a number indicating how many copies have been bound, e.g., "BOUND 2". |
| T | "TO BIND" - This issue has been sent to the bindery. |
| S | "BIND PREP" - The issue is in the binding preparation area. |
| R | "REMOVED" - The issue was checked in but is no longer in the library's collection. |
| O | "OUT OF PRINT" - The issue is no longer in print. |
| U | "UNAVAILABLE" - The issue is unavailable. |
| L | "NOT PUBLISHED" - The issue has not been published. |
| N | "BLANK" - The issue has not been checked in and is not expected, e.g., the issue may not have been published. If the checkin card has a Status of "BLANK", the Note field displays in the checkin card in place of the Status field. |
See Box Status Labels Table to display local labels (labels created by your library) for box status on the checkin card. For example, you can:
- display the local label "ON SHELF" for boxes with a status code of 'A' (ARRIVED)
- display the local label "AT BINDERY" for boxes with a status code of 'T' (TO BIND)
(Card) The status of the checkin card. Possible values are:
| C | "CURRENT" (default status) |
| F | "FILLED" (The system changes the card Status to 'F' when the last Expected box on the card has been checked in. Sierra prompts you to confirm the Status change with a message dialog.) |
| I | "INCOMPLETE" (Indicates that at least one issue is late. If desired, you can set the Status to "INCOMPLETE" when you are waiting for late issues; Sierra does not automatically change the Status to "INCOMPLETE".) |
| U | "UNUSED" (Indicates that the card is not used.) |
The date of the last transaction - e.g., when the issue was checked in, or sent to the bindery, or checked in from the bindery. The transaction referred to in Transaction Date depends on the Status of the issue - if the issue has a Status of "EXPECTED", it is the date the issue is expected; if the issue has a Status of "ARRIVED", it is the date the issue was received; if the issue has a Status of "EXPECTED" but has been claimed (so that the box displays "CLAIMED" in the Status field), it is the date the issue was claimed, etc.
See Sending Issues to the Bindery in Batch or Selecting a Particular Serial to Send to the Bindery for an explanation of keeping the old transaction date when issues are sent to the bindery.
Unit of binding
The number of issues to be bound together. The Unit of binding defaults to the number of issues in a volume, but can be any number up to 255. Enter '0' (zero) if the library does not bind the title.
URL
The URL of an issue, if applicable. The value of the URL field displays as a link in the WebPAC.
Correspondence Between MARC 21 and Checkin Card Fields
These tables map checkin card fields to MARC 21 standard fields.
When a checkin card is created, the information from the 853, 854, or 855 fields of the checkin record will automatically be entered in the new checkin card. The most recent information in the checkin record is used. You can edit the new card before saving it if you wish to change the entries in these fields.
The link number creates correspondence between 85X and 86X fields. The sequence number is a sequential ordering of all of the 86X fields.
| MARC 853 and Checkin Card Fields | ||||||||||||||
| MARC Field | 853 |a-f | 853 |g,h | 853 |i-k | 853 |l,m | 853 |o | 853 |t | 853 |u | 853 |v | 853 |w | 853 |x | 853 |y | 853 |z | 853 $8 | 853 $3 |
| Checkin Card Field | Enumerationcaptions | Alternate enumerationcaptions | Chronology captions | N/A | N/A | N/A | Pieces per level | Numbering continuity | Frequency | N/A | N/A | N/A | Link number | N/A |
| Used/Not Used | Used | Used | Used | Not used | Not used | Not used | Used | Used | Used | Not used | Not used | Not used | Used | Not used |
| MARC 854 and Checkin Card Fields | ||||||||||||||
| MARC Field | 854 |a-f | 854 |g,h | 854 |i-k | 854 |l,m | 854 |o | 854 |t | 854 |u | 854 |v | 854 |w | 854 |x | 854 |y | 854 |z | 854 $8 | 854 $3 |
| Checkin Card Field | Enumerationcaptions | Alternate enumerationcaptions | Chronology captions | N/A | N/A | N/A | Pieces per level | Numbering continuity | Frequency | N/A | N/A | N/A | Link number | N/A |
| Used/Not Used | Used | Used | Used | Not used | Not used | Not used | Used | Used | Used | Not used | Not used | Not used | Used | Not used |
| MARC 855 and Checkin Card Fields | ||||||||||||||
| MARC Field | 855 |a-f | 855 |g,h | 855 |i-k | 855 |l,m | 855 |o | 855 |t | 855 |u | 855 |v | 855 |w | 855 |x | 855 |y | 855 |z | 855 $8 | 855 $3 |
| Checkin Card Field | Enumerationcaptions | Alternate enumerationcaptions | Chronology captions1 | N/A | N/A | N/A | Pieces per level | Numbering continuity | Frequency | N/A | N/A | N/A | Link number | N/A |
| Used/Not Used | Used | Used | Used | Not used | Not used | Not used | Used | Used | Used | Not used | Not used | Not used | Used | Not used |
| 1 If there are no levels of enumeration, the Chronology captions do not move to 855 |a. Chronology captions are always in 855 |i-k. | ||||||||||||||
| MARC 863 and Checkin Card Fields | ||||||||||||||
| MARC Field | 863 |a-f | 863 |g,h | 863 |i-k | 863 |l,m | 863 |o | 863 |t | 863 |u | 863 |v | 863 |w | 863 |x | 863 |y | 863 |z | 863 $8 | |
| Checkin Card Field | Enumeration | Alternate enumeration | Chronology | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Gap separator | Staff note | N/A | Public note | Link number and sequence | |
| Used/Not Used | Used | Used | Used | Not used | Not used | Not used | Not used | Not used | Used | Used | Not used | Used | Used | |
| MARC 865 and Checkin Card Fields | ||||||||||||||
| MARC Field | 865 |a-f | 865 |g,h | 865 |i-k | 865 |l,m | 865 |o | 865 |t | 865 |u | 865 |v | 865 |w | 865 |x | 865 |y | 865 |z | 865 $8 | |
| Checkin Card Field | Enumeration | Alternate enumeration | Chronology1 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Gap separator | Staff note | N/A | Public note | Link number and sequence | |
| Used/Not Used | Used | Used | Used | Not used | Not used | Not used | Not used | Not used | Used | Used | Not used | Used | Used | |
| 1 If there are no levels of enumeration, the Chronology captions do not move to 865 |a. Chronology captions are always in 865 |i-k. | ||||||||||||||